Bloomberg Wasn't On Any Ballot, But Here's How He Affected Elections Nationwide
Posted: 11/06/2013 4:42 pm EST | Updated: 11/06/2013 4:54 pm EST
NEW YORK -- Though his name wasn't on a ballot Tuesday, perhaps the most influential figure on education issues during the election cycle was New York's outgoing mayor, Michael Bloomberg.
Though the 12-year mayor is leaving office -- and the city's progressive Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (D) is taking his place -- his legacy in remaking the city's schools was at the center of local and state elections nationwide, sometimes explicitly. With his national presence, deep pockets and brusque mannerisms, Bloomberg oversaw the nation's largest school district amassing both acolytes and pronounced resistance across the country.
On Tuesday evening, his signature reforms such as expanding charter schools and stats-heavy management of schools and teachers -- derided by critics simply as "corporate reform" -- were endorsed in places like Denver and Douglas County, Colo., but rejected in cities like Bridgeport, Conn., and New York. Also in Colorado, a major state initiative to raise taxes to increase school funding -- which both Bloomberg and