One of the most critical elections in New Jersey next year comes in April, when four candidates will compete to become the new Secretary-Treasurer of the New Jersey Education Association, a contest that puts the winner on a trajectory to become the president of the state’s largest public employee union from 2033 to 2037 — and control millions in campaign contributions.
The NJEA traditionally rotates leadership every four years. Sean Spiller, the president since 2021, is term-limited and is now running for governor. His replacement will be Steve Beatty, the vice president for the last four years; the current secretary-treasurer, Petal Robertson, will become vice president on September 1 and is expected to lead the NJEA from 2029 to 2033.
Seeking the secretary-treasurer post – and likely a twelve-year stint in a top NJEA leadership role – are: Denise King, the Monmouth County Education Association president for the last nine years; Tina Dare, the NJEA government relations chair and a high school chemistry teacher from Gloucester County; James Frazier, the president of the Union County Education Association since 2022 and a member of the National Education Association board of directors since 2016; and Henry Goodhue, the president of the Hillsborough Education Association and the first vice president of the Somerset County Education Association.
This is King’s third bid for secretary-treasurer. She ran against Beatty in 2017 and against Robertson in 2021.
More than 200,000 NJEA members will cast their ballots in a vote-by-mail election conducted from April 1-15. The new secretary-treasurer will take office on September 1.
The union elects leaders to a two-year term with a two-term limit. While rotation through the three top leadership posts is not automatic, it is a tradition at the state’s largest public school teacher’s union.