A Real Peoples’ Victory/Good Riddance Cathie Black

by Michael Shulman

The resignation of Cathy Black was nothing short of a peoples’ victory. In a nutshell, Black was unqualified for the job as Chancellor. This was apparent to everyone, with the exception of Mike Bloomberg. His choice of Black showed his arrogance and utter contempt for students, parents, community organizations and, of course, teachers.

Black compared her experience at the DOE with learning Russian in one week and then having to give a lecture in Russian. A question for you Cathy  -Why did you take this position in the first place?

Her comments about birth control and mocking demonstrators at a public hearing was not only evidence of being unqualified and unprepared- it was an act of racism and showed her contempt for the racially diverse population she was supposed to serve.

The PEP rally at Brooklyn Tech on February 3 was a moving event. It was a defining meeting for Black and Bloomberg. The puppet panel appointed to do the mayor’s bidding was given a lesson in how the students, parents, elected officials and rank and file teachers were prepared to stop school closings. The walkout of well over a thousand participants showed the mayor, PEP, and Cathy Black that the school community was not going to take school closings sitting down.

Will Dennis Walcott be any better? The answer is an absolute No! While he is much smarter than Cathy Black, his policies will be 100% the same as hers. They have to be—he is the mouthpiece of Mayor Bloomberg.  One of his first acts as Chancellor designee was to go to Albany to argue against seniority. Sound familiar? We have the same charge as pre Walcott –to fight layoffs and fight against the proposed draconian budget cuts.  Mike “I Need Another Term Because of My Business Expertise During  This Crisis” Bloomberg has to go. We should not be in this position in the first place. New Action opposed mayoral control, opposed our union sitting out the term limit fight, and was the first (perhaps only caucus) to support Bill Thompson for Mayor.