Post-election breakdown: how union, charter backers fared
A day after an election that saw most of the union-backed candidates win their races, New York City teachers union president Michael Mulgrew was still celebrating. “We had a very good night,” he told me.
In total, 157 of the 170 candidates the United Federation of Teachers supported were victorious on Tuesday, union officials said.
Mulgrew said he was pleased to see former City Councilman Tony Avella take Republican Frank Padavan’s seat in the State Senate. A month before the election, when polls showed Avella was down by over two dozen points, Mulgrew said he sent union members to campaign in northeast Queens. Avella, who also ran and lost in the city’s mayoral race last year, ended up with 53 percent of the vote.
“It was fun because everyone told us we wouldn’t win,” Mulgrew said.
Union-backed candidates lost in 13 races. Among them was Democratic Congressman Michael McMahon, who