Weingarten regrets supporting Cuomo’s running mate
BUFFALO—American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten regrets campaigning for Governor Andrew Cuomo's running mate in last year’s elections, she told Capital during a union convention on Saturday.
Weingarten, former president of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers, voiced a last-minute robocall supporting current lieutenant governor Hochul last September when the former Buffalo congresswoman faced what appeared to be a serious challenge from an anti-Cuomo insurgent candidate, Tim Wu, in the Democratic primary. (Wu, a Fordham University law professor, ran with Zephyr Teachout, whose surprisingly strong challenge to Cuomo led to an unflattering result for the governor.)
Weingarten’s push for Hochul drew some union members’ ire at the time, but Cuomo's relationship with the state's teachers unions has gotten even worse since then, as he has pushed for more stringent evaluations.
“Look, Kathy Hochul as a congresswoman was a terrific congresswoman,” Weingarten said, after addressing more than 2,000 New York State United Teachers members who gathered in Buffalo for their annual convention. “And on balance, she would have been, and she should be, a terrific lieutenant governor. But what’s happened is that actions speak louder than words.
“In seeing what we’ve seen, I’m really disappointed, and I regret what she’s done, and I regret actually making it clear that she was terrific beforehand,” Weingarten said, when asked directly whether she regretted doing the robocall.
“Now, you know, I believe in redemption,” she continued. “And ultimately, at the end the day, the way schools move forward is by collaboration. ... What tends to happen, and we see this after strikes, and we see this after big fights—what tends to happen is the great Weingarten regrets supporting Cuomo's running mate | Capital New York:
