Monday, November 18, 2013

Where Is Cuomo On His Education Reform Agenda Now?

A commenter on a Newsday article about the Common Core protests makes the following point:

Let's not forget that Cuomo started all of this. He hasn't had much to say lately however..interesting.

The louder parents get over the Cuomo/Tisch/King Common Core reform agenda, the quieter Governor Cuomo seems to be.

There is some evidence that Cuomo has been polling his education reform agenda, including the APPR teacher evaluation system and charter schools.

A Siena poll out this morning shows a plurality of NYers does not like the Common Core and a clear majority think there is too much testing in schools.

In that same poll, Cuomo's job approval numbers are under water:

The bad news for the governor: A year before he faces re-election, only 44 percent of voters approve of the job Cuomo is doing as governor, while 56 percent give him a negative rating.

This is a governor who once had 79% approval rating.

Hes now at 44% and under water by 12 percentage points.

I suspect he is watching the uprising over reform agenda with increasing alarm.

Cuomo doesn't like to back down on policy, but given the increasing furor over his education reform agenda and his plummeting job performance numbers, he is going to be forced to back down on much of his.

Because if he doubles down on these reforms, backs Tisch and King, and tells everybody the state is going "full speed ahead" with its reform implementation no matter what the public thinks, he is going to take a serious hit in his re-election bid in 2014.
 
Cuomo wants to run up the score in the 2014 election to set up a White House run in 2016.

I don't see him doubling down on the King/Tisch reform agenda and risking that White House dream of his.

So we'll see how much longer he stays quiet on this and when he finally does get put on the record over the parent protests of the SED/Regents reform agenda, we'll parse very carefully what he says.

Right now, his silence in the face of unrelenting attacks against SED and the Regents speaks volumes, as do the job performance numbers from the Siena poll.

10 comments:

  1. Of note, Carl Palladino the billionaire right wing nut from Buffalo appears to be supporting the Westchester county executive in his proposed bid to challenge Il Duce II. He is out there yet, has the bucks to run a political pac against little Andy which could prove interesting at the least. Bet Kooky Carl would like nothing better than to stick it to the Cuomo's and the test common core issue is just the impetus needed to unseat the speak out of both sides of his ass and mouth know it all CuomoI II.

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    1. If the GOP nominates a viable candidate like the Westchester county exec, Cuomo will have a difficult time running up the score next year - something he is desperate to do. I hope they do nominate a credible candidate. Cuomo needs a battle on his hands.

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  2. Cuomo will never be President, but his self-delusion that he might be will perhaps be helpful in bringing this runaway train under control.

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  3. I agree with Michael.. Cuomo can try to run, but I doubt he will be able to run for President or be front runner candidate...he only got elected as governor because he was running agaisnt Palladino... how many times did Cuomo run for governor before that and lost?
    He got lucky that time..

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    1. Of course he's delusional about the WH run. But I think it does explain why he blinked on ed policy a bit today and, as Michael noted, this self-delusion of his can certainly be used against him to get this agenda repealed.

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  4. As a parent of a public school child I can tell you I won't be voting for Cuomo next year. Class size is too big, too many tests, principals who seem accountable to no one, etc. I won't vote Republican, but I'd rather not vote than vote for Cuomo.

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    1. Call him, write and let him know. Here's his contact info:

      http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2013/11/its-governor-cuomos-education-reform.html

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  5. Look at little Andy run away!... http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2013/11/8536207/cuomo-sees-legislative-changes-common-core

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    1. Thanks, Brian. I was writing a post as you were leaving this comment. He certainly blinked, that's for sure. Last year he was adamant, pointing is finger and saying he was the state's First Lobbyist for students and he would be pushing through his reform agenda. And now today he made it sound like he had nothing to do with it. What a coward. All it took was a Siena poll showing him under water by 12 points and losing to Christie in a potential 2016 match-up in NY State and all those town hall meetings with parents all over the state protesting his policies. Hard to say how much one had to do with the other, but you can bet there is a correlation, even if not a causation.

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