According to the first filing of spending in the Newark race for Mayor, the hedge fund managers’ group Education Reform Now has given $850,000 to Shavar Jeffries, a charter school supporter.
Jeffries’ spending is about triple the spending of his chief opponent Ras Baraka, and the gap is expected to grow given the deep pockets of Jeffries’ supporters on Wall Street.
The Network for Public Education has endorsed Ras Baraka for mayor, in light of his opposition to closing public schools. He is a high school principal and a member of the City Council of Newark.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I am working on a doctoral research project inspired by Diane’s book, Death and Life of the Great American School System (2011). If the public school system–as many of us knew it, at least–is dead or near death, it would stand to reason that public school teachers who remember the system as it was prior to No Child Left Behind (2002) have experienced loss and grief. If you remember what it was like to teach prior to No Child Left Behind, if you feel as if teaching completely changed when No Child Left Behind was implemented, or if you ever felt saddened by some of the changes that resulted from educational reform, then you may be interested in taking my survey.
Professional Loss and Grief in Teachers (a survey)
https://ndstate.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5nCLnPAFadWZX93
Please advise the people working hard In Newark to elect a new mayor—one who does not believe in the privatization of public schools or allowing corporations to control education, to keep the faith and don’t give up. Keep working hard and get out and talk to as many voters as possible.
You’re ahead in this race. That’s why there has been this sudden and large influx of Wall Street money into this race; Their candidate, the lackey of hedge fund operators and billionaires is LOSING! and the other side is Panicked!
You have to remind the voters your opponent has all of this money because he is in the pocket of the people who want to take possession of your schools, make money from them, and then throws you whatever crumbs remain from the table.
It is sick and it is outrageous. But if you work hard you will win because truth always triumphs over money; But only if you work your butts off!
Big money was beaten by the people in Bridgeport Connecticut, Indiana, Florida, Idaho, and in Washington State they ended up in a Statistical Tie, even though big money out spent the opposition by at least 17 To 1—will be about 38 to 1 when you consider all of the free help they got from at least 7 Anti Education groups in the state.
If this doesn’t illustrate the corporate takeover of public education, I don’t know what will. Charter Schools, Common Core – it’s all the same thing. When a hedge fund group pays almost a million dollars, it’s because they expect to get back 10 fold.
As far as I can tell, this is still the last actual poll that has been published:
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/04/newark_mayoral_race_poll_puts_baraka_way_ahead.html
The April 2 poll was conducted by Benenson Strategy Group (which polled for President Obama and U.S. Senator Cory Booker) and commissioned by the Working Families Organization.
Baraka registered a 51 percent to 28 percent lead over Jeffries. Now, lets reason together about this. Rolling in money as they are, Jeffries backers can commission all the polls they want. Why haven’t we heard of any, do you think?
Instead, we’ve got triumphalist headlines about all the money they’ve raised compared to Baraka. Money doesn’t vote, but the hired political operatives swarming Newark don’t have to give it back to the hedgefunders after Jeffries loses.