This Comment Crystallizes Why You Should Vote Against Dan Squadron

Someone left this comment on the Daily News endorsement of Dan Squadron for public advocate:

How can the Daily News, once the paper of the working man, endorse an anti-labor candidate who is in bed with Bloomberg's developer cronies and charter school hedge fund investors and charlatans?

As I wrote earlier,

the public advocate's office should be held by someone who looks out for the powerless and the downtrodden, not helps the powerful bludgeon the downtrodden some more.

Squadron is in bed with the Wall Street criminals and corporate education reformers, plain and simple.

Here is a partial list of his campaign contributors in past years, via the NYC Education News group:

The pedigree of Dan Squadron's supporters:

S. Donald Sussman (who reports his residence as St. Thomas, V.I.)
contributed $15,500 during this cycle and is the Chairman & CEO of
Paloma Partners Mgmt.

The following four individuals each contributed $6,000 to Squadron (as
well as $5,000 each to Democrats for Education Reform:

Joel Greenblatt; Gotham Capital
Anthony ("Tony") Davis; Anchorage Capital
Charles H. Ledley; Cornwall Capital
John Petry Gotham Capital

Meanwhile, Ravenal Boykin Curry, IV of Eagle Capital Mgmt & Bryan R.
Lawrence of Chieftan Capital Mgmt both gave Squadron $5,000 each but
apparently stiffed Democrats for Education Reform. I believe you are
familiar with their Charter School connections.

Last, but not least, John Sabat, Portfolio Mgr for SAC Capital
contributed $1,000 as did Meryl Tisch - the Chair of the Board of Regents

The DFER's endorsed Squadron back in 2010, though they have not endorsed him this year.

The lack of a 2013 DFER endorsement has nothing to do with any change in Squadron's reform-friendly stances.

He hasn't actually changed any - he still loves charter schools, never defended a closure in his district, and according to a former CEC president, Jim Devor, refused to "join the successful lawsuit challenging a number of closures and co-locations brought by the UFT and a wide array of parents and politicians based on multiple violations" of the law he proposed to force parent involvement in closures.

So Squadron hasn't changed his corporate deform stripes.

Rather the DFER's calculated that endorsing Squadron (or one of the earlier advocate candidates who was also a past DFER endorseee, Reshma Saujani) would do more harm than good and they decided to sit this election cycle in NYC out.

But make no mistake, if elected Dan Squadron will use the public advocate's office to do what he has done since he was elected to the State Senate - shill for the corporate education reform interests and the Wall Street criminal class.

Life is busy these days, but no matter how busy you are, you should take the time to go and vote in the runoff for the public advocate's race.

You should vote for Tish James.

I've written a few times why I think you should vote for James.

But today I wanted to impress upon you why the election of Dan Squadron to the public advocate's office would be a very bad thing.