Salon writes that the two leading candidates in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary—Andrew Yang and Eric Adams—are funded by major supporters of the Republican Party: billionaire Dan Loeb and Chicago-based Ken Griffin. Loeb was chairman of the board of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain.
Readers of this blog know why rightwing billionaires buy politicians. Charters and school privatization. Why do people like Dan Loeb, Ken Griffin, the Walton, and Charles Koch care so much about the issue. They believe that the private sector is always superior to the public sector. They know that 90% of charter schools are non-union and more of them will break the nation’s strongest unions in a shrinking segment of the workforce.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez endorsed civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley. Wiley is the only candidate who has openly opposed charter school expansion.
The New York Times and the Daily News endorsed Kathryn Garcia, who was most recently was Commissioner of the Department of Sanitation and is known for her competence. Although she is a graduate of the NYC public schools, she supports lifting the cap on charter schools. The city currently has nearly 300 charters that enroll 12% of the city’s children.
Big secret: Many public schools have longer wait lists than charters.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The UFT in NYC is actively promoting the harm of its own retiree members with the support of NYC. There is a big push by the UFT to switch retirees from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage. Furthermore both chambers in the NYS government have majority support for single payer medical care that would cover medical, dental, and eye care without deductibles and eliminate Medicare Advantage. The UFT is lobbying strongly against. Think about that!
I am a longtime critic of the union leadership. Not sure if we are better off with or without it at this point due to its active campaign to harm retired members.
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I don’t know if we can say they are actively seeking to harm retired members . However your points are well noted . The Union movement has excellent healthcare compared to most other workers . One has to add the qualifier if they can keep it!!!. The Union leadership and membership has been totally shortsighted thinking they can . As demonstrated by the changes being made to retiree benefits. M4all would take health insurance off the negotiating table making Unions stronger not weaker.
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I am not surprised about Yang. During the debates Yang came across as a “big idea disruptor,” aka, neoliberal. Yang quickly acquired a young following of voters known as the “The Yang Gang.” I took a disliking to him when he made a comment that was critical of unions. Yang always seemed too smug and pleased with himself.
Wall St. is a driving force behind privatization in NYC. Candidates feast on Wall St.’s money, but it always comes with strings attached. On Wall St. everything is viewed as an opportunity to make money, and there are no sacred cows.
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Yang is a DOLT.
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Forgot to write the word, “ARROGANT.”
Yang is an ARROGANT dolt. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.
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Sickening!
Public Schools are better than charter schools. The BIG LIE is that charters are better than public schools just like Medicare Advantage is better than “regular” medicare. No wonder there are so many “ads” on TV telling people to switch Medicare Programs.
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Medicare Advantage plans account for almost a third of eligible recipients. They lure people in through hyper advertising and perks like health club memberships. Senior citizens should understand that they are putting their healthcare in the hands of a private company that can extract a lot more money from them if they have a serious medical condition. The increasing number of Medicare Advantage users results in Medicare getting fewer dollars that will further destabilize Medicare. When seniors get very ill, they return to Medicare that now has fewer dollars. Medicare Advantage is similar to the privatization of education. Private companies drain money from Medicare. When the expensive crisis hits, the sick return to Medicare that now has fewer dollars. The public system provides for those that are expensive to serve just like public schools. It’s a scam.
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NYC with support of the UFT teacher’s union are pushing to force retirees from Medicare to Medicare Advantage!
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That’s a strange agreement. Even if they put NYC teachers in Medicare Advantage, teachers should be able to change to Medicare during the enrollment period. I doubt they can force teachers to stay in Medicare Advantage unless the privatizers lobby to change the current law. Medicare is a federal, not a state program even if the state is required to make a contribution.
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The negotiations are between the Municipal Labor Coalition (MLC) and the City – the City is demanding “savings,” and the providers are increasing costs to the City – as with all negotiations, complicated, all city retirees are impacted by the negotiations, the UFT formed a Retiree Committee (membership is anyone who wanted to serve), they have submitted a range of questions to the negotiators, tune in to the 6/22 UFT Retirees Meeting for an update
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The UFT is clearly pushing the switch to Medicare Advantage. Also the UFT lobbied hard against the NY Health Care Act to prevent a vote on it even though both chambers had majority support in the NYS government. If passed it would have eliminated Medicare Advantage, included dental care and eye care and full coverage with no deductibles. Obviously this would have relieved the claimed cause for the switch to MA that the city could no longer afford the current system. Sad that our union actively supports something that will seriously harm retirees.
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Have you considered the fact that leftwing billionaires also “buy” politicians to support their liberal agendas which include: defunding the police and demonize them, open borders, eliminate bail, more taxes, no e-verify, voting rights for ALL immigrants (including illegal ones), public funded abortions, legalizing drugs, efforts to silence free speech, etc.? Not to mention how their scamming the public by promotion of CRT and segregation which can only escalate racism. It’s widely known that PUBLIC SCHOOLS have failed miserably and have become institutions of indoctrination to promote crap like “equity.” Please, look at yourself in a mirror!
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But of course all of your “arguments” are irrelevant if the Russia RepubliQan Party is successful in smothering American democracy for a poisoning elf.
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All of the billionaires (right, left, center, moderate, radical, Democratic, Republican or independent) or at least 99.99999% of them support charter schools. And most of those billionaires of whatever political persuasion also support vouchers. Most of Jane’s screed is phony far right wing garbage, propaganda and nonsense. The kind of crap you would get from Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity or Mark Levin.
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Anyone Soros supports should raise red flags. Liberals are either uninformed, irrational thinkers, naïve, blind, live in denial, stupid, or taking too many drugs too often.
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George Soros is the only billionaire I can think of who is left of center.
The rightwing billionaires—there are scores of them—give money to keep their taxes low and to promote deregulation and privatization. Charles Koch, Betsy DeVos, the Waltons, many more. Google Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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More accurately, anyone or anything the Waltons support should raise red flags. Trumpian right wingers are either uninformed, irrational thinkers, naïve, blind, live in denial, stupid, or taking too many drugs too often. Case in point, the the right wing lie that Trump really won the election.
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Please name a “LEFT WING billionaire”. When you acquire bipedal skills do come back .
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Which “left wing” billionaires were you thinking of? What evidence do you have that these billionaires—if they exist—want to defund the police, etc.? Please give the names of five leftist billionaires with the radical agenda you describe.
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George Soros is also spending a half million on Maya Wiley’s PAC.
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A half million by a Soros supported PAC supporting Stringer and Wiley . How does that compare to the other Billionaire Pacs. Being that you are quoting numbers I assume you have them .
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Don’t have them at my fingers, but my vague recall is the other PACs got between $1m and $2m.
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Money given to and by PACS . Is hard to trace . Of course we can thank Moscow Mitch and the Court for that as it defined corrupt money unless specifically a quid pro quo situation perfectly acceptable. And they are under no obligation to disclose which donors gave how many dollars .
And there is even less control over the 501Cs who don’t even have to disclose their Donors .
Stephen Ross claimed he would raise 100 million for the Mayors race in a 501c corp. From whom ?
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is not defined as …
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“Why do people like Dan Loeb, Ken Griffin, the Walton, and Charles Koch care so much about the issue?”
Isn’t it obvious???
We DON”T have “elections”, we have AUCTIONS.
AUCTIONS are the principle mechanism by which the
monied class is validated.
90+% of the time, whatever candidate spends the most
wins.
Decisions disguised as democracy rarely results in outcomes
that represent the “public” interests compared to
monied interests.
Does the hypothesis “of/by/for the people”
fit the the data (results)?
Why would autocrats, with a monopoly on political
power, and often on economic resources, agree to
share their power with broader segements of the
population whose goals they do not share?
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We can only have a legitimate democracy if we can get the money out of politics.
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I don’t know anything about NYC but based on my experience with ed reform in Ohio I would urge NYC public school families and supporters to ask about charters, sure, obviously important, but also make sure and ask about the candidates plans for PUBLIC schools.
What you find with a government dominated by ed reformers is public school students become the last priority. It’s probably done more damage to public schools than anything else ed reform has done and it’s not the visible or high profile issue charters are so it gets very little attention.
Spend some time asking them about PUBLIC schools. What you’ll find is their “plans” for public schools are limited to “accountability”- testing and tiering and measurement.
The dirty little secret of ed reform is not charters and vouchers- they’re loud and proud about promoting and funding and marketing those- the dirty little secret is they don’t do anything productive or positive for students who attend public schools and the longer they’re in power in a place the less effort and investment there is in public schools.
Ed reform consists of two things – 1. choice and 2. accountability. “Choice” in NYC will be an exclusive focus on charters so there’s nothing relevant to public school students there and “accountability” is the grim test and punish agenda we’ve seen for 20 years.
They don’t have anything else to offer but that never comes thru to the public because all we ask about is “choice”.
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Chiara,
The crazy thing is that NYC already has school choice! But the school choice is primarily public schools.
In NYC some 80,000 or more 5th graders ranked a bunch of schools in the order in which they preferred them. Through a complicated lottery system in which seats are filled, each student – when their lottery number comes up – is matched to their highest ranked school that still has a seat available. There is no gaming, since students will always be matched with their top school, if a seat is still open. If not, the student matches their 2nd choice if a seat is still open, and so on. If there is one open seat in school A, and the student with number 99 put it 4th, but there are no seats left in his top 3 choices, the student gets that last open seat in school A. If the next student with number 100 is up, and school A was his first choice, he won’t get that seat, even though he ranked it first and the person with number 99 ranked it 4th.
There are many, many good “choice” schools in NYC that serve students via a lottery that are not privately operated. The one difference with charters is that they don’t have the same freedom — and huge financial incentives – to dump kids who are more difficult to teach. They have to follow the rules that public schools do with regards to students having rights.
NYC could put charters out of business quickly if they offered a competing public school “choice” that was run by the same rules as charters (demanding high parent involvement, dumping kids who struggle academically and behaviorally). The kinds of parents who like charters are even more likely to like well-funded real public schools for students who excel academically and behaviorally, where the teachers are experienced and the students are treated the way affluent white students are treated instead of forced to adhere to behavioral rules that one finds in prisons.
I wish the new Mayor of NYC would establish those. They would be controversial, since they would dump students who didn’t meet their standards the way charters do. But they would be honest and not demand lots of rewards by making false claims that the performance of their students was due to their brilliant charter CEO and her brilliant new method to turn students who would otherwise be failures into high performing scholars.
Once charters are driven out of business by these lavishly funded “part of the public school system choice schools”, it will be possible to have an HONEST discussion of how to teach the students who don’t thrive in those schools, without dishonest and greedy people claiming that they discovered the key to teaching them, who count on ridiculously inept education “journalists” who never notice how many of the students who start there mysteriously disappear. Or whose unconscious racist bias leads them never to question the false narratives of how many supposedly “violent” 5 year old students win their lotteries.
There might even be a principled charter operator who decides to take on the task of teaching students who are struggling academically and have serious behavioral problems. That would be a big change from the current obsession to appeal to the most motivated families while retaining complete freedom to counsel out (or force out) any of those students who are too difficult for their inexperienced teachers to manage.
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This is an example of what I’m talking about. It’s Ohio but it could be any one of a number of states that are totally dominated by the ed reform echo chamber, like Ohio (so Florida, or Arizona or, a new entry, new Hampshire):
https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/commentary/ohio-senate-puts-educational-choice-front-and-center
Ohio lawmakers have not accomplished anything positive or productive or supportive of Ohio public schools in two decades of ed reform governance. They’re still not doing anything. Their “education agenda” consists exclusively of promoting, funding and marketing charter and private school vouchers.
Almost 90% of the students in this state attend public schools. They’re completely ignored. No effort expended, no investment by the state, no positive agenda at all. That’s the ed reform influence and it happens everywhere they dominate.
Ask about charters, sure, but if you really want to put an ed reformer to the test ask about public schools. They have nothing to offer or contribute.
You’re permitted to ask the public employees you’re considering hiring their approach to PUBLIC schools. That’s allowed. If they start babbling about “choice” and never actually reach public schools you know you’re getting an ed reformer- run the other way.
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I know Biden has been disappointing in some areas, but he has made an effort to include public schools in public school policy planning, which is a big change from the ed reform echo chamber approach of the last 20 years:
The first installment of the Equity Summit Series will feature:
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten
Pedro Noguera, Dean, USC Rossier School of Education
Baruti Kafele, former principal from Newark, NJ
Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Rosemarie Eller, Board President, White Plains Public Schools
Melito Ramirez, Intervention Specialist, Walla Walla High School, Walla Walla, WA and 2021 RISE Award Winner
Olivia Carter, School Counselor, Jefferson Elementary School, Cape Girardeau, MO and 2021 School Counselor of the Year
Alejandro Diasgranados, Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Teacher, Aiton Elementary School and 2021 Washington, D.C. Teacher of the Year
Is this was a Bush, Obama or Trump summit it would be the same 11 ed reformers who all came out of 4 or 5 ed reform think tanks or lobby shops or university departments. They’d all agree because of course they all agree- they all have the same opinions, on testing, on markets, on charters, on vouchers, and they all seek to weaken and then eradicate public schools.
Representation matters. Public school students are poorly served by ed reform because ed reform excludes public schools and public school advocates.
Public schools permitted back inside the USDOE! It’s a miracle 🙂
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And let’s not forget old fashioned politics, giving out jobs, charter schools jobs for their political promoters, the leading candidate for the NYC mayor, Eric Adams, promotes low functioning charters who return the favor by hiring Adams favorites … sadly extremely low functioning charter school survive and provide a dismal education.
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And his reward for this. DC 37 AFSME and 32BJ SEIU will support him . Jack London over a century ago described the shortcomings of American Unions. His observation is as valid today as it was in 1906 . All one has to do is look at the comments on this page to see the flaws. Including the UFT killing an M4All option in NY while cutting the services to its own members. One does not have to be a Socialist to see what he was describing.
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The evidence suggests that no matter who wins the election in New York City to become its next mayor, the city and its working-class population is going to lose, again.
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Some things never change. Liberal policies are killing many major cities around the country.
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Could you produce some evidence to support this broad assertion? Asking for a friend.
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Really? Why would anyone need to research about this if they’ve paid as much attention as a gnat to the news for the past 20+ years or don’t you know how to do research? Open your eyes and just look at what’s happened for decades in many large cities across the country historically run by Democrats including NYC, Houston, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Need I go on? All of these cities, and many, many others have been governed by liberals and experience continuous escalating growth of gangs, rampant crime, drug abuse, destructive riots, and poor schools. Liberal policies and their social engineering have failed! Also, a great number of these cities have declared themselves to be sanctuary for illegal immigrants. Why do you think people are fleeing states like California and New York, or is this new news to you too (America’s Mass Migration Intensifies As ‘Leftugees’ Flee Blue States And Counties For Red, Forbes, Mar 17, 2021)? If you’re really not capable of doing even the most rudimentary research, here’s an article you can start with published by the Editorial Board in the WSJ, June 2, 2020: Liberal Cities, Radical Mayhem.
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I have lived in Houston for 20 years, in DC for 3 years, and in NYC for almost 60 years. They are wonderful places to live. NYC has a vibrant cultural scene, beautiful parks, museums, and libraries, and of course, the inimitable BROADWAY, as well as many cabarets and a lively street life.
I have conducted research since the late 1960s. I have a doctorate from Columbia University (Ph.D.). I have published a dozen research-based books.
What is your education and where did you learn your research skills, which seem to be limited to one article in Forbes?
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La de da! Spoken like a true liberal academian — fluff, nothing to dispute facts! I grew up in Houston and lived in DC too (15 years ago) and couldn’t wait to get out of both those cities because they scared the heebie jeebies out of me! BTW, I graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown with a hard science degree, not something like sociology, psychology, or political science, I can actually think critically.
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Since you didn’t mention any facts, there was no way to dispute them. You just gratuitously smeared every big city. You must have a fainting couch. I’ve lived in NYC for most of my life and I have never been afraid, never been the victim of a crime. The comments you have left are filled with wild speculation and smears in the midst of a tirade. Your words do not exemplify critical thinking.
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dianeravitch:
Good grief, is anyone reading real, current news? You want facts, here are just two articles after just seconds of research AND the facts are in REAL TIME (not historical data):
Massive 1-Year Rise In Homicide Rates Collided With The Pandemic In 2020, NPR, January 6, 2021
• 39.2% increase in murders in NYC
• the largest one-year rise in murder ever in US (13% nationally is the highest rate in >1/2 century)
The US saw significant crime rise across major cities in 2020. And it’s not letting up
CNN, April3, 21
• 33% increase in homicides last year in major American cities
• 63 of the 66 largest police jurisdictions saw increases in at least one category of violent crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault)
• 33% increase in shootings in Chicago and up nearly 40% for same period year-over-year
Don’t misunderstand me; I’m deliriously happy millions choose to live in cities like NYC, Houston, LA, Chicago, etc. because if they didn’t, they’ want to live in my town.
Pleeze, next time do your own research! I’m soooo weary of those who base their beliefs on feelings and personal beliefs or what they think because they’re obviously too lazy to read! BTW, I noticed you didn’t provide any supporting information on your statements either (so typical).
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You are a very bad researcher if you only read current headlines. Before the pandemic, when crime spiked everywhere, NYC had the lowest number and rate of homicides since the 1940s.
This comes from Wikipedia (“Crime in NYC”):
“Crime rates in New York City spiked in the 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic surged,[1][2] and then dropped from 1991,[3] and, as of 2017, they are among the lowest of major cities in the United States, but spiked again in 2020.
New York City
Crime rates* (2020)
Violent crimes
Homicide
5.5
Rape
16.4
Robbery
72.0
Aggravated assault
448.1
Total violent crime
364.7
Property crimes
Burglary
62.5
Larceny-theft
362.2
Motor vehicle theft
28.9
Total property crime
703.7
Notes
*Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population.
* New York City did not report arson statistics
During the 1990s, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) adopted CompStat, broken windows policing, and other strategies in a major effort to reduce crime. The city’s dramatic drop in crime has been variously attributed to a number of factors, including the end of the crack epidemic, the increased incarceration rate,[1][2] and the decline of lead poisoning in children.[4]
“In a 2015 ranking of 50 cities around the world by The Economist, New York City was judged the 10th safest city overall, as well as the 28th safest in personal safety.[5] In 2018, there were 289 homicides—the lowest number since the 1940s.[6] Homicides in New York City surged in 2020, but still remained lower than in any year between 1960-2011.[7]”
Look at the deceptive use of statistics this way:
District A has 40% of its students scoring proficient on state tests. In the most recent test, the proportion jumped 10 points to 50%.
District B has 85% of its students scoring proficient. Most recently, the proportion jumped 5 points to 90%.
One district saw a gain of 10%; the other saw a gain of only 5%. Which district is more successful?
NYC’s homicide rate is still low by historical standards.
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It’s laughable that anyone would cite Wikipedia! No one reputable would do that.
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BTW, are you paid to do this all day or don’t you have anything better to do with your time? I’d love to know who’s paying your salary or do you have some government grant?
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No one pays me. I have written several books while blogging every day. I have no grants from foundations or the government. Some people garden. I blog. If it bothers you, stop reading here.
I was just thinking of you when I read this story in the Washington Post today about women who jog in rural areas and live in fear:
“Natalie Ruth Joynton lives in rural northern Michigan, where on her regular morning run she revels in “the mist rising off the water, the towering beech trees, the rolling hills.” Each day out in nature “restores my sense of wonder,” she writes. But it also inspires a sense of fear.
“Out here,” Joynton explains, “it isn’t the black bears or the rumored cougars” that scare her. “It’s the moment a single truck I don’t know turns down the dirt road where I’m running” — a truck that might be carrying a person who wants to hurt her.
“Surely many women can relate. I know I’ve had the same thought every time I’ve run on a rural road alone, or wanted to venture out on a solo hike. As Joynton writes, the simple act of taking a solitary run is never simple for a woman. We hold too many stories in our heads about women who’ve sought to roam free and, through no fault of their own, found themselves in harm’s way. It’s a constant weighing of desire against risk.”
I used to jog in Central Park every day. There were always many people around. I never felt unsafe.
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Try factual argument. Like RepubliQan policies are killing votes in many major cities around the country.
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It’s faster to say GQP.
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The last republican NY governor was in 2007 and 7.5 years for NYC. Equality is fairness and just; equity is a laudable goal and this country is replete with examples (affirmative action for past 50+ years). However, equity implies some are inherently less capable. There will never be a utopia but this country has made tremendous advancements in both equity and equality. Otherwise, why aren’t people leaving the US? Conversely, why do millions want to come hear from around the world each year and have for more than a century?
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NYC had Republican mayors for 20 straight years, from 1993 to 2013. Crime has declined since then. I love America, and all the people in it. I want them all to have equal opportunity and a decent standard of living. By the way, Richard Nixon started affirmative action.
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OK, so you like the ad hominem argument, and you like the editorial pages of financial markets media. Check. But you still haven’t produced real evidence to support your assertion. More broad assertions, yes (“All of these cities, and many, many others have been governed by liberals and experience continuous escalating growth of gangs, rampant crime, drug abuse, destructive riots, and poor schools.”), but nothing in the way of real economic, sociological or demographic evidence. You’re kind of on an ideological rant, and by all means have at it! But real research requires disinterest, and you are far from a disinterested.
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As for those cities governed by liberal Democrats, NYC had Rudy Guiliani for two terms, followed by Republican Mike Bloomberg for three four-year terms. “Equity,” as you put it, is not “crap.” It’s basic fairness.
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dianeravitch
Glad you noticed . NYC saw a tremendous surge in murders and shootings. Of course a pandemic lock down that induced 12% unemployment, closer to 24% in minority communities would have nothing to do with that ? Crime has returned to where it was in the 18th year of the Republican Mayors, 2012. Now no one felt unsafe in 2012 so why would they feel unsafe today . Well I certainly didn’t .
Nobody “manufactures consent ” better than the NYC tabloids. There is an undeniable message being pumped out by the Rupert Murdoch rag NY Post and the Daily News . It certainly is not that 450 Americans are dying needlessly almost criminally ,daily because Tucker and company are undermining the vaccine drive . Every one of those deaths at this point was avoidable .
Instead the message is that BLM , the Civil rights, voting rights and the Social justice movement has undermined the safety of New York City residents . No need to criticize the NYPD and the PBA . Why what we need is a no nonsense right wing Mayor to set the city straight again preferably a Trumpanzee but we will settle for Adams if we have to. . . Today they had no sensational story from NYC so it was a Black man killing a 14 year old White Girl in North Dakota . Repeat after me ” Willy Horton” !
What the tabloids did not do is point out that murders were down year over year by over 50% for 2 weeks in a row. Down now for 28 days. As the summer peek starts .
At this rate as the city opens, how will they explain it when NYC once again becomes the safest City in America.
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joel, great post, thank you
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Janmiller1: I recently visited Atlanta. I am a guy raised in agricultural America who’s view of urban spaces is colored by a sort of tension. So I went with a fear that needed help. And lo! The people I met were mostly good folks, well-educated and friendly. Resigned as they were to live with horrendous traffic, they were eager to help me any way they could. One young man gave me a great five minute history of the area where we were.
If I listened to voices that want to limit the political influence of urban areas, I would never have gone near a big city, I have not felt so welcome since we discovered how wonderful the Great Plains could be in our travels in those areas. Our cities
Are important and the people in them are important as well. But right now there are laws passed and proposed that limit the political influence of urban dwellers. We do not want to contemplate the idea of large segments of the people who are either unrepresented or underrepresented. This is the prelude to instability, hostility, and revolution.
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Roy Turrentine:
I’m delighted you had a wonderful experience in Atlanta and loved living there but after several years, in 2001, we left when schools made homework optional because, “Some families don’t have two parent homes.” That was the final straw! The first was when my second grader came home in 1998 and said the teacher didn’t reprimand a student for using profanity. I called the teacher and she said, “You have to understand that in some cultures profanity is acceptable.” Since then, several close friends who had lived there all their lives have left.
BTW, I really enjoy visiting big cities and know they have a lot to offer but I’d never live in another one ever again, especially those with high taxes. I’m joyful millions do choose to live in large cities!
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I think Garcia’s position on charters is pandering. Albany controls the charter cap. It would be easy for her to ask to lift the charter cap, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. It will be easy for her to say I tried, but Albany prevented me.
Btw Dianne Morales has also been vocally anti-charter.
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