Morning Fizz: $7 Million committed to the charters cause
Caffeinated news & gossip featuring: The Gates Foundation and charter schools; Cory Booker and the Washington State Democrats; Laura Ruderman; and Greg Nickels.
1. Jolt pooh-poohed the charter schools initiativeTuesday—it seems a bit late in the game to just be getting your signature gathering effort underway for the July 6 deadline (they'll need 241,000 valid signatures).
But a source tells Fizz that the campaign already believes it has $7 million in commitments toward supporting their cause, including $4 million from the Gates Foundation and $1 million from Nick Hanauer, the local investor, big Democratic donor, and ed reform advocate who caused a flap earlier this yearby bad mouthing Jay Inslee over education issues.
Speaking of Jay Inslee, if the charter initiative does go forward, watch for the anti-charters Washington Education Association, the teachers' union, to match the charter camp in spending, which will drain a traditional source of money away from the Democrats in the governor's race.
2. The King County Democrats gave their sole endorsement to former state Rep. Laura Ruderman last night in the crowded field of Democrats running in the new 1st Congressional District. You'll remember that the group's endorsement committee