The answer, of course, is that the geniuses at the UFT thought Thompson couldn't win and they were still sore over endorsing three losing candidates back in 2001.
I'm with NYC Educator that the UFT should have endorsed him back in 2009 when he was the alternative to Bloomberg (and only 5% away from beating Herr Moneyness) but the UFT should not endorse Thompson now.
Not with Merry Merryl Tisch working as his co-chair, Al D'amato and Randi Weingarten raising funds for him, and Thompson signaling that while he will temper some of Bloomberg's reform excesses, he will keep many of them.
There is a reason Merryl Tisch and Al D'amato are supporting Bill Thompson.
As Norm Scott noted in a comment in the same post:
The Tisch and D'Amato involvement in the Thompson campaign puts him in the category of Bloomberg's choice once again as he abandons Quinn.
It's possible that Thompson, who has seen no movement in the latest polls, doesn't get the UFT endorsement.
After all, the UFT's primary goal in endorsing a candidate this time around is to pick the winner and despite all the money and high profile endorsements from Tisch, D'amato, and Weingarten, Thompson is looking far from the presumptive winner right now.
But I'm betting Thompson is the candidate they endorse in a couple of weeks, and just as the UFT leadership have been wrong on so many things in the past few years - from teacher evaluations to contract negotiations to candidate endorsements - they'll be wrong if they endorse the Tich/D'amato/Weingarten favorite for mayor.
That's the signature UFT style, destroy the profession by supporting the evaluation systems they do and supporting politicians that worsen our working conditions.
ReplyDeleteGiven the education stands of the candidates, it is dumb-founding how they can support Thompson.
The CTU's Karen Lewis is setting a savvier course. The differences between the two cities over the next two years should prove interesting.
We'll have to see how the next mayor handles things as well.
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