Who are you voting for in the Dem primary for mayor?

[Anonymous]

I'm voting for some combination of Lander / Mamdani (and probably also Adrienne Adams) despite their wishy-washiness about selective schools, because I think they're savvy enough to realize that the SHSAT is the third rail of NYC politics and not worth taking on (heck, Mamdani attended Bronx Science and his dad is a celebrated academic), and I think they're going to have enough other stuff to deal with to not want to waste political capital on that particular fight.

I also worry Cuomo would be willing to give in on stuff like removing LGBT+ material from classrooms, or - even worse - letting ICE into schools; there are scarier things looming in the next few years than de-emphasizing testing in high school admissions.

Some of this confidence comes from past experience living in Connecticut, when Ned Lamont came in in 2019 with a very modest plan to regionalize public schools and it completely blew up in his face - if it hadn't been for COVID it would have probably made him a one-term governor. I also saw the amount of backlash among parents to that small delay in simply renewing the SHSAT contract.

But basically, while I don't agree with them on schools, I don't expect that disagreement to matter much over the next few years, and there are other areas I agree with them that probably will matter a lot more.

[Anonymous]

No thanks. Mamdani is way too far left.

Bad on Israel (not that it should matter, but he has chosen to speak up on it).

Freeze rents on rent-stabilized apartments? Aren't landlords allowed to make a living?

Free buses? Really?

He is way too light on crime.

And he has no clue how to pay for his wish list. He will bankrupt the city. And Trump will walk all over him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not voting dem.

Then who are you voting for? Sliwa?

He’d make crime disappear like yesterday. No one cares about NYC success more than he does.

[Anonymous]

ABC - Any (Dem) But Cuomo. Corrupt as the day is long. He commissioned a blue ribbon panel when he was governor to root out corruption. The Moreland Commission. Then he disbanded that commission when its investigations got a little too close to Andy’s pay for play activities. And of course he lied about the COVID deaths in nursing homes. And the stink from the harassment claims never quite cleared. NYC deserves better than him. He is not getting my vote.

[Anonymous]

I don't like Cuomo but everyone else is too liberal and will run the city into the ground or a political hack. It is a no win situation.

I like Tilson but he has no chance. I have to look into Walden for the general election but he also has no chance.

[Anonymous]

Free buses have worked out well in Boston (and other places). On the scale of municipal expenditures they're small potatoes.

A general problem we have with buses is that if you force everyone to load in the front, it takes forever, but if you let them load in the back (which we do on SBS), half the people don't pay. So unless we want to switch to a European-style honor-system-but-you-get-a-$1000-ticket-if-they-catch-you-without-a-validated-ticket type deal, making buses free would provide a major boost to speed/performance by getting rid of that loading/fare collection delay.

Also, I can say as a happy regular M15+ rider that a fast bus - faster still with bus lanes and congestion pricing - makes you want to use the subway less, and there are a couple of subways that are currently well over capacity with no realistic way to add more. If making the M15+ free will persuade say 20% of the people taking the 4/5/6 during rush hour to switch to that instead, that will produce a HUGE quality of life increase for a whole lot of New Yorkers at a pretty modest cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm voting for some combination of Lander / Mamdani (and probably also Adrienne Adams) despite their wishy-washiness about selective schools, because I think they're savvy enough to realize that the SHSAT is the third rail of NYC politics and not worth taking on (heck, Mamdani attended Bronx Science and his dad is a celebrated academic), and I think they're going to have enough other stuff to deal with to not want to waste political capital on that particular fight.

I also worry Cuomo would be willing to give in on stuff like removing LGBT+ material from classrooms, or - even worse - letting ICE into schools; there are scarier things looming in the next few years than de-emphasizing testing in high school admissions.

Some of this confidence comes from past experience living in Connecticut, when Ned Lamont came in in 2019 with a very modest plan to regionalize public schools and it completely blew up in his face - if it hadn't been for COVID it would have probably made him a one-term governor. I also saw the amount of backlash among parents to that small delay in simply renewing the SHSAT contract.

But basically, while I don't agree with them on schools, I don't expect that disagreement to matter much over the next few years, and there are other areas I agree with them that probably will matter a lot more.

As someone who has been involved in G&T/SHS advocacy, I disagree that the SHSAT is considered a third rail. For far left pols like Lander it's how they get their base riled up. They are ideologically motivated and use it as a distraction from bread and butter issues. I agree with you that there are scarier things looming, but these LWNJ pols like to spend time on virtue signaling and shaming instead of addressing issues that voters actually care about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm voting for some combination of Lander / Mamdani (and probably also Adrienne Adams) despite their wishy-washiness about selective schools, because I think they're savvy enough to realize that the SHSAT is the third rail of NYC politics and not worth taking on (heck, Mamdani attended Bronx Science and his dad is a celebrated academic), and I think they're going to have enough other stuff to deal with to not want to waste political capital on that particular fight.

I also worry Cuomo would be willing to give in on stuff like removing LGBT+ material from classrooms, or - even worse - letting ICE into schools; there are scarier things looming in the next few years than de-emphasizing testing in high school admissions.

Some of this confidence comes from past experience living in Connecticut, when Ned Lamont came in in 2019 with a very modest plan to regionalize public schools and it completely blew up in his face - if it hadn't been for COVID it would have probably made him a one-term governor. I also saw the amount of backlash among parents to that small delay in simply renewing the SHSAT contract.

But basically, while I don't agree with them on schools, I don't expect that disagreement to matter much over the next few years, and there are other areas I agree with them that probably will matter a lot more.

As someone who has been involved in G&T/SHS advocacy, I disagree that the SHSAT is considered a third rail. For far left pols like Lander it's how they get their base riled up. They are ideologically motivated and use it as a distraction from bread and butter issues. I agree with you that there are scarier things looming, but these LWNJ pols like to spend time on virtue signaling and shaming instead of addressing issues that voters actually care about.

100% agree. The far lefties will destroy anything good that's left in NYC public schools and bankrupt the city. I will not be voting for a candidate who does not support the SHSAT/G&T. I usually vote for whomever PLACE endorses (asterisk: as long as they aren't too crazy right wing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm voting for some combination of Lander / Mamdani (and probably also Adrienne Adams) despite their wishy-washiness about selective schools, because I think they're savvy enough to realize that the SHSAT is the third rail of NYC politics and not worth taking on (heck, Mamdani attended Bronx Science and his dad is a celebrated academic), and I think they're going to have enough other stuff to deal with to not want to waste political capital on that particular fight.

I also worry Cuomo would be willing to give in on stuff like removing LGBT+ material from classrooms, or - even worse - letting ICE into schools; there are scarier things looming in the next few years than de-emphasizing testing in high school admissions.

Some of this confidence comes from past experience living in Connecticut, when Ned Lamont came in in 2019 with a very modest plan to regionalize public schools and it completely blew up in his face - if it hadn't been for COVID it would have probably made him a one-term governor. I also saw the amount of backlash among parents to that small delay in simply renewing the SHSAT contract.

But basically, while I don't agree with them on schools, I don't expect that disagreement to matter much over the next few years, and there are other areas I agree with them that probably will matter a lot more.

As someone who has been involved in G&T/SHS advocacy, I disagree that the SHSAT is considered a third rail. For far left pols like Lander it's how they get their base riled up. They are ideologically motivated and use it as a distraction from bread and butter issues. I agree with you that there are scarier things looming, but these LWNJ pols like to spend time on virtue signaling and shaming instead of addressing issues that voters actually care about.

100% agree. The far lefties will destroy anything good that's left in NYC public schools and bankrupt the city. I will not be voting for a candidate who does not support the SHSAT/G&T. I usually vote for whomever PLACE endorses (asterisk: as long as they aren't too crazy right wing).

I have mixed opinions of PLACE (which I think you agree with). They are a one issue organization. As much as I generally agree with them on education issues, they are willing to ignore someone being a complete whacko on all other issues. I stopped getting their e-mails because it was total right wing, sensationalistic NY Post propaganda.

I think it is also a lot of FOTB outer-borough folks. I am fully supportive of the SHSAT but these people think the whole world should be based on test scores and have no appreciation for emotional intelligence and soft skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm voting for some combination of Lander / Mamdani (and probably also Adrienne Adams) despite their wishy-washiness about selective schools, because I think they're savvy enough to realize that the SHSAT is the third rail of NYC politics and not worth taking on (heck, Mamdani attended Bronx Science and his dad is a celebrated academic), and I think they're going to have enough other stuff to deal with to not want to waste political capital on that particular fight.

I also worry Cuomo would be willing to give in on stuff like removing LGBT+ material from classrooms, or - even worse - letting ICE into schools; there are scarier things looming in the next few years than de-emphasizing testing in high school admissions.

Some of this confidence comes from past experience living in Connecticut, when Ned Lamont came in in 2019 with a very modest plan to regionalize public schools and it completely blew up in his face - if it hadn't been for COVID it would have probably made him a one-term governor. I also saw the amount of backlash among parents to that small delay in simply renewing the SHSAT contract.

But basically, while I don't agree with them on schools, I don't expect that disagreement to matter much over the next few years, and there are other areas I agree with them that probably will matter a lot more.

As someone who has been involved in G&T/SHS advocacy, I disagree that the SHSAT is considered a third rail. For far left pols like Lander it's how they get their base riled up. They are ideologically motivated and use it as a distraction from bread and butter issues. I agree with you that there are scarier things looming, but these LWNJ pols like to spend time on virtue signaling and shaming instead of addressing issues that voters actually care about.

100% agree. The far lefties will destroy anything good that's left in NYC public schools and bankrupt the city. I will not be voting for a candidate who does not support the SHSAT/G&T. I usually vote for whomever PLACE endorses (asterisk: as long as they aren't too crazy right wing).

I have mixed opinions of PLACE (which I think you agree with). They are a one issue organization. As much as I generally agree with them on education issues, they are willing to ignore someone being a complete whacko on all other issues. I stopped getting their e-mails because it was total right wing, sensationalistic NY Post propaganda.

I think it is also a lot of FOTB outer-borough folks. I am fully supportive of the SHSAT but these people think the whole world should be based on test scores and have no appreciation for emotional intelligence and soft skills.

Serious question, why can’t we have a handful of schools for “these people”? There are only 7 SHSAT schools and they represent a tiny % of NYC high school spots. Why can’t “they” have what they want and you have what you want?

To the original question- Cuomo and then whatever it takes to block Mamdani.

[Anonymous]

PLACE are as I understand it the ones responsible for the fanatically anti-LGBT District 2 CEC - and are basically in general the NYC equivalent of Moms for Liberty - so I make a point of voting for whoever they do not endorse. (and indeed just did so on my CEC ballot)

From what I hear, things are *extremely* unpleasant at Stuy at the moment - everybody's stressed and miserable and works too hard and has to cheat just to survive - so while I don't think that "la la no more tests" is the answer, being willing to at least raise the question of whether to add other factors along with the SHSAT is maybe worth considering; even something as simple as adding an essay component like Hunter does might help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PLACE are as I understand it the ones responsible for the fanatically anti-LGBT District 2 CEC - and are basically in general the NYC equivalent of Moms for Liberty - so I make a point of voting for whoever they do not endorse. (and indeed just did so on my CEC ballot)

From what I hear, things are *extremely* unpleasant at Stuy at the moment - everybody's stressed and miserable and works too hard and has to cheat just to survive - so while I don't think that "la la no more tests" is the answer, being willing to at least raise the question of whether to add other factors along with the SHSAT is maybe worth considering; even something as simple as adding an essay component like Hunter does might help.

You know what you are getting into when you go to Stuy. We did not even consider it for our child (full disclosure - their score was not high enough anyway, but was high enough for every other school). The school seems to suck the life out of kids.

But if you don't like Stuy, don't put it on your list. There are some families who actually want this - supply and demand. So that is not an excuse to get rid of the SHSAT. I personally strongly favor more well-rounded kids (which is why we turned down our SHSAT placement for private). But the fighting over what alternative to use would be epic, and I highly doubt a better solution would be found, particularly with the idiots who tend to actually make these decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PLACE are as I understand it the ones responsible for the fanatically anti-LGBT District 2 CEC - and are basically in general the NYC equivalent of Moms for Liberty - so I make a point of voting for whoever they do not endorse. (and indeed just did so on my CEC ballot)

From what I hear, things are *extremely* unpleasant at Stuy at the moment - everybody's stressed and miserable and works too hard and has to cheat just to survive - so while I don't think that "la la no more tests" is the answer, being willing to at least raise the question of whether to add other factors along with the SHSAT is maybe worth considering; even something as simple as adding an essay component like Hunter does might help.

You know what you are getting into when you go to Stuy. We did not even consider it for our child (full disclosure - their score was not high enough anyway, but was high enough for every other school). The school seems to suck the life out of kids.

But if you don't like Stuy, don't put it on your list. There are some families who actually want this - supply and demand. So that is not an excuse to get rid of the SHSAT. I personally strongly favor more well-rounded kids (which is why we turned down our SHSAT placement for private). But the fighting over what alternative to use would be epic, and I highly doubt a better solution would be found, particularly with the idiots who tend to actually make these decisions.

+1 Thankfully, it's a state law. I'm happy to fight to keep it that way. If not for that, de Blasio and Carranza would have ruined the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PLACE are as I understand it the ones responsible for the fanatically anti-LGBT District 2 CEC - and are basically in general the NYC equivalent of Moms for Liberty - so I make a point of voting for whoever they do not endorse. (and indeed just did so on my CEC ballot)

From what I hear, things are *extremely* unpleasant at Stuy at the moment - everybody's stressed and miserable and works too hard and has to cheat just to survive - so while I don't think that "la la no more tests" is the answer, being willing to at least raise the question of whether to add other factors along with the SHSAT is maybe worth considering; even something as simple as adding an essay component like Hunter does might help.

PLACE is not fanatically anti-LGBT. There is one CEC2 member who is stuck on getting biological boys out of girls' sports, a position that is also shared by many feminists on the left fwiw. They are NOT the NYC equivalent of Moms for Liberty. That's just far left propaganda talking and a lot of sour grapes from the crazy progressive ed parents who used to dominate CEC2 who were insanely antagonistic towards G&T/SHS families. There is a lot of turnover in the schools so people without much back knowledge have this impression that PLACE "took over". That's not exactly how it went. If those crazy progressive ed CEC2 Moms who are against G&T/SHS programs had been a little bit more civil, it wouldn't have been this bad, but as I mentioned above there was non-stop virtue signaling and shaming from them, especially the Japanese-born one and the native NYer who had the zoom episode that went viral, among others. After a while, parents just had enough. No one likes being told that they are a bad person for wanting their children challenged in school, especially a public school. It was these crazy progressive ed CEC2 Moms who fueled the ascent of PLACE. That and de Blasio.

Regarding adding a test, who is going to read them? What is to say a kid can't be coached on that?

[Anonymous]

We are living this hell in our public school now. The school won’t even teach certain parts of the NYC DOE curriculum because it is not anti racist enough. Everything is thru the lens of race. Academics do not matter, the bar is so low. If you are for advanced learning that is shamed. Just voted in my CEC election and struggled to find a candidate who even mentioned academics. The whole thing is sad and has us questioning our choice to live here.