Vote for Khazei; Ed Reformers of the Month: Sam Hoyt & Craig Johnson

For those of you who vote in Massachusetts, please get out and vote today for Alan Khazei.  Here’s the email update from DFER, also with a call to support Sam Hoyt and Craig Johnson:

 

Friends:

We need your help in the next 24-hours on three fronts:

1.       If you live in Massachusetts, get your reformy butt to the polls tomorrow and show your support for Alan Khazei, DFER’s pick in the special election to fill the seat held by legendary Senator Ted Kennedy. If you have friends or relatives in Massachusetts, harass them like you’ve never harassed them before.  Turnout is expected to be light, and – as cliché as it sounds – every vote will count. For more on Khazei, see DFER’s October Education Reformer of the Month.

  

2.       Support New York Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, our November Education Reformer of the Month. Yes, we’re a little late, but Assemblyman Hoyt deserves the support of education reformers nationwide for his longstanding push for reform in the Empire State. More info on Sam can be found at the end of this email, but it is worth noting that he was the first elected official in New York to do ANYTHING to try to help the state win the coveted “Race To The Top” federal funding contest. You can help Sam’s campaign through DFER’s site by clicking here.

 

 

3.       Support New York Senator Craig Johnson, our December Education Reformer of the Month.  Sen. Johnson made history in 2007 as the first Democrat elected to represent New York's 7th District in over 100 years. In the time since, Senator Johnson has been a great partner for DFER and supporter of increased funding for public education, coupled with significant reform to change the status quo. You can help Craig’s campaign through DFER’s site by clicking here.

These are three important races for education reformers nationally. Help us continue to push the envelope for reform by supporting them!

Joe

November 2009: New York State Assemb. Sam Hoyt (AD-144)

Sam Hoyt will go down in history as the first elected official in New York State to take President Obama’s “Race To The Top” education reform contest seriously. This fall, Hoyt (D-Buffalo) introduced a package of legislation designed to make New York State more competitive in the contest for nearly $5 billion in federal funding.

 A self-described "leading proponent for charter schools," Assemblyman Hoyt has a history of standing behind progressive education. He was a strong and early supporter of charter schools in New York - long before it was popular - often defending the concept and legislation in legislative sessions and budget deliberations. In 2004 he was honored by the New York Charter Schools Association (NYCSA) with the annual Charter School Champion Award along with New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. At that time, NYCSA President Bill Phillips stated that Hoyt was "a fighter for children and a hero to the charter school movement, particularly in the City of Buffalo where charters are changing the face of public education."
 

December 2009: New York State Senator Craig Johnson (SD-7) Sen. Johnson made history in 2007 as the first Democrat elected to represent New York's 7th District in over 100 years. In the time since, Senator Johnson has been a great partner for DFER and supporter of increased funding for public education, coupled with significant reform to change the status quo.

Right off the bat in the Senate, Johnson was an outspoken supporter of the 2007 legislation to lift the cap on charter schools from 100 to 200. His timely election helped fuel the momentum of the successful legislation, and in the time since, he has been a friend of New York’s charter school and education reform movements.

Sen. Johnson’s passion and skilled political maneuvering are a product of a political background and a lifetime as a New York citizen and politician. He was born and raised in Port Washington, Long Island, where he still lives with his family. His mother, Barbara Johnson, was also a local politician. Sen. Johnson replaced her on the Nassau County Legislature in a special election after she passed away in 2000. He served for four terms on the Legislature, where he was given the reigns of a $2.2 billion budget and helped save the county from bankruptcy as the youngest-ever chairman of the Finance Committee.