A couple of items today regarding Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), one of the groups supporting charter schools in Massachusetts.
First, DFER is putting $200,000 into Leland Cheung’s Democratic primary challenge to State Senator Pat Jehlen. That’s a huge amount of money to spend in the last 10 days of a campaign. Senator Jehlen’s press release on this subject is after the jump.
Second, DFER sent a questionnaire today to legislators, inquiring about their positions on ballot Question 2 and on charter schools generally. One can presume that DFER is intending to make other campaign spending decisions based on what (if anything) it hears back.
The questionnaire, in PDF form, is here. Since I know lots less about charter school issues than my fellow BMG’ers, I offer it up for their edifying comments.
PRESS RELEASE: What can you buy for $200,000?
Contact: Pat Jehlen, 617-970-8362, patjehlen@gmail.com
What can $200,000 buy in final few days of a political campaign? We will soon find out.
On August 8, Democrats for Education Reform received $200,000 from a New York organization, Education Reform Now Advocacy. That group is a 501(c)4 and doesn’t reveal its donors. This is true dark money from outside the state. The money was designated for Leland Cheung’s campaign for Senate. It is by far the most money ever spent by an independent expenditure PAC for a Massachusetts legislative race, and more than many Senate candidates spend in an entire campaign.
Now there are 9 days left till the election, and about $180,000 left, or $20,000 a day. Cheung just sent a fund appeal asking for money to “purchase mailings, online ads, clipboards, and stickers.” $180,000 could buy two district-wide mailings to likely voters every day, although 2 of the days there won’t be mail delivery. Or it could buy 100,000 clipboards.
$200,000 is what a minimum wage worker earns in 10 years. Or what a top hedge fund manager makes in a little less than an hour. That may be the more appropriate comparison because DFER and its affiliates are dominated by hedge fund managers and other Wall Street financiers.
Of course, we don’t know who donated the $200,000. That’s a secret. They’re not saying.
Independent expenditures PACs are supposed to promote the values they are organized to support, but the first DFER mailing doesn’t mention education. Independent expenditures PACS are not allowed to coordinate with the candidate’s campaign, but the mailing imitates Cheung’s own mailings.
What can $200,000 in dark money buy? In ten days we’ll know if it can buy a seat in the Massachusetts Senate.
Sources: Common Cause, PR Watch, Education Reform Now.
against a strong proponent of public education (and the vice chair of the Joint Committee on education)… to plant a charter school loving trojan horse.
Suspicions confirmed.
This is an astronomical amount of money for an outside org to spend in a State Senate race. Astronomical.
Don’t let the charter schools buy a seat, folks. Because Leland for Anything has certainly already sold out…
Are we even sure this is legal? Citizens United left SOME rules in place, did it not? If I were Jehlen I would ask for an advisory opinion from OCPF.
The money spent by DFER to oust Sen Jehlen will be an independent expenditure campaign, which is legal, as long as they do not coordinate their work with the Cheung campaign. There are easy ways around that. Any half way competent consultant knows how to focus on an anti-Jehlen and pro-Cheung message even without coordinating or polling and produce the mailings that will flood her district. It is not dissimilar from the way the pro-Hillary and pro-Trump super PACs operate.
He’s come to BMG before to answer some questions, so I hope he does the same this time on this issue.
By law, he cannot know about the activities of a group in advance, and has no control over their mailings. He literally has no answers to questions.
1. Do you support the mission of DFER?
Easy.
Just because it’s an independent expenditure doesn’t mean he can’t talk about it. We know it can’t be coordinated, but he can talk about whether he supports their goals and tactics.
Harold Myerson at the LA Times had a nice op-ed this week “How the charter school lobby is changing the Democratic Party.” His take on it is
and later in his piece
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-meyerson-charter-school-democrats-20160826-snap-story.html
by the corrupt special interest 30 pieces of silver crowd. Shameful. What an embarrassment to the progressive community.
He’s an ex-con puke DINO shilling for scab union-busting privatizing charters.
How does it feel to sell your soul, Benjamin ? Or whatever your first name really is.
Fred Rich LaRiccia
Wasn’t there a long discussion about the rules a while ago where name calling directed at people who posted here was clearly against the rules?
Doubleman has stated the Leland Cheung has come to this site to answer questions… can we really expect him to do it again when he is called an “ex-con puke DINO shilling for scab union-busting privatizing charters”?
Let’s not forget that Benjamin Leland Cheung was a Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2005.
Senator Warren was also a republican prior to 1995
She wasn’t active in GOP politics and she never ran for office as a Republican, and certainly not in VA. That run coupled with his run for Lt. Gov. after a very short municipal stiny and this run leads many (including me) to the conclusion that his career is more important than his service.
He’s been a fine, progressive city councilor but many of his actions lead much to be desired in the trust department.
And in this race, Jehlen has been an incredibly strong, progressive leader her whole career and more than earned a reelection. I hope she wins handily, but this sketchy, huge money dump makes that less likely.
I want to know – is Cheung onboard with DFER’s agenda?
The answer is zero. They didn’t elect him Mayor either, despite two attempts, and they didn’t back his LG bid. The other 8 all are on record opposing charters. To me that speaks volumes about his ability to collaborate and prioritize on issues the community actually cares about. I suspect, not unlike some of the newer city councilors, he’s a new money crypto libertarian.
I believe him when he says the Republican Party left him, what I don’t believe is that his priorities are what the district needs. My Scott Brown voting firefighter roommate says Jehlen has been their best friend on the hill, as does every treacher I know in the district who are all door knocking and standing out for her. Who’s actually door knocking for Leland that isn’t getting paid to do so? Some of the pot people, who don’t have a better ally on the hill than Jehlen, who else?
I think there are some “innovation economy” folks. I’m a part of that world with my job and I have rarely encountered a group less informed about important issues. Not everyone, of course, but there are many in that world who get their policy views solely from Techcrunch and VCs on Twitter who think that the most pressing political issues are non-competes in MA, not enough H-1B visas, and overregulation of the “sharing economy.” Sure, those are important things, but on the list of important things facing this country and Commonwealth, they aren’t in the top 50. The group is also heavily libertarian, but often not informed to know what that even means or the consequences of that thinking (beyond making it easier to build something like Uber). Cheung is popular in those circles and held a big fundraiser in Cambridge this summer with a lot of VCs and entrepreneurs.
…She’ll tell you exactly why she isn’t a Republican now. I doubt very much that Leland Cheung can give similarly cogent and compelling reasons. At the least, a very interesting compare and contrast could be had between Sen Warren’s reasons and Councilman Cheungs’.
by the charter school lobby. I hope so anyway.
DFER=NEO-LIBERAL ELITISTS
These are hedge fund people siphoning big money to charter schools. Here’s what Common Cause says they did in New York. These people are explicitly anti-worker and anti-union and use students as a wedge because they “care” about kids and teachers can’t possibly do so because we’re worried about our own self-interest.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/03/13065/how-dfer-leaders-channel-out-state-dark-money-colorado-and-beyond
Benjamin, how are we ever going to miss you if you don’t go away ?
You don’t really think our honorable progressive community is going to stab our noble champion, Senator Pat Jehlen , in the back for your dirty rotten 30 pieces of silver. Do you ?
Fred Rich LaRiccia
Make a video (like I did) in support of our noble champion too!
http://vps28478.inmotionhosting.com/~bluema24/2016/08/lets-do-this-medford-pat-jehlen-for-state-senate/
but I’m in the middle of a tough fight of my own with Jen Migliore in the Ninth Essex House district.
Good luck and keep fighting the con puke DINO bastards ! Don’t ever give those suckers an even break !
Fred Rich LaRiccia
to the Kochs.
Their behavior was bad enough in its Proposition 32 promotion that “the Los Angeles County Democratic Party asked DFER to stop using the word “Democrats” in its name, and the state Democratic Party passed a similar resolution of condemnation.” Proposition 32 would have barred unions from using union dues for political political donations, but not corporate donations.
Gloria Romero, who used to head DFER, joined with Koch-connected groups.
Are here:
STAVROU, CHRISTOPHER C
RIVERSIDE, CT 06878 RETIRED 12/17/15 $5,000
EINHORN, DAVID
RYE, NY 10580 GREENLIGHT CAPITAL 02/20/15 $5,000
LEDLEY, CHARLES
BOSTON, MA 02114 HIGHFIELDS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT 06/25/15 $5,000
LEDLEY, REBECCA
BOSTON, MA 02114 NOT EMPLOYED 06/25/15 $5,000
LOEB, DANIEL
NEW YORK, NY 10023 3RD POINT LLC 07/27/15 $5,000
BRADLEY, KATHERINE B
WASHINGTON, DC 20008 CITYBRIDGE FOUNDATION 09/04/15 $5,000
GABRIELI, CHRISTOPHER
BOSTON, MA 02108 INVESTOR AND NONPROFIT 10/21/15 $5,000
KULLMAN, RUTH
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118 CONSULTANT 07/29/15 $500
DALY, PAIGE
NEW YORK, NY 10028 HARVEST PARTNERS 05/20/15 $500
LANDERS, RICHARD
SANTA MONICA, CA 90402 INVESTOR 06/04/15 $500
GALLAGHER, BRIDGET
NEW YORK, NY 10025 Fundraiser 04/22/15 $300
COPSEY, CHRISTOPHER
LITTLE FERRY, NJ 07643 DFER 04/08/15 $300
CRUSEY, LEA
WASHINGTON, DC 20002 Education Reform Now 04/15/15 $250
BAXTER, SCOTT
NEW YORK, NY 10011 Coller Capital 04/22/15 $250
NELSON, DANIEL
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101 JPMORGANCHASE 12/31/15 $250
WILLIAMS, JOE
BROOKLYN, NY 11201 EDUCATION REFORM NOW ADVOCACY 09/30/15 $250
WYATT, TOM
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19174 DILWORTH PAXSON 06/10/15 $250
BAKER, ALISON
MAPLEWOOD, NJ 07040 STRAUS BAKER 04/16/15 $250
SEDLIS, JENNIFER E
BROOKLYN, NY 11201 STUDENTS FOR EDUCATION REFORM 04/16/15 $250
NEW YORKERS FOR PUTTING STUDENTSFIRST
NEW YORK, NY 10001 04/16/15 $200
METHODOLOGY: The numbers on this page are based on contributions from individuals giving $200 or more, as reported to the Federal Election Commission.
NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2016 election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data released on August 22, 2016.
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: info@crp.org
Reminds me why I always worked for his opponent any time he was on the ballot.