Aggie Mullaney, who called herself a "community activist and a mother" said, "Single payer is a perfect example. It gets through the Assembly but doesn't pass the Senate. The IDC is enabling a Trump agenda." Mullaney was concerned with expanding voting rights and the DREAM Act. "We explain to voters that members of the IDC, who they voted for as Democrats, are working with Republicans. Most of them have no idea what the IDC is. It's a subterfuge!"
My conversations were interrupted by car horns honking in support of the Klein advocates. The Klein truck made several passes down the street during the time I was there.
I heard rumblings that the "counter-demonstration" was peopled by folks brought on-site. I contacted Rise and Resist point person, Paul Rabin, on Monday to check on that story. Rabin confirmed, "There were two or three school buses that people were getting on to. I spoke to several women there. They didn't seem to know what the IDC was."
Educational consultant Toby Marxuach-Gusciora related, "I think Klein does what's good for Republicans, and they believe in charter schools. These schools pick the top kids, and then the public schools don't have diverse populations. It's killing education for minorities, and in the long run -- public education."
Maria Bautista, NYC Campaigns Director of the Alliance for Quality Education, was also concerned about the IDC role in the public education space. "As part of their coalition with the Republicans in the Senate, Klein and the IDC voted to underfund public schools, and to fund privately run charter schools instead. Our public schools in New York City are owed $1.9 billion as a result of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. The Senate Republicans are fighting tooth and nail against this money for our children. Yet, Jeff Klein and his IDC colleagues are empowering the Senate Republicans instead of fighting for our schools." I asked Bautista about the pro-Klein people stating that Klein was bringing funds into the schools. She told me she had spoken to some Klein supporters about the work the Alliance was doing. "Jeff Klein apparently secures additional funding for the schools in his district. Community members were very aware of this. However, the reality is that this money is a fraction of what is owed. His district alone was owed $102 million this past year and he's blocked his community and the state from benefiting from the full funding for public schools." Reflecting on how Klein was massaging his district she suggested, "It seems he takes care of local schools and awards grants to curry favor."
I got quite similar feedback on the "follow the money" component from Darius Longarino. A young lawyer, Longarino called Klein's offices in Albany and the Bronx to express the need for early voting and automatic registration. "The GOP provides Senator Klein with several tens of million dollars for projects in his district," he said.
"This is far more than any other senator -- Republican or Democrat -- many of them representing districts more in need of financial support. Why does this happen? The GOP is buying Klein's loyalty, and Klein, in turn, buys loyalty in the district. Klein is often pictured in the paper giving out big checks to parks and local groups, but the cost of his backroom bargain with the GOP is invisible. For example, our district's public schools are owed $80 million in Foundation Aid, the distribution of which the IDC and GOP have endeavored to slow and diminish. Meanwhile, they have passed legislation to prop up the charter school industry."
Longarino pointed me to a 2015 PoliticoNewYork drill-down on Klein and his $11 million plus in earmarks. "It's about money in return for support," Longarino concluded. "He buys the peace while preventing progressive action."
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