One of the donors to Mikie Sherrill’s campaign for Congress is Christopher Cerf, who served as Gov. Chris Christie’s Commissioner of Education and as his hand-picked Newark Superintendent of Schools.
In a normal environment, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) would be a little pissed off. The state’s largest teachers union was at war with Christie and with Cerf. Less than two years ago, the NJEA challenged Cerf’s challenge of teacher seniority laws. Wendell Steinhauer, then the union president, issued a statement excoriating Cerf. He said it was a “blatant political attack on the women and men who have dedicated their lives to educating New Jersey’s students. It has nothing to do with education and everything to do with the anti-public education agenda of its funders.”
There was a time when a Democratic House candidate in a competitive district wouldn’t dare accept $500 from someone the NJEA called “hostile to our members.” Perhaps that’s evidence that New Jersey has not become such an unforgiving people.