Attention Republican Climbers! You too can run for office even when there is a logjam of more senior Republicans in front of you. How? Easy, become a charter school opponent!
For instance, back when Democratic NYC Councilwoman and longtime public education supporter Eva Moskowitz was first running for office, the teachers’ union in NYC endorsed her opponent, a Republican, former Gulliani fundraiser, and voucher supporter who jettisoned vouchers and opposed charter schools to get the endorsement. Moskowitz was and is a charter supporter. She won anyway and in the process caught national attention from papers like the Wall Street Journal because of the shenanigans.
Now, in Washington State, which is turning out to be a real charter battleground, the state teachers’ union, the Washington Education Association (WEA), is endorsing a former Republican recently turned anti-charter Democrat over a Democratic 33 year public educator who happens to be a charter supporter…
According to The Columbian, the “new” Democrat, “seemed to have a better understanding of what our issues are, what our goals are,” Lynn Davidson, a Battle Ground teacher and member of the WEA’s political action committee, said Wednesday. Indeed!
Incidentally, real Democrats support public charter schools because real Democrats put kids before adults. And, if doing the right thing doesn’t sway you, smart Democrats also head off obvious wedge issues rather than aid and abet their political adversaries…