Ras Baraka Elected Mayor in Newark

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1. Ellen Lubic says:

   May 13, 2014 at 11:03 pm

   Hooray…one down..lots more to go.

   Diane…hope this cheers you, and that the pain is subsiding…and that you are walking around at home.

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2. AlwaysLearning says:

   May 13, 2014 at 11:18 pm

   YES, more voices to advocate for the best interests of our children.

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3. Old Teacher says:

   May 13, 2014 at 11:22 pm

   Organize and vote! All politics begins as local politics.

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4. Steve Light says:

   May 13, 2014 at 11:45 pm

   Being that the Democrats support the profit system, which regulates the Democrats rather than the other way around, Baraka only becomes one more politician who rations the education system for the working class (witness Obama, Cuomo, and now de Blasio’s contracts). Now Karen Lewis has offered to negotiate cuts in teachers pensions (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/05/13/ctup-m13.html). That is why Ravitch’ s politics work against her fight on education. Workers need to unite in an independent struggle for socialism.

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5. Michael Paul Goldenberg says:

   May 13, 2014 at 11:51 pm

   After Obama, it’s hard to trust politicians. I’ll believe this is a people’s victory when I see how he runs the city. If Christie was against him, that’s some reason to be happy, though.

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6. Betty says:

   May 14, 2014 at 1:19 am

   You are in my prayers every day

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7. Betty says:

   May 14, 2014 at 1:19 am

   Kathy keeps me posted

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8. Harold says:

   May 14, 2014 at 2:12 am

   The New Yorker article is not complementary to Ras Bakara. He is a stealth “reformer”, according to them.

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   • Cosmic Tinker says:

     May 14, 2014 at 5:14 am

     “Stealth” ‘reformer’ is right. Thanks for sharing that info. Things do not look nearly as good for the schools in Newark as Baraka has led people to believe.

     “In private, Baraka supported many of the reformers’ critiques of the status quo, including revoking tenure for teachers with the lowest evaluations. Although he publicly embraced the unions’ positions, he told me he opposed paying teachers based on seniority and degrees, as Newark did under its union contract. “We should make a base pay, and the only way to go up is based on student performance,” he said.”

     http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/05/19/140519fa_fact_russakoff?currentPage=all

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   • Chiara Duggan says:

     May 14, 2014 at 8:02 am

     I love how the article just breezes by this:

     “And charter schools, given their rapid expansion, need to serve all students equally. ”

     That’s been a hotly contested issue for years. There’s not going to be any admission that charter schools weren’t serving all students equally? We’re just moving right to plans to distribute students among schools?

     I mean, come on. In a real debate this would be a huge concession. “Choice” and “market forces” ended up with inequitable distribution, where public schools were getting slammed for taking ALL kids. That’s grossly unfair and dishonest.

     There should be an admission that the schools are serving two different populations, because that’s been the claim of public school advocates for years, and they were apparently right.

     It makes much of the media coverage of the last decade suspect, because media were going on the assumption they were comparing apples to apples. If they weren’t, they should admit that and correct the record rather than just casually announcing that the whole premise of the “choice” movement was on shaky ground.

     If the schools aren’t serving the same population then we need to re-evaluate comparing public schools and charter schools, because it’s not a fair and honest comparison. Lawmakers need to stop doing it. It’s misleading.

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     • Harold says:

       May 14, 2014 at 9:04 am

       He is an operator who is eyeing those charter school millions, it seems.

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     • Harold says:

       May 14, 2014 at 9:05 am

       Unless the author has her own pro-charter agenda, and it almost seems she does. She is too kind to them by half.

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   • Michael Fiorillo says:

     May 14, 2014 at 9:16 am

     The author of the New Yorker article was obviously taken in by the self-serving lies of Cami Anderson, who clearly was a source for the piece. Anderson preposterously claims that she did not accept the Newark Superintendent’s job in order to dismantle the public schools, which is precisely what she is trying to do. Her lies, which her actions make clear to all, went unquestioned and were reported at face value.

     It’s also interesting that, while the author did not contest Anderson’s transparent lies, she felt the need to distance herself from Christie, Booker and Zuckerberg by uttering them. Her stating that she didn’t take the Superintendent’s job to dismantle the Newark public schools implies that precisely that was the intention of those who hired her.

     While there is much useful reporting in the article, the author was clearly played by some of his sources. Perhaps, sensing that he was talking to yet another ill-informed journalist, Baraka was doing likewise, and trying to send a message to the so-called reformers that he was not to be feared.

     Hopefully, Baraka was playing them, as the so-called reformers have been playing the public for years now. Otherwise, public school supporters are just looking at another political chameleon.

     However, if nothing else, this election was good news in that it symbolizes a repudiation of the loathsome Cory Booker.

     No matter the new Mayor’s intentions, which will be revealed soon enough, Newark teachers, students and parents need to mobilize, either to support his efforts to fight the edu-privateers, or fight his betrayal.

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     • Chi-Town Res says:

       May 14, 2014 at 9:50 am

       Corey Booker was bankrolled by the right-wing Bradley Foundation. See the Corporate Assault on Public Education:

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     • Michael Fiorillo says:

       May 14, 2014 at 12:30 pm

       Exactly: Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report was one of the first journalists to see through and expose Booker’s superficially insipid, but fundamentally vicious, deceptiveness.

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     • Harold says:

       May 14, 2014 at 2:37 pm

       Dale Rusakoff is female and a mother and has reported for the NYT and Wa Po, both financially invested in “reform” (I don’t know what else to call this Enron-like phenomenon, remember their disastrous failed attempts to privatize the water in India and South America with the eager assistance of our CIA). She had a blog in the NYT called “The New Old Age.”

       However, I repeat, she is far too kind to the “reformers”. Maybe that makes her takedown more devastating. On the other hand, the press seems to be spinning this as Zuckerberg being swindled by the corrupt politicians and teachers’ unions not the by “consultants” who actually helped themselves to the loot.

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9. artseagal says:

   May 14, 2014 at 6:17 am

   I hold out hope that the “ed reform” movement failed to consider that parents are getting sick of seeing their children come home from school … HATING SCHOOL… GETTING SICK FROM SCHOOL… HATING PSEUDO MANDATED “LEARNING”… It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that the pot is beginning to boil over. “Ed reformers” can spin PR all they want but eventually reality will take hold. More and more elections are being won because those elected claim NOT to be “ed reformers”… that says something. The people of Newark now have to make sure that this elected official speaks for the people.

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10. Gregory Allen says:

    May 14, 2014 at 6:19 am

    There will be a breath of fresh air in the City of Newark not only for it’s residents but for the. Business Community. No more back room deals. Newark will once again less urban New Jersey with educational, social, and business ignitiatives that are proactive and not self serving.

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11. Roberta Reid says:

    May 14, 2014 at 6:41 am

    To Newark Mayor-Elect Ras Baraka,
    A hearty and vociferous CONGRATULATIONS!!! 😄😄😄 From the Bronx, NYC, NY.
    Next Steps: Pull Away from #OneNewark Plan & Take Back Our Schools To Truly Educate Newark Students!!!
    Mr. Baraka, Well Done & Kudos!!!

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12. Mark says:

    May 14, 2014 at 7:27 am

    Congratulations Mayor Baraka!

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13. Ellen T Klock says:

    May 14, 2014 at 8:42 am

    Sometimes the people make the right choice. Hurray!

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14. patriciahale says:

    May 14, 2014 at 8:54 am

    Congrats to Mayor Baraka. Hope you can dump “One Newark” and Cami Anderson, and I hope my father’s and my Alma Mater, Bragaw Avenue School will survive and thrive again.

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15. Donna says:

    May 14, 2014 at 9:05 am

    All I can write is that Jeffries was backed by the wealthy reformers, and Baraka was not. How far Baraka will bend to “work with” the reformers remains to be seen, however, he is not a fan of Cami or Chris Christie. I think his election WILL act as a shake up to the One Newark plan, and perhaps stop more of the TFA influx. Sadly, there is a plan for TFA teachers’ village and I wonder if or how that can be stopped. It really is eye-opening when you follow the money and discover who the players are. I do believe Baraka is a victory for Newark Schools, but we’ll see. Jeffries would have bent over and accepted everything his financial backers put forth.

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16. Cosmic Tinker says:

    May 14, 2014 at 9:06 am

    People are not reading important comments above.

    BARAKA IS A “STEALTH REFORMER.”

    Baraka kept his real opinions about education “reform” under his belt, but he shared them with a reporter at the New Yorker. It’s not pretty. Read the article:

    http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/05/19/140519fa_fact_russakoff?currentPage=all

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17. cary444 (@cary444) says:

    May 14, 2014 at 10:23 am

    And so shines a good deed in a weary world. This is a great sign that the ship hasn’t really even left the dock!

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18. ira shor says:

    May 14, 2014 at 11:18 am

    Some liberal and progressive Democrats occupy the margins of a Dem Party controlled by Wall St and its power-brokers like Booker, Norcross, DiVincenzo, former NYC Speaker Chris Quinn, Pres. O, Sec’y D, etc. Sometimes, the residual liberals and progressives at the margins win a vote, like DeBlasio in NYC or Sen. Warren in MA. While Sen. W is still campaigning for liberal issues, DeBlasio quickly surrendered to the privatizers and Wall St moneymen on charters, put up no fight at all for the million public school kids in his city, etc. Baraka may do the same in Newark. Not yet clear what he will pursue with militance, if he intends to wage war on state takeover, etc. What Michael Fiorillo said above is the right advice and caution–all committed to progressive change in Newark(and New York)have to immediately organize themselves as an autonomous pressure force to keep their new mayors’ feet to the fire. Voting is good; filling the streets with protests is even better.

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    • Bob Shepherd says:

      May 14, 2014 at 12:37 pm

      Voting is good; filling the streets with protests is even better.

      yes

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    • Michael Fiorillo says:

      May 14, 2014 at 3:18 pm

      In keeping with the need for bodies in the street to stop the hostile takeover of the public schools, there will be a demonstration this Saturday in NYC’s City Hall Park to Save Our Schools.

      A message from Diane will be read, and there will be many speakers representing the movement to save public education.

      http://www.saveourschools.org

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