TRENTON — The New Jersey Education Association pushed back so hard against Gov. Chris Christie last year that it set a record.

The state’s largest teachers union spent $6.8 million on lobbying last year, most of it going to an ad campaign against Christie and his cuts to education in the state budget, according to a reports released today by the Election Law Enforcement Commission. That’s the most a special interest group has spent on New Jersey lobbying in one year, according to the commission.

"We spent that money. We felt we had to," said NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer. "The governor was putting out a lot of what we feel was misinformation on education and our members demanded we set the record straight."

The NJEA shelled out so much on lobbying that its total was seven times more than the second highest spender, Verizon, at $935,000. It also beat the previous spending record, set by Verizon in 2006, by more than $2 million.

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts called the union a "special interest that is bent on protecting a failed status quo in our schools."

"They talk like a special interest and they certainly spend like a special interest by funding millions upon millions of dollars in attack ads," he said. "That’s not going to stop Governor Christie from pursuing bold reform to put the needs of children before adults and special interests."

Altogether, groups spent a record $65.6 million on lobbying last year — up 13.9 percent from 2009 and bucking a trend of decreased spending on lobbying at the federal level.

"There were many hot button issues last year, and it obviously caused a sharp reaction," said ELEC Executive Director Jeffrey Brindle, who added the increase could be partly attributed to a slowly rebounding economy.

Not all the spending on communications lobbying was against to Christie. Reform Jersey Now — an issue advocacy group tied to Christie’s closest advisers — spent $403,000 on print, broadcast ads and automated phone calls. The group, which disbanded at the end of the year, raised $628,000 from private donors, including some with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of state contracts. The pro-charter school group Excellent Education for Everyone spent $459,000 on print and broadcast ads.

While overall spending on lobbying rose sharply, the practice of "benefits passing" — buying food and entertainment for lawmakers — continued its march toward the political graveyard. The commission attributed that partly to a 2004 law prohibiting lawmakers from accepting more than $500 for out-of-state travel and more than $250 in gifts from any single lobbyist.

Lobbyists spent $7,715 to wine and dine lawmakers, down from a high of $163,375 in 1992, according to the report.

Most of the spending involved food. Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) received meals at two Las Vegas casinos, one costing $337, courtesy of the Princeton Public Affairs Group.

A crew of Democratic lawmakers dined at a seafood restaurant in Washington, D.C., thanks to the Kaufman Zita Group.

And the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey footed the bill for food for 11 Democratic and Republican lawmakers at the Sheraton in East Rutherford.

Some lawmakers repaid the costs. For example, PSE&G took Sens. Tom Kean (R-Union) and Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) to watch the New York Jets play the New England Patriots at the Meadowlands. They later reimbursed the cost of the tickets, $212.60 each, according to the reports. The Jets won, 28-14.

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