NYC Mayor Bloomberg just dropped $350,000 into the campaign to beat Monica Ratliff in a runoff for the LA school board.
A few weeks ago, Bloomberg gave $1million to the coalition of billionaires, who assembled a $4 million war chest, mostly to defeat Steve Zimmer.
Bloomberg’s million was enhanced by fat gifts from Rupert Murdoch, Michelle Rhee, Eli Broad, and the Hollywood elite.
And they lost!
Steve Zimmer won by a proportion of 52-48. He beat the billionaires and moguls!
Can Monica Ratliff beat the billionaires?
Can Michael Bloomberg buy a seat on the LA school board?
He already owns the NYC board. Why does he want to own one 3,000 miles away?
Stay tuned.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Some of us earn our friends the old fashioned way. Bloomturd buys his.
May his stained, tainted payola be the kiss of death.
Many of us here in the San Fernando Valley (and other parts of Los Angeles) are working hard to get Monica Ratliff elected – here’s 350,000 new reasons to keep up the energy…
Agree that we must all stay active in getting Monica elected. She is endorsed not only by UTLA but by local politicians from the Right and Left. She is the only teacher running for School Board and has many credible endorsements of prominent educators as well as community members.
However, the Rhee/Broad/Bloomberg machine has vast amounts of money pouring in from their Kill American Public Education clones, so if folks want to help and send a donation to Monica’s campaign, it can be googled.
Diane…do you think she is related to Mrs. Ratcliff from your great book?
It’s chump change to Bloomberg. Worth $27B, his spending a total of $1.35M in LA (so far) is the same as $3.87 to the median US family (net worth $77,300).
Are we getting close to pitchfork time yet?
Michael Bloomberg is grotesque, a villain we all love to despise, a hideous beast who will always thrash his tail and puff out his fire through his nostrils even after the dragon slayer’s sword.
The bad karma that man is accumulating . . . .
But we are still a democracy, and voters will always outnumber plutocrats.
One can never own enough school boards, can one?
One can never have enough opprobrium for Bloomberg either . . . He is a cross between a snake, a frog, and a lizard.
A cold blooded reptile, a fork tongued slithering slimy creature from the netherworld, a human cadaver about as cuddly as Cerberus, about as warm as dry ice, about as approachable and snuggly as roadkill, and about as embraceable as a cactus.
You’re a mean one, Mr. Bloomberg.
A villainthropist of the first order!
You’re one liner was superior to my several!
Zimmer did not win because of UTLA. They did not have the 52.1%. It was because for a “Higher Purpose” that Jeneen Robinson asked her 8,000 supporters to back Zimmer and to not vote for the real devil in this race Kate Anderson. Where did you get the latest figure of donations to Sanchez. It is not on the ethics commission. I just looked. I know this is David against Goliath. I want to know where the numbers on contributions came from. I am not doubting it but Howard Blume in his latest piece on this race says not so. I don’t trust Blume I just want to know where you got the numbers which I expected to see and have not so far. I cannot believe that they would put that much into just his race previous to this and then not fully fund this one for all the cookies. Always show the source if you want credibility especially for those who know.
I agree about Blume…worried about his objectivity…or not.
The vast difference in donations seems extreme, but hope we all kick in for Monica beyond union donation.
Some Latino teacher/colleagues are concerned that with the Spanish surname of her opponent, the ethnic community is being plastered with misinformation urging all to vote for Sanchez. In reality it is Ratliff who has been a consistent supporter of Spanish Language learners and Dream legislation (touching article in today’s LA Times about a student who benefited). Her record is far better and consistent.
Awful to have to comment on this kind of petty electioneering. But Rhee et all will pull out all stops to beat her.
I fully support Ratliff. She is a lawyer with a civil rights background before becoming a teacher. She is a for real successful teacher. She is personable and can also talk with republicans which is very important. We need honesty and smarts. If all of you believe in changing the dynamics of the largest school district in the U.S. still run by a real board of education help us elect Monica Ratliff against Goliath represented and backed by the corporate privatizer ruiners of public education. Just put in her name and you will find the website and email.
I just put my money where my mouth is and made a donation to Monica. If even Mike Antonavitch supports her, she is amazing. As we locals know, Mike, an LA Supervisor, generally tilts deeply Right. And she is also supported by the very sharp School Board member emeritus, Jackie Goldberg, who balances the tilt board leaning to the Left.
A great sign when both sides agree on one candidate.
George is right as usual…and not only is Monica half Hispanic, teaching now in a challenging socio-economic area, but she went to Columbia undergrad, and Columbia Law School, and she left the civil rights practice of law in order to teach elementary school. She is a woman of great intelligence and principle and I hope everyone both supports her with a donation, but more far-reaching, let’s all communities know about this lop-sided school board election.
These rich privatizing corporatists must not win.
Off the soapbox for the moment.
Wow! I really think this is all about crushing unions and eliminating teacher pensions/benefits as well as making money off of Corporate Corp National Standards. Not to mention gaining political control by shaping young minds to think only one way: their way but are pensions and bennies really worth that much?????
That’s because this is the new age of oligarchy, the new destruction of the middle class, the new movement to shape and control people’s thinking, lest they rise up and rebel. . . . .
We are living in very sinister times.
No doubt with the best of intentions …
Maybe this whole thing is going to implode on itself. I just read an article that a Federal Judge orders the suit against Michelle Rhee is going forward and it is going to include concealment and fraud claims.
Can you post the link?
http://www.dailynews.com/education/ci_23096654/new-york-mayor-michael-bloomberg-donates-another-350
I’m sorry, here is the link to the article.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10586920.htm
28 years as an instrumental teacher, and fired for not being a vocal teacher? Rhee should pay triple damages for this and every unjust firing. Her capricious treatment of people’s careers was beyond the pale.
This election is misleading. Sanchez was supported by UTLA, COunty Fed and SEIU WAY before Bloomberg, the mayor, Broad and Co got involved. When their hand-picked candidate (Zuniga) dropped out, they were left with choosing two teachers or an outsider. My Grandmother (may she rest in peace) could have run against two teachers and Bloomberg and friends would have supported her.
Sanchez is a good man–and everyone would have been fine with him before this group decided to support him after the fact.
The La teacher’s union is sitting on the fence possibly because of an alleged deal with her opponent:
La Times:
“According to people with knowledge of the matter, union vice president Gregg Solkovits had an alleged understanding with Sanchez allowing the union to choose Sanchez’s chief of staff if he wins. Sanchez and Solkovits deny any such arrangement.”
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-votes-mayor-campaign-ads-school-board-money-record-20130425,0,4201543.story