Dr. Ralph Northam, Lt. Governor of Virginia, won the Democratic Party runoff for Governor, beating Tom Perrielo. Northam was the favorite of leaders of the state and local Democratic Party. Perrielo was endorsed by Senators Sanders and Warren.
Education, for once, was a big issue in the race. Both candidates claimed to be opposed to vouchers and charter schools. Perrielo, however, was unable to overcome his past connections with corporate reformers at the Center for American Progress, Jared Polis, and Arne Duncan.
The lesson for Democrats: supporters of school choice are not progressives. Education voters in the Democratic Party back public schools!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I just hope Perrielo backers will get over this loss and turn out for Northam in the next round. A Republican governor is disastrous for any state, because it starts the whole privatization/gerrymandering/voter-suppression ball rolling.
LikeLike
You are funny. I live in New York where we have had Democrats controlling the governor’s mansion for a very long time; where Democrats have run the State Assembly since January 1975 and where eight Democrats have joined the GOP to form a governing Senate coalition. All of these Democrats have voted to allow hundreds of charter schools, changed the tenure and evaluation laws, instituted a new pension system that costs teachers more, requires them to work to 63 to get a full pension and reduces the value of the pension. These same Democrats voted for laws and budgets that allocate more public funds and facilities to the charters.
So as you can see, the Democrats are no better at all than the Republicans.
LikeLike
Is Andrew Cuomo a Democrat?
How can you tell?
Is it written on a tag somewhere?
LikeLike
A national conservative newspaper columnist recommended Andrew Cuomo as the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
LikeLike
SomeDAM Poet,
It’s written on the memo line of his campaign checks.
LikeLike
Fed up Teacher, I’m aware Cuomo is horrible on education-related privatization, as are many Democrats, and I feel for you. But is Cuomo privatizing everything else in the state? A Republican governor will.
And as long as a Republican governor can’t get a foot in the door and start the gerrymandering and voter suppression, there’s a chance of getting rid of Cuomo for a better Democrat.
(God help us if Andrew Cuomo or Rahm Emanuel or Cory Booker becomes the Democratic nominee for president, because Dems won’t get a single teacher vote. These guys just don’t understand the damage they do.)
LikeLike
Congratulations to Northam, a good man; I will be campaigning for him.
What is your evidence that education, and Perriello’s past associations, swayed voters? The article you link to doesn’t mention education. Northam had more local support, Perriello more national. Northam also apparently had millions more dollars for ads.
LikeLike
Certainly the debate on this blog focused on which candidate was likelier to oppose charters. Perriello tried to disassociate himself from the charter narrative. This is the first major race for governor or senator where both Democratic candidates campaigned against charters. Maybe parents and teachers are waking up and ready to fight against insidious privatization. I pray for the day when all Democratic and Republican candidates are asked in public debates whether they pledge to stand strong against privatization of our public schools.
LikeLike
I pray for the day when no Democratic politician can get away with referring to contractor schools as “public charter schools”. I pray for the day when stink tanks like Urban Institute, PEI, AEI, CAP, New America, Fordham etc. and influence peddling firms linked to politicians are forced into extinction and, their employees raise themselves to jobs that contribute to GDP. My prayers require an end to the concentrated wealth of anti-democracy tyrants like the Koch’s and Bill and Melinda Gates.
LikeLike
I long for the day we can put campaign spending limits on candidates to level the playing field. No more buying elections with billionaires running because they are the only people that can afford to run.
LikeLike
Since the term “mercenary,” as in Academi (formerly Blackwater, operated by De Vos’ bother, Eric Prince)), private military force has been replaced by the euphemism “contractor,” Perhaps instead of calling charters “contractor schools,” we should call them “mercenary schools.”
The term is fitting for many of them.
LikeLike
That day isn’t happening with Jill Vogel, the nominee for Lt. Governor. From her website:
Q Create Education Opportunities: Vogel has supported school choice legislation, charter schools, and education savings accounts to give parents more control and choice over the education of their children. END Q
LikeLike
Military contractors employ mercenaries. Education contractors employ mercenaries, some of whom are TFA.
LikeLike
A big win for public education tonight in Virginia! Thank you, Diane, for helping to bring light to ed issues in the race! My friends and I attended townhalls and other events by both candidates and made sure we sat in front & asked questions about education.
Dr. Northam is a breath of fresh air. He promised me that he would read the two books I gave to him at an education towmhall. You’ll be happy to hear these two books are Finnish Lessons and Taught by Finland. 🙂
LikeLike
Betsy DeVos told charter school supporters not to become “the man”
Perhaps she could expand on that to the general public. What’s the implication here? People who work in public schools are “the man”?
This is the US Secretary of Education. This is how she talks about the public schools 90% of kids in the country attend.
Great leadership, there, Betsy. Why don’t you go out and tell public school kids their teachers and principals are their enemies.
Anything for The Cause! Have to break some eggs to make a privatization omelet! If those eggs are public school students, well, who cares? They’re all failing anyway.
LikeLike
Thanks for the laugh! “The man” is the wealthiest 0.1% who own the politicians, who have made the government the servants of America’s 400 wealthiest families.
LikeLike
In other news, none of the 4000 + public employees at the US Department of Education can find a single public school to celebrate:
“Ask anyone in America what they would expect to see when walking through an American high school, and the last thing they’d probably say is a group of students building a house! Yet that’s exactly what goes on each and every day at the Academy of Construction and Design (ACAD), located at the Integrated Design & Electronics Academy (IDEA) Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.
Late last month, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor were privileged to visit this school. During the visit, several high level officials had the opportunity to see this innovative high school apprenticeship program in action.”
The exclusive focus on charters and vouchers continues. If they want to be political activists and eradicate public schools, the least they could do is get off the public payroll while they’re doing it. I resent paying for this political campaign. If they don’t want to do anything for the kids in public schools they should find honest work- I bet Reed Hastings is hiring.
LikeLike
“Not a single public school to celebrate” … At the Gates-funded Hechinger’s Report (self-described as “independent news”) they recently glorified a contractor school. The contrast between the beatification of the mercenary school and their description of a public school would have been at home in a fairy tale. That mercenary school went to court to get more taxes. The $9,137 per pupil amount they received as contrasted with the public school’s $5,300 per pupil was insufficient. Riches for the short-lived contractor industry (before Gates’ for-profits replace public education) and rags for the common goods.
LikeLike
Perhaps Ms. DeVos will attend the opening of this public high school in Loudoun County, Virginia, just west of D.C. in Fall 2018.
Great things are happening in Virginia’s public schools. And thanks to Ralph Northam’s big win last night, local communities throughout the Old Dominion will continue our good work.
LikeLike
http://loudounnow.com/2016/06/17/a-long-time-coming-groundbreaking-ceremony-celebrates-the-future-academies-of-loudoun/
Here’s the link to my above comment!
LikeLike
“Thanks to Ralph Northam’s big win last night, local communities throughout the Old Dominion will continue our good work.” Huh? This was a primary, in which both Democrats ran on opposition to the expansion of charters or contract schooling. And Gillespie, the Republican nominee is on the record as a supporter of charter schools. https://edforvirginia.com/2017/05/11/race-left-perriello-northam-oppose-public-charter-schools/
The challenge to those supporting public education is to defeat Gillespie and elect the Democrat.
LikeLike
William,
Absolutely right. Virginians who like their public schools and like democratic control must join to support Northam and prevent Virginia from falling into the red hands of the Trump party.
LikeLike
Virginia has kept a reasoned approach to charters, and they have kept out the grifters. They have not fallen for the hype and spin.
LikeLike
Very true, retired teacher. Our group of education activists in Prince William County, Virginia, worked hard to GOTV for Dr. Northam so we may continue our tradition of keeping out the grifters.
Now we turn our attention to defeating Ed Gillespie. Betsy DeVos has already donated $80K to his campaign. The Koch Brothers recently opened an office in PWC. They’ve already started sending out school choice mailers on behalf of Republucan candidates. Talk about grifters.
We will need all-hands on deck.
LikeLike
I live in VA, and vote in VA. Yesterday’s election was not a runoff, it was a gubernatorial primary. see
http://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2017%20June%20Republican%20Primary/Site/Statewide.html
I voted for Jill Vogel, who is a staunch supporter of school choice, and the only candidate with an A+ rating from the NRA.
LikeLike
Charles, I see that Trump acolyte Stewart, who lost narrowly to Gillespie, said ““There is one word you will never hear from me, and that’s ‘unity.’ We’ve been backing down too long. We’ve been backing down too long in defense of our culture, and our heritage and our country.”
That’s music to the ears of us Democrats, who are united. Keep being enraged, too angry with “establishment” Republicans to vote for Gillespie!
Is Vogel a Trump follower, or more like Gillespie?
LikeLike
You should check out Ms. Vogel’s website and find out. I would guess that Ms. Vogel is supportive of many of the President’s policy initiatives.
LikeLike