Bill de Blasio appears to be on his way to sealing the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor. This development leaves the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) along with education reform advocates without a candidate to support in the general election, according to the New York Daily News.
The UFT endorsed Democrat Bill Thompson for mayor, but Thompson finished a distant second to de Blasio in the primary. De Blasio was on the edge of finishing above 40% in the primary and knocking Thompson out of a runoff.
Education reform advocates, on the other hand, are facing the possibility that de Blasio is elected mayor and immediately works to stop the expansion of NYC's charter schools:
"We are concerned by some of the policies Bill de Blasio is pushing, particularly those that would limit the growth of high-quality charter schools," said Glen Weiner, deputy executive director of StudentsFirstNY.