By David Freedlander
(From Capitol Confidential, July 25th, 2011)
Democrats for Education Reform, a well-financed advocacy group that pushes for more charter schools and less union influence in the school system, has named elected Hakeem Jeffries to Congress one of its chief priorities in the upcoming campaign season.
The well-heeled DFER, which brings together finance types and hedge funders in the name of education of reform, listed Jeffries atop its “Hot List” for 2011:
Hakeem Jeffries, Congressional Exploratory Committee Hakeem is a deeply talented member of the New York Assembly (the New York Observer called him “the Barack of Brooklyn”) who has the potential to be a solid education reform vote in Washington. He’s considering mounting a challenge for a Brooklyn congressional seat but he’ll need to show a strong fundraising filing in order to make that decision.
The group lists Jeffries on its ActBlue fundraising page, but notes that would-be donors are unable to give to him through the site, and sends them instead to his exploratory committee page.
ActBlue is a webservice that connects donors with Democratic candidates across the country and has been instrumental in helping Democrats win legislative seats in deeply Republican areas.
Jeffries advocacy on behalf of charter schools however has gotten him into hot water with anti-charter advocates. The NYC Parents Union accuse him of flip-flopping on the issue of co-locations for the purpose of raising campaign funds.