All parents should contact their legislators to vote NO
on current Regents up for re-appointment who should be held accountable for
their incompetence and refusal to listen to the view of parents and teachers; the
vote will take place March 11.
Lawmakers unsure if they'll replace regent incumbents
Gary Stern, TJN 6:16 p.m. EST March 5, 2014
Says the Regents must be held accountable for the
much-criticized rollout of the Common Core standards.
Despite widespread criticism of the state Board of Regents
for driving the troubled Common Core rollout, it's far from clear that
lawmakers will replace any of four incumbents seeking re-election on Tuesday.
Democratic legislators are trying to figure out whether
there are enough votes between the Assembly and Senate to support any of close
to 20 other candidates for the four seats. If not, the incumbents are likely to
be given new five-year terms on the board, which sets education policy for New
York.
"The question is which candidates can get enough
votes," said Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti, D-Mount Pleasant, who has been
harshly critical of the regents and the state Education Department. "This
is not just a negative — a case of replacing people. We have to fill the
seats."
Regents are elected by an unusual majority vote of the state
Assembly and Senate, which traditionally receives little attention. This
year, though, the process is being watched closely by parent groups and others
because of the regents' aggressive reform agenda, which has created statewide
controversy.
Assembly Democrats dominate the process because of their
large numbers, with their leadership choosing the initial nominees. But Senate
Democrats could play a key role this year in forming a coalition to support or
oppose a candidate.
Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins,
D-Yonkers, said Wednesday that she expects to vote against the four incumbents,
even if it will be difficult to gather the votes to support other candidates.
"It's important to send a message that we're paying
attention and understand the important role of the regents," she said.
"The implementation of the Common Core has been so disastrous, and I
understand the anger and frustration in our communities."
On Wednesday, Sens. George Latimer, D-Rye, Cecilia Tkaczyk,
D-Schenectady County, Terry Gipson, D-Rhinebeck, and Timothy Kennedy,
D-Buffalo, became among the first lawmakers to say they will vote against the
incumbents because the regents must be held accountable.
"The incumbents are not bad people, but none were
willing to fundamentally reassess the direction we are going in with respect to
the Common Core," said Latimer, who attended hours of candidate interviews
last month.
The four regents seeking re-election are Christine Cea, who
represents Staten Island; James Jackson, who represents Albany; and two
at-large members, James Cottrell of Brooklyn and Wade Norwood of Rochester. All
four have been generally supportive of the reform agenda promoted by regents
Chancellor Merryl Tisch and Education Commissioner John King.
No incumbent has been rejected in memory.
The challengers are mostly self-nominated candidates with a
wide range of experience who drew mixed reviews from legislators. Among them is
David Levin of Pomona, a high school math teacher in the Bronx.
Candidates will need the support of 107 legislators to be
elected. Republican senators generally boycott the vote because of their lack
of say in the process.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, a member of the Assembly
Education Committee who has been very critical of the sweeping changes brought
by the regents, said it is unclear who the Assembly leadership may nominate or
whether there are enough votes to defeat the incumbents.
One key factor, she said, is that Cea and Jackson are
supported by their local legislative delegations.
Paulin, who also attended hours of interviews, said there
has been tremendous discussion among Assembly Democrats about how the voting
process might go.
"This is a puzzle that hasn't come together yet,"
Paulin said. "You don't want to scapegoat these four regents, but they
were part of the decision-making or ignored it. I'm trying to work with my
colleagues to figure out what's best for our schools in the long run."
Twitter: @garysternNY
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