As primary for governor's race nears, candidates share details of their finances

Yahoo

08-05-2025

All six Democrats vying to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy in the June 10 primary have shared recent tax returns with the New Jersey Monitor. (Illustration by Alex Cochran for New Jersey Monitor)
With just over a month left until New Jersey's June 10 primary, most of the 11 candidates hoping to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy are giving the public a glimpse into their finances.
But varying financial disclosure regulatory schemes at the state and federal levels mean some candidates must disclose more than others, and the most exacting disclosures — the release of a candidate's tax returns — are purely voluntary.
Disclosure forms that candidates are required to file with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Committee reveal only the sources of income, forgoing any disclosure of income levels, even in ranges used on disclosures for sitting lawmakers.
Micah Rasmussen, director of Rider University's Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, called this level of disclosure 'completely inadequate.'
'It's absurd,' Rasmussen said. 'It's certainly useful to know what the sources of income are, but it tells us virtually nothing about the level of potential conflicts.'
Congressional disclosures elicit more transparency (the race to succeed Murphy includes two sitting members of Congress). On those forms, candidates and holders of federal office are required to report incomes in ranges across a broad array of categories.
Income information for some candidates can be gleaned from other disclosures. Forms that nonprofits are required to file with the IRS can reveal portions of some candidates' incomes, for example. And candidates who hold public office are subjected to disclosure of their taxpayer-funded salaries.
'It sort of creates this patchwork where, if the public happens to be lucky enough to have candidates who meet the greater standard or run into a greater requirement, we'll get a greater level of detail, but if we happen to have somebody who doesn't meet the category, we're going to get a much lower level of detail,' Rasmussen said.
As for tax returns, all six Democratic candidates for governor have disclosed returns for 2023 or 2024 when asked by the New Jersey Monitor. None of the five Republicans running have done so.
Dan Cassino, executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll, said releasing this kind of information becomes an almost certainty for candidates once they win a primary, but not necessarily before.
'You don't want to lose the primary and then have put that data out there if you don't have to because it's potentially embarrassing,' Cassino said.
He added that Republican candidates could follow President Donald Trump's lead and forgo releasing their tax returns, though at least three of the five men seeking the GOP nomination have said they would release their returns at some point during the campaign.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11) and her husband, a broker at UBS Securities, reported roughly $3.2 million in income for 2024, their tax returns say.
The couple reported $114,970 in dividend income from index and exchange-traded funds, state and federal financial disclosures show. Sherrill does not hold individual stock. Wages and salaries, including a bonus for the congresswoman's husband, accounted for the overwhelming share of their income.
They were billed $1.08 million in federal income tax for 2024 and were billed $279,010 in New York state income tax (UBS Securities is based in New York City). They were billed $29,002 in New Jersey state income taxes, which were offset by tax already paid to New York.
Sherrill's 2023 congressional financial disclosure put her net worth between $4.8 million and $14 million. Her 2024 disclosure is due on May 15.
Members of Congress are paid a $174,000 salary.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-05) and his wife, who is general counsel at political consulting firm Tusk Strategies, reported $897,617 in income for 2023, according to their tax return.
They were billed $218,486 in federal income tax and did not share a state return.
Salaries accounted for the largest share of their income, $654,105, and they drew $208,754 from dividends, most of which were qualified dividends taxed at rates less than the income tax.
Gottheimer's 2023 congressional financial disclosure — he has requested a 90-day extension for his 2024 disclosure, typically due on May 15 — shows a net worth of between $16.9 million and $75.3 million.
The congressman holds voluminous individual stock and is one of Congress's most prolific traders. He has previously said he does not manage his own investments.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a Democrat, and his wife, who runs a physical therapy practice, reported $908,926 in income in 2022 and were billed $274,288 in federal income tax, their tax returns say.
The majority of that income, $742,023, came from Jaclyn Fulop's physical therapy practice.
They were billed $66,225 in state income tax in 2022.
Jersey City payroll records list the mayor's 2025 salary as $245,521.
The financial disclosure Fulop filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, which covers 2024, lists no sources of income apart from salaries.
Tax information for 2023 is not available because the Fulops have lodged a dispute over an overpayment, Fulop said. Their returns for 2024 have not been filed, and the couple typically seeks an extension and files in October, he said.
New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, a Democrat, and his wife reported $458,977 in income for 2023, when they were billed $94,244 in federal taxes, according to a return summary reviewed by the New Jersey Monitor. They received an extension for their 2024 return and did not share a state tax return.
Salaries and wages were their main source of income. They reported $4,901 in interest and dividend income and $3,100 in taxable IRA distributions.
Spiller's role as president of the state teachers union appears to have been their main source of income. He was paid $370,096 in salary plus $69,569 in other compensation in 2023, according to a 990 disclosure form the union filed with the IRS. Filings for more recent years are not available.
Spiller filed his Election Law Enforcement Commission financial disclosure on May 1, just over a week after the Monitor first inquired about its absence. The forms were due April 3. His disclosure showed investments in bonds and exchange-traded funds.
Former state Sen. Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, was the first candidate to voluntarily release a tax return, and his shows that he and his wife reported $285,882 in income in 2024.
The couple was billed $46,856 in federal income tax and $13,729 in state income tax.
Sweeney drew salaries from positions in the Iron Workers Union and $9,638 on taxable and tax-exempt dividends and interest, according to his tax return and personal financial disclosure.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat, reported $203,241 in income in 2023, his tax return shows. He was billed $42,397 in federal tax that year. Baraka did not share a state return.
Baraka draws a $194,000 salary from his mayoral post, according to city officials, and he has the option to take an additional $30,000 in lieu of expenses. His wife, Linda, is chief of staff to Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex). The mayor reported little income apart from salaries on his state election commission financial disclosure.
Other forms of income included gains from Sunrise United Partners and the 1957 Group, businesses run by Linda Baraka. The couple generated $6,940 in business income in 2023.
As a state legislator, Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Union) is required to annually disclose sources of income, debts, and properties he owns to the Office of Legislative Services. Those disclosures require legislators to report their incomes in four ranges spanning from less than $10,000 to more than $50,000.
Bramnick reported earning more than $200,000 from his law practice on his 2023 legislative financial disclosure. He and his wife earned between $35,001 and $85,000 from Social Security and Patricia Bramnick's pension that year.
Legislators earn a $49,000 annual salary. That wage will rise to $82,000 beginning in 2026. Legislators' disclosures for 2024 are due on May 15.
The couple received between $50,001 and $101,000 in dividends in 2023 and between $10,003 and $55,000 from other investments.
They also drew income from rentals of five properties and held more than $50,000 in debt owed to three banks, according to legislative and state election commission financial disclosures.
It's not clear how much the couple paid in taxes. Bramnick's campaign said he would release his tax return if he won the primary.
Former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican, reported earning no salary in 2024 on disclosures filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission.
His filing shows broad holdings of municipal bonds, and Ciattarelli received dividends from Microsoft in his own name. He reported his wife, Melinda, received dividends from exchange-traded funds and some individual stock holdings, among other investment income (Ciattarelli said in 2023 that the two had separated).
Ciattarelli has not released tax returns for recent years but said he would provide them later, though he did not give a timeline. He released five years of tax returns when he sought the governorship in 2017.
Those filings showed a majority of his income flowed from a medical publishing company he owned and has since sold.
Little can be gleaned from former radio host Bill Spadea's state election filing. Spadea, a Republican, reported a salary from his former position at radio station New Jersey 101.5, fees from the Common Sense Club — a nonprofit he founded — and proceeds from the sale of a home in Holtsville, New York.
Spadea received $65,450 in compensation from the 501(c)(4) nonprofit in 2022, according to disclosures it filed. Its filing for 2023 shows no compensation to Spadea or the nonprofit's other officers.
It's not clear how much he was paid by the nonprofit in 2024. The deadline for 2024 forms is May 15.
Spadea reported no investment income of any kind, and it's not clear how much he paid in tax. His campaign said he was seeking an extension and would disclose his tax return once he filed.
Former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, a Republican, reported receiving fees from his law firm, per a disclosure he filed with state election commission officials.
He also drew income from a profit share through Dynamk Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm, rental income from three units in Cliffside Park, and income from investments with investment banks.
Kranjac's campaign manager did not respond to a request for the candidate's tax returns.
Justine Barbera, a Burlington County contractor, reported that he and members of his immediate family generated no income of any kind on the disclosure he filed with the state election commission. Barbera, a Republican, confirmed the accuracy of the filing to the New Jersey Monitor.
Cassino said this 'raises a lot of questions.'
'It costs money to file. Are you saying nobody paid for that? What in the world?' Cassino said.
Barbera said he had no income because he had spent more than a year campaigning for office. He ran for the 3rd Congressional District's House seat in 2024 under the Join the Revolution Party banner, finishing with 0.3% of the vote.
'I ran for Congress, then I ran straight into the governor's race, so I've been running back-to-back campaigns the past 16 months,' he said.
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