DFER’s Joe Williams on the NYC Mayor’s Race:
“Bill de Blasio ran one of the most effective political campaigns we have ever seen, tapping into real anxieties New Yorkers have about hot-button issues like ‘stop-and-frisk’ and income inequality. His come-from-behind victory in the Democratic Primary was a repudiation of the outrageous claims that United Federation of Teachers President Mike Mulgrew would ‘make’ or buy the next mayor. Mulgrew spent several million of the UFT’s dollars trying to elect someone else for the job, even claiming that his chosen candidate had promised $3 billion for teacher raises. (The candidate claimed no such pledge.) This is an important moment for the Democratic Party in New York City, where Democrats and not union bosses elect their leaders. The reality is that many, many teachers and parents that we know pulled the lever for de Blasio, reminding us once again that in addition to losing its grip on the Democratic Party, the UFT has also lost the confidence of its rank-and-file and made itself irrelevant in the ongoing public education discussion in Gotham.”
Hon. Craig M. Johnson, Chairman, DFER-NY also weighs in:
“Congratulations to my friend Bill de Blasio on his strong showing in the Democratic Primary for mayor. Having worked alongside the Public Advocate both in government and politics going back several years, I know that he will take his strong commitment to New York’s school children with him to City Hall. As a parent, he understands what all moms and dad want for their kids, and schools in the city should benefit from that perspective.”