With mayoral hopefuls mum, other politicians shun Students First ...

Most of the 2013 mayoral contenders are still keeping an arm?s length from a union-backed campaign to tie StudentsFirstNY?s agenda to Mitt Romney?s presidential campaign. But that hasn?t stopped a slew of other political hopefuls from throwing their support behind the effort.

New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, a coalition of public unions, community-based organizations and liberal advocacy groups, has released a list of 33 elected officials and candidates who have signed on to a pledge to refuse support from StudentsFirstNY, which is seeking to advance the education polices started by the Bloomberg administration. The list includes candidates for Manhattan and Brooklyn Borough President, Public Advocate and a slew of City Council members and state legislators.

Noticeably absent are frontrunners in the one race that New Yorkers for Great Public Schools and StudentsFirstNY hope to influence the most: the 2013 mayoral election. Only one prospective candidate, John Liu, has said he?d reject StudentsFirstNY?s support.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said last week she?d be fine accepting their support, as did long-shot Tom Allon. Former Comptroller Bill Thompson was non-committal in his response and?two other candidates, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, have stayed mum on the subject. Neither has responded to repeated requests for comment since last week.

But plenty of other elected officials and candidates for office were willing to speak out against StudentsFirstNY, according to New Yorkers for Great Public Schools. The statements that accompanied a release sent out this afternoon covered a broad range of education issues.

U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Vasquez called on class-size reduction and an end to rent-free charter school co-locations.?State Senator Liz Krueger said that fairer student funding formulas and greater professional support for teachers were ?common sense? reforms. And Councilman Mark Weprin criticized the StudentsFirstNY?s support of standardized testing, which he called a ?scourge.?

There were also plenty of references to a report last week that showed some board members of StudentsFirstNY were actively working to defeat President Obama through fundraising and personal donations. New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, which published the report, has sought to use this link to argue that StudentsFirstNY?s policies would lead to a privatized education system that would threaten jobs and put bottom-line business interests above all else.?

City Councilman Robert Jackson, a candidate for Manhattan Borough President, said the connections were ?alarming and disturbing.? State Senator Eric Adams, a candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, called StudentsFirstNY an ?ALEC-like?organization?, referring to a national group of?politicians, businesses and think-tanks that write and push for conservative legislation.

Glen Weiner, deputy director of StudentsFirstNY, said in a statement that it wasn?t surprising to see some that some elected officials were coming out in support of New Yorkers for Great Public Schools.

?A press release stating the teachers union can buy off or bully a couple of dozen politicians who think the current education system is just fine is hardly news,? Weiner said. ?In fact, it?s one of the reasons StudentsFirstNY was formed.?

Below is a list of the 33 elected officials and candidates who said they have agreed to refuse funding from StudentsFirstNY:

Senator Eric Adams, Candidate for Brooklyn Borough President

Assemblyman Jeff Aubry

City Council Member Charles Barron

Assemblywoman Inez Barron

Assemblyman Michael Benedetto

Assemblyman William Colton

City Council Member Leroy Comrie, Candidate for Queens Borough President

City Council Member Daniel Dromm

City Council Member Julissa Ferraras

Assemblywoman Deborah Glick

Jesus Gonzalez, City Council candidate

Noah Gotbaum, Candidate for Public Advocate

Senator Shirley Huntley

City Council Member Robert Jackson, Candidate for Manhattan Borough President

City Council Member Letitia James, Candidate for Public Advocate

Senator Liz Krueger

City Council Member Brad Lander

City Council Member Stephen Levin

Comptroller John Liu, Candidate for Mayor

Assemblyman Alan Maisel

City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito

Jason Otna?o, Candidate for State Senate

Senator?Kevin Parker

Assemblyman Nick Perry

City Council Member Diana Reyna

Antonio Reynoso, Candidate for City Council

Donovan Richards, Candidate for City Council

Senator Gustavo Rivera

Community Board 7 Member Helen Rosenthal Candidate for NYC Council

City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez

City Council Member Mark Weprin

City Council Member Jumaane Williams

Source: http://gothamschools.org/2012/08/21/with-mayoral-hopefuls-mum-other-politicians-shun-students-first/

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