October 12, 2010 (NEW YORK) – Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) today announced its endorsements for the 2010 New York State General Election, including Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for governor and 20 state senate and assembly candidates who have demonstrated a significant commitment to improving New York’s public education system.
New York recently passed sweeping reforms to its education system and won $700 million in federal funding, and that success was due in large part to the state’s Democrats. DFER’s endorsements seek to build on the momentum of those reforms.
“In the past year, New York has adopted sweeping education reforms, but we still have a long road ahead of us before every student in the state has access to quality education. We need a governor and state elected leaders who will continue to champion school reform,” said Joe Williams, executive director of DFER. “We’re endorsing Attorney General Cuomo for governor along with 20 candidates for the New York State Senate and Assembly because we believe they will continue to pursue reform and put the interests of students first.”
For New York State Senate, DFER endorsed: Senator Craig Johnson for the 7th Senate District; Senator Jose Peralta for the 13th Senate District; Senator Joseph Addabo for the 15th Senate District; Senator John Sampson for the 19th Senate District; Senator Eric Adams for the 20th Senate District; Senator Daniel Squadron for the 25th Senate District; Senator Ruben Diaz for the 32nd Senate District; Senator Jeffrey Klein for the 34th Senate District; David Carlucci, for the 38th Senate District; Mike Kaplowitz for the 40th Senate District; Didi Barrett for the 41st Senate District; and Senator David Valesky for the 49th Senate District.
For the New York State Assembly, DFER endorsed: Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer for the 23rd Assembly District; Assemblywoman Barbara Clark for the 33rd Assembly District; Assemblyman Karim Camara for the 43rd Assembly District; Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries for the 57th Assembly District; Robert Rodriguez for the 68th Assembly District; Assemblyman Jonathan Bing for the 73rd Assembly District; Assemblyman Joseph Morelle for the 132nd Assembly District; and Assemblyman Sam Hoyt for the 144th Assembly District.
Democrats for Education Reform’s mission is to promote a more productive dialogue within the Democratic Party around the need to fundamentally reform the nation’s education system. In New York, DFER has encouraged state lawmakers to adopt more progressive education reforms, including a new system to tie teacher tenure to student performance and to lift the cap on charter schools.