After much deliberation, I have decided to support Bill de Blasio for mayor of New York City.
I thought long and hard, because I know and respect some of the other candidates.
I issued the following statement to the de Blasio campaign.
I am proud to support Bill de Blasio for mayor of New York City. I support him because I believe he will be a great mayor with a fresh vision for the city, its families, and its children. It's time for a change. Bill de Blasio knows that he must rebuild the city's school system so that there is a good public school in every neighborhood. I endorse his plan to ask the wealthy to pay a little more in taxes so the city can provide universal pre-Kindergarten for all 4-year-olds and more after-school programs for middle-school students who need them. I am proud to stand with Bill de Blasio for a better New York City.
Bill de Blasio understands that the mayor must stand up for all 1.1 million students in the New York City school system and make the system function well for all of them.
He knows that public education will suffer if the city continues on its present course of privatization, high-stakes testing, and closing of neighborhood schools. He understands that churn and disruption are bad for children, bad for families, bad for schools, and bad for communities.
Bill de Blasio recognizes that this is a time to build anew. It is time for fresh ideas, new thinking, a recognition that the life of every child is precious and that public education is a cornerstone of our democracy.
If he is elected mayor, I believe Bill de Blasio will use his position to strengthen public education, to listen to parents, and to give educators the respect they deserve for the work they do daily.
He realizes that schools can't do the job alone, which is why he has pledged to increase spending for early childhood education and after-school programs and to reduce class sizes.
These are research-based programs that the children of New York City need.
Is he an idealist, as some charge? Yes. Does he offer hope for a better future? Yes.
Bill de Blasio will work to provide equal opportunity for all of New York City's children.
This is his goal, and it is mine too.
And that is why I endorse him for mayor.