I agree with much of this but the main example of Whitney Tilson’s loss in the NYC Mayor race does not really support her case. Andrew Cuomo, our former governor, who came in second is as fanatical a charter school supporter as Tilson, and as Governor advocated for repeated expansion of number of charters and pushed through one of the most onerous charter laws in the country - that NYC must give space to all new and expanding charters in public school buildings or must subsidize their rent in private buildings. While Cuomo came in second, that was not a result of his dreadful positions on charters, but his terrible record & baggage he carried on many other issues and the fact that he ran a lousy campaign. The charter lobby backed him as a far better bet to win than Tilson, who was a total unknown, and they still have not given up.
Good point about Cuomo. If I remember right, during the pandemic he asked out loud why New York City had so many school buildings when it would be better (cheaper?) to do virtual schooling. He said he planned to team up with Bill Gates to establish online learning. That was the day I stopped listening to his daily coronavirus updates. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing all along.
This is outstanding. I don’t think Tilson is all that worried, though. He’s marketing directly to customers now and should have even more cash to advocate with.
Jennifer, you always give me hope and often a smile on my face reading your articles. I voted for Obama twice, but I couldn’t forgive him for taking Arne Duncan from Chicago to Washington as Secretary of Education. Here in Colorado we continue to play whack-a-mole against voucher bills that a MAGA-like Republican Party is hell-bent on passing. I miss education in my former state of Illinois.
I agree with much of this but the main example of Whitney Tilson’s loss in the NYC Mayor race does not really support her case. Andrew Cuomo, our former governor, who came in second is as fanatical a charter school supporter as Tilson, and as Governor advocated for repeated expansion of number of charters and pushed through one of the most onerous charter laws in the country - that NYC must give space to all new and expanding charters in public school buildings or must subsidize their rent in private buildings. While Cuomo came in second, that was not a result of his dreadful positions on charters, but his terrible record & baggage he carried on many other issues and the fact that he ran a lousy campaign. The charter lobby backed him as a far better bet to win than Tilson, who was a total unknown, and they still have not given up.
Good point about Cuomo. If I remember right, during the pandemic he asked out loud why New York City had so many school buildings when it would be better (cheaper?) to do virtual schooling. He said he planned to team up with Bill Gates to establish online learning. That was the day I stopped listening to his daily coronavirus updates. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing all along.
This is outstanding. I don’t think Tilson is all that worried, though. He’s marketing directly to customers now and should have even more cash to advocate with.
Jennifer, you always give me hope and often a smile on my face reading your articles. I voted for Obama twice, but I couldn’t forgive him for taking Arne Duncan from Chicago to Washington as Secretary of Education. Here in Colorado we continue to play whack-a-mole against voucher bills that a MAGA-like Republican Party is hell-bent on passing. I miss education in my former state of Illinois.
Thanks Rick!