Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller Launches NJ Governor Campaign (VIDEO)

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair’s outgoing mayor has officially thrown his hat into the ring for the 2025 governor race in New Jersey.

On Friday, Sean Spiller released a campaign launch video, emphasizing his background as an educator and campaigning on a "working class" platform. He will be seeking the Democratic Party nomination alongside a widening field of candidates – each seeking to supplant Gov. Phil Murphy.

“Most people don’t expect a high school science teacher to run for governor, because working folks aren’t supposed to be able to get into positions where the decisions are being made,” Spiller says in the video.

“I’m running for governor because I think it’s important that our voices are in the room,” he adds.

Other gubernatorial candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring to replace Phil Murphy in 2025 include Ras Baraka, Steve Fulop and Steve Sweeney, who are running as Democrats. Republican candidates include Jon Bramnick, Robert Canfield, Jack Ciattarelli, Edward Durr and Hans Herberg. Meanwhile, Gerardo Cedrone is running as an independent.

Pundits have speculated that there may be even more potential candidates that haven’t officially launched campaigns yet, including U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer – who were both included in a recent Fairleigh Dickinson poll.

Spiller was first elected to office in Montclair in 2012 as a council member in the Third Ward. He launched a successful bid for mayor in 2020, narrowly defeating the town’s current mayor-elect, Renée Baskerville.

Spiller announced that he won't be running for a second term earlier this year. He didn’t cite a reason why he isn’t hitting the campaign trail again, but said he was “honored” to have led Montclair as mayor. See Related: Watch Mayor’s 2024 State Of Montclair Speech: ‘Progressive, Diverse’

During his stint as mayor, Spiller also served concurrently as the president of the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest public school teachers’ union. It was a role that some of his critics have alleged is a conflict of interest, but one that he leaned into in his campaign launch video.

“There were so many times where we pushed back against something that was the difference between someone being able to support their family or not,” he says.

According to a biography on the municipal website:

“[Sean Spiller] currently serves on the township’s Economic Development Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Education Committee. He additionally previously served on the Board of School Estimate, the Public Safety Committee, and Montclair Business Improvement District (BID) board. Through those committees and normal council action, he has worked to increase smart, green development in town – helping to reduce our tax burden and he has helped to implement a debt-reduction plan. A strong supporter of great public schools, Sean has pushed to maintain our dynamic school system and is helping to make our schools even stronger. Understanding the key role our businesses play in the vibrancy and long-term health of our township, Mayor Spiller has sought balance in making Montclair more business-friendly while protecting the unique character of our community. Sean is also a member of the Montclair NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and many other local groups and organizations.”

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