Mayoral-Control Hearing Sparks Divergent Views - The Chief Leader

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Shino Tanikawa, co-chair of the Education Council Consortium and Vice-President of District 2’s Education Council, said that the parent advocates were “vehemently opposed to mayoral control as it stands right now. I think one thing we learned from the former Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg is that this system does not work. A system that depends on the individual temperament of the Mayor is not a good system,” she said..”

Class Size Matters founder Leonie Haimson said that there were no effective checks and balances on the Mayor at the local level.

Deliver Them From Eva

“If we got the worst Mayor in the world, would our schools be protected the maximum extent possible?” she asked. “If Eva Moskowitz was elected Mayor, literally she could close every non-zoned school in the city and put a charter school in its place.”

Recently-elected Public Advocate Jumaane Williams called for other elected officials, including his former fellow Council Members, to have a stronger voice in running schools.
“I believe that local government is best to bear this responsibility. However, this does not mean I am in unequivocal support of mayoral control,” he said. “The responsibility and power are too great and the consequences are too far-reaching to rest on one person.”
Mr. Williams, who has criticized Mr. de Blasio for not doing enough to reform the Police Department and address housing issues, noted that his belief wasn’t about one particular Mayor. “This is about a system that is open to abuse,” he said.