Public advocate beats charter supporter for California schools chief
It was the most expensive race for a state superintendent.
Finally, more than a week after the vote, there is now a winner in the race for California’s superintendent of public instruction after the most expensive race in history for a state schools chief.
State legislator Tony Thurmond, an advocate for traditional public schools, beat out charter schools supporter Marshall Tuck. He tweeted the following on Saturday:
I want to thank the voters of CA for electing me to serve the 6 million students of CA. I intend to be a champion of public schools & a Superintendent for all CA students. I want to thank Marshall Tuck for his gracious call to congratulate me & wish me well. Time to get to work!
The election of Thurmond was a victory for forces in California who want to reform the scandal-ridden charter school sector and a blow to the charter school lobby and wealthy philanthropists, some of them out of state, who had poured millions into Tuck’s campaign. Both men are Democrats.
Thurmond had established an insurmountable lead more than a week after the actual election, with 50.8 percent of the vote to 49.2 percent for Tuck, who lost his second consecutive bid for the job.
Until Saturday the race appeared to be too close too call, with a gap of only a few thousand votes at one point. Tuck initially led, but as more votes were counted, Thurmond took the lead and opened a wide enough margin for Tuck to concede.
Thurmond was elected to the California State Assembly in 2014 from the East Bay and has been a member of two school boards.
Tuck was the first president of the Green Dot network of charter schools in Los Angeles and then founded a nonprofit that used private donations to help turn around troubled traditional public schools. Four years ago, Tuck ran for state superintendent, losing in a race that cost some $30 million, with a lot of coming from billionaires backing Tuck.
This year’s race had a price tag of more than $50 million, making it the most expensive for a state Continue reading: Public advocate beats charter supporter for California schools chief - The Washington Post
