Marshall Tuck’s billionaire funders have given his campaign $30 million, double what his opponent Tony Thurmond has raised.
Tuck’s campaign has used his money to run negative attack ads against Thurmond. Things got so bad that the ACLU OF Northern California issued a statement condemning Tuck’s PAC for misuse of its name in misleading advertising.
These vicious campaign ads raise an important question about Marshall Tuck’s character. Should someone who plays dirty be the education leader of California? Is Tuck so desperate to win that he will stoop so low? Are these Trumpian values appropriate for an educator?
Here is the Northern California ACLU statement.
The Thurmond campaign responded:
Contact: Madeline Franklin
209-210-8950
ACLU of Northern California Condemns Pro-Marshall Tuck PAC EdVoice For Misleading Attacks on Tony Thurmond
Thurmond campaign called for TV ads citing ACLU to be taken down after ACLU of Northern California called EdVoice tactics misleading and damaging.
San Francisco – Thursday, November 1, 2018 – ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) Executive Director Abdi Soltani sent a strong letter to Bill Lucia, EdVoice Executive Director, condemning his organization’s decision to use the ACLU name in mailers attacking Assemblymember Tony Thurmond, a candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Thurmond campaign called on Marshall Tuck to join them in calling for an apology to California voters and to demand TV ads also using the ACLU name to be taken down.
“I am writing to express my strong disappointment in EdVoice’s decision to use the ACLU name in your direct mail in a manner that is confusing voters and harming the ACLU of Northern CA,” wrote Soltani. “We have already publicly clarified that we have nothing to do with this mailer or your campaign. EdVoice is not a fly by night organization, and with your decision, you have damaged your reputation and standing with the ACLU-NC.”
Mailers and TV ads attacking Thurmond and prominently featuring the ACLU name are paid for by “Students, Parents, and Teachers Supporting Marshall Tuck for Superintendent of Public Instructio 2018n, a Project of EdVoice,” which is a committee funded by several pro-charter school industry billionaires including Netflix CEO and EdVoice board member Reed Hastings.
The ACLU of Southern California also released a statement on the “misleading” mailer. Soltani demanded a meeting with Lucia and the board chair of EdVoice after the election to discuss their strong concerns, while the Thurmond campaign suggested that Tuck join in calling on EdVoice to publicly apologize and take down TV ads which are still using the ACLU name.
“It’s worst form of politics to exploit the ACLU name to mislead voters into supporting Marshall Tuck,” said Madeline Franklin, Thurmond’s campaign manager. “The sad irony here is that the ACLU of California gave Tony Thurmond a 100% legislative voting record. Tony’s spent his entire career as a social worker and public servant serving the same kids the ACLU fights for, including foster youth, students of color, and youth in the juvenile justice system.”
Franklin continued:
“If Marshall Tuck has any regard for the ACLU’s core values for individual rights, including Californians’ voting rights, he should join the Thurmond campaign in calling on his supporters to publicly apologize to the California voters who have been misled by these egregious ads and call for the remaining TV ads to be taken down immediately.”
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you, Diane, for everything you do. Mwah!
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It’s been a tough day. I got on the train to Boston to introduce Yong Zhao at Wellesley, then discovered I was on the train to DC!
I will get there. But what an awful day. NY to Philadelphia to Boston.
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I almost made a similar mistake once decades ago except the Boston train was the wrong one. Mine was on the other side of the platform. Always make sure that the seats are facing the way you want to go. 😉
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What I realized was that Amtrak eliminates the gate agents who used to look at your ticket as you boarded. Two Acela trains, both leaving at 10 am, and I got on the wrong one. Heading south instead of north. Instead of a pleasant four hour ride, I had a stressful seven hour ordeal.
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Hey, they can always “apologize” after the election if their candidate wins.
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The problem is getting the word out and exposing this false, misleading, lying tactic before November 6th and for some voters it is too late because they vote by mail and have already mailed in their ballots.
To expose this negative tactic of lies designed to mislead voters would cost as much money in the next five days as the Alt-Right billionaires have already spent to get Puppet Tuck elected.
It seems the only individual that gets free air time from the media for his endless lies is Donald Trump. The ACLU should get equal time and the media should saturate readers and viewers about what’s going on, but they won’t.
And that is exactly what the Alt-Right is counting on as they outspend and out-trick the Democratic Party to take over the country until there is no country, just a dystonia corporate kleptocracy where the people will be told to “Be Happy in their Suffering and Pain.”
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The issue of juxtaposition of images in political adds has been on my mind since I saw a TV add showing pictures of senate candidate Bredesen here in Tennessee alternately with images of ISIS terrorists, Mexican immigrants, etc.
Perhaps democrats should retaliate with images like Hitler and Stalin.
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When misleading untruths are published right before an election, there ought to be a mechanism for righting the wrong, like declaring a sort of mistrial if the lying side wins, or at least, punishing the offenders. But let’s face it, Thurmond is going to wipe the floor with Tuck’s crocodile tears in this election. Investment bankers endorsed by Republicans lose in California. They lose big time. They lose bigly.
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let that be TRUE.
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I really am tired of the attack ads that sound like they came from tabloid supermarket magazines. Tell me about your agenda and how you plan to achieve it. Neither party should expect to march in and steamroller the other. It is time for the more moderate voices from both parties to take back control and work toward compromise. It is the only way to make change that has a chance of sticking. Get the two year olds and their tantrums out of government.
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