Last year the Montclair City Council put Township Manager Timothy Stafford on administrative leave for creating a hostile work environment for female employees. The action was prompted by a whistle-blower complaint, filed by Montclair chief financial officer Padmaja Rao. Last October Rao filed a lawsuit charging Montclair Township with discrimination. 

What does this have to do with public education in New Jersey?

In an amendment to her lawsuit dated last week,  Rao says the head of the Council, Mayor Sean Spiller, retaliated against her for the initial complaint.  Spiller also happens to be president of the NJ Education Association, NJ’s primary teachers union, as well as a widely-rumored 2025 gubernatorial candidate. 

According to Montclair Local, Rao’s amendment to the lawsuit says Spiller “commenced a retaliatory investigation against Rao in an attempt to create a derogatory record of her job performance and conduct, which could be used to undermine Rao in her work and potentially terminate her employment.”

Council member Peter Yacobellis appears to have corroborated this when he’s quoted in the lawsuit saying Spiller spoke with several Council members where he talked about compiling the dossier. (Some other Council members don’t remember that conversation.)

From the lawsuit:

Councilor Yacobellis’ statements revealed that Mayor Spiller commenced his own investigation seeking to gather information ‘on multiple occasions’ from Montclair councilors regarding Rao that Mayor Spiller could use to undermine Rao in her position as CFO, and potentially use as grounds to seek her termination.

Here is a message from Yacobellis to Spiller cited in the lawsuit:

 While having those kinds of discussions are completely appropriate  I found the timing of you discussing those concerns about her performance inappropriate, especially not knowing that there had been this investigation and subsequent conclusion [of a hostile work environment] which I find it really hard to believe that you didn’t know about[.]

Spiller says he never mentioned collecting information on Rao and denied speaking to the Council members about anything to do with an retaliatory action. He wrote in an email,

I am, and have been, fully supportive of ensuring any issue or complaint is heard and that we take appropriate steps to address – such as bringing in a team of experts to address culture and climate. Regarding being mentioned, I must also still do my job in ensuring the township is current on its bills and asking appropriate questions, including noting that I do not think anyone involved in litigation against the township should be part of meetings pertaining to the litigation.

Rao says she originally went to Stafford to discuss some irregularities she found as part of her due diligence as CFO. These include why council members received health insurance covered by taxpayers even though they don’t work the mandatory number of hours to qualify for the benefit, while others take an annual $5,000 payment to opt out of the plan they shouldn’t be eligible for.  She also questioned the legality of a no-bid contract that the administration awarded to a high-powered law firm run by former state senator and current Port Authority chairman Kevin O’Toole.