Politico reports that the DeVos family is funding the campaign of the Republican candidate for Governor in Virginia.
TEACHERS UNIONS TARGET GILLESPIE IN VA GOVERNOR’S RACE: Teachers unions are stepping up their opposition to Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie – and they’re using an emerging tactic on the left: linking him to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. National and local union leaders said on Tuesday that they would be mobilizing against Gillespie by highlighting his ties to DeVos, as they back his Democratic opponent Ralph Northam. Gillespie has accepted more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from the DeVos family. “Ed Gillespie can dress it up in any which way he wishes to, but the bottom line is he is a clone of Betsy DeVos. The agenda that Gillespie is pushing for is an agenda that hurts kids,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
– Gillespie campaign spokesman David Abrams told Morning Education: “Ed appreciates his support from members of the DeVos family, and is laser-focused on policies that ensure every child in Virginia has access to a high quality, safe and student-focused education. National teachers unions oppose innovative reforms that empower parents like Ed’s plan does, and want a governor who will maintain the education status quo like Lt. Governor Northam would.”
It is startling to see a member of the Cabinet spending money freely on state political campaigns.
Is DeVos violating the Hatch Act?
It was clear that her nomination for Secretary of Education was approved by Republicans who had received large donations from her and her family. But will she now hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars to determine races for governor, for Congress, for state and local school boards, even as she serves as Secretary of Education?
In another era (like a year ago), this behavior would have been roundly condemned as unseemly and inappropriate. In the Trump era, anything goes.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Don’t forget that Ed Gillepsie has a secret weapon. All the so-called Bernie loving “progressives” that are mad that the pro-DFER candidate that Bernie Sanders endorsed didn’t win the primary. No doubt they believe it was a fix and Ralph Northam is a tool of the same nasty pro-business Democrats that supported Governor Terry McAuluffe.
After all, it doesn’t matter how much McAuluffe and his predecessor Tim Kaine supported public schools. Progressives despise them for being too pro-business and tools of billionaires. (I know that doesn’t make sense but there it is!)
You will soon see the same kind of nasty attacks from the left on Northam as you are starting to see on Bill de Blasio. After all, the right wing hates that those nasty Democrats haven’t opened enough charters so it is time to get the progressives to do their dirty work and start attacking the Democrat for not being progressive ENOUGH. Like the DFER and “pro public charter” school candidates who can do no wrong in their eyes.
We all have to decide what is most important to us. To me, it is REAL support for public schools as demonstrated by actions and not words. To others, it is attacking pro-pubic school Democrats who just aren’t progressive enough for their liking because public education isn’t really their primary concern. Getting rid of “complicit” Democrats no matter how much they support public education is. And the right wing loves it.
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^^I apologize for going off-subject.
You are right this seems like a violation of the Hatch Act but we seem to live in a Democracy where any violation that helps defeat a Democrat is perfectly fine.
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Republicans know how to target, and they attack with laser focus. They may snatch another governorship while the Democrats are fighting among themselves. The Dems need to clearly have a message worth fighting for like public education. but they continue to try to have it both ways, Wall St. cash and working folks’ votes. It didn’t work for them last November. The working people no longer trust Democrats that try to have it both ways.
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NYC public school parent: To his credit, the pro-DFER primary candidate, Tom Perriello, quickly endorsed Northam and has been actively campaigning for him and Democratic House of Delegates candidates to prevent exactly what you describe. Nothing is being left to chance in this election.
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Looks like the price of a cabinet post just gets higher every day.
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We are now in an age of corruption in politics and public life that exceeds the dirty 1880s. If these people, DeVos and her billionaire buddies, a are doing things like this in an obvious behavior, how much more are they doing behind closed doors?
The Citizen’s United ruling has loosed a torrent of money into politics that used to carry a legal risk. While this may be a problem in education, think how much more problematic it must be in other sectors of the government. Is money behind the rise of the Nazi right wing in American political discourse(using a term loosely)? What sort of money allows the wide range of environmental depredations we see across the country?
We will probably come to see the court case mentioned above not as a cause for rising corruption but as a symptom of a governmental elite mired in absolute corruption so deep that it is not recognized for what it is. This is truly an age of corruption. How can it end?
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Aside from the obvious point, it’s worth noting the dishonesty of Ed Gillespie’s response. As Jersey Jazzman points out regularly, there’s zero evidence that teacher unions hurt innovation or teaching quality. And unions don’t “prevent innovation.” Unions ensure that management and outside influences don’t change working conditions without negotiating the changes. It’s really not complicated.
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As a Virginia resident, I am delighted to see that the Republican candidate is getting additional financial support. The state house of delegates has passed school choice/vouchers in the past, but the Democratic governors keep vetoing the proposed legislation.
A Republican governor, will be more amenable to parental empowerment.
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The people of Virginia will decide.
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I hate to sound cynical, but I predict that less than half of the eligible voters will turn out, for the upcoming gubernatorial election. People are indifferent, and fed up, with the current state of political discourse both nationally, and here in the Commonwealth.
The next governor of Virginia will be elected by 25% plus one of the electorate.
“The opposite of civilization is indifference” – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor.
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Not sure whether you read this or not, Charles. Don’t think it will change your mind, but not everyone benefits:
https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/the-essential-selfishness-of-school-choice/
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I am always open to learning about this subject from all sides. Thanks for the link, I will check it out.
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I have read that article many times, and even commented on it (check the comments around Dec 25-26, 2016. Basically, I destroyed some of the points made in the article.
Of course, parents who choose to opt-out of publicly-operated schools are acting in their self-interest. This is a good thing, and to be encouraged. Since when is it “selfish” to want the best possible education for your child, regardless of the provider of instruction?
For 90% of the parents in this nation, the provider is the publicly-operated school. Whether enrolled there by choice, or by fact of residence, that is where parents send their children.
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“Since when is it “selfish” to want the best possible education for your child, regardless of the provider of instruction?”
“Since” it became obvious that what’s “best” for YOUR child is taking away from the possibilities of a lot of OTHER people’s children.
That’s “when”.
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Q “Since” it became obvious that what’s “best” for YOUR child is taking away from the possibilities of a lot of OTHER people’s children.END Q
I do not follow your reasoning. If a parent opts-out of a publicly-operated school, and gets a voucher equivalent to the amount that would have been spent, how is that taking away the possibilities from other children?
Most publicly-operated schools derive their funding from a formula based on the number of students enrolled in the system. Withdrawing the student, will reduce the amount of money available, proportionately.
The same reduction occurs, when the parents move out of the district or across town, or leave the state.
No child left in the school, that the student departs will be harmed, nor will the amount of money available for the remaining students will be reduced.
Where is the harm?
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If you bothered to READ The Hatch Act you will realize that she has NOT violated the act by simply making a campaign donation. Her family is not subject to the Hatch Act anyway. The Department of Education is not among the government agencies prohibited from partisan politics. Under the act it specifies that she can make campaign donations to anyone she chooses as a Federal employee. She could even make campaign speeches for a candidate if she chose to do so.
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@Linda: Your statements are correct. I am a former federal employee (engineering, not legal!) and a contractor working on federal projects (in the USA and abroad), I have been thoroughly briefed on the Hatch Act.
All federal employees from the cabinet secretary down to the janitor, are required to be informed on the Hatch Act, and are required to follow its provisions.
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Imagine, if you will, that a cabinet secretary in a Democratic administration did this. How long would it take the sycophants on Fox News, and the party for which they propagandize, to start screaming bloody murder?
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The Hoover Institute- “…economic opportunity and prosperity…securing and safeguarding peace…”- no contradiction to government by oligarchs.
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DeVos’ family is bankrolling the Republican candidate for gov. in VA. see
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/devos-match?refcode=20170825-nd&amounts=5,10,20,50,100,250&amount=5
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(From the Northam website)
Charles,
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been trying to slash funding for public schools for decades—and, if states are ready to comply, she’ll finally get her wish.
That’s why her family has invested $100,000 in Ed Gillespie.
Sec. DeVos has been pretty straightforward about her expectations of a candidate her family invests in. In a 1997 op-ed she said:
“We do expect some things in return … We expect a return on our investment …”
And that’s exactly what she’ll get from Gillespie—his plan for K-12 education reads straight from a DeVos handbook on private school vouchers and falling silent on diversity and inclusion.
We don’t have a billionaire throwing money at us if we promise to rip public money out of public schools for our children—but we know what’s right. Ralph knows that creating a prosperous future for our children starts with their education.
But we’re being outraised and outspent, and we need to show that we’re ready to fight for what’s right for our children, our schools, and our future.
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