The Boston Teachers Union's leadership will ask for the vote during a regular union meeting this afternoon, a couple days after the Globe endorsed Connolly and Barros, both of whom want to see more charter schools in Boston, an idea that offends the union's sensibilities. Consalvo and Arroyo, both of whom say they would oppose an expansion of the number of charter-school seats, are expected to be on hand around 4:45 p.m. after the vote.
Meanwhile, the Network for Public Education, which is headed by a rich New Yorker who actually opposes charter schools, endorsed Consalvo:
He has stated that he does not believe in raising the cap on the number of charter schools in Boston. He believes that schools should offer students comprehensive curricula and that we must examine our over-reliance on standardize testing - the data and results of which should only be shared outside of the school system (with companies like inBloom and Amplify) with parental consent.
Based on the reaction John Connolly got when a national pro-charter group said it would throw tons of money his way, the group adds its endorsement does not come with any money or paid workers attached.
Mike Ross says he wants to see Boston with 1 million residents by 2025:
This is an ambitious goal, but I believe in a metropolitan future for Boston. Growing our city is how we will create jobs, actually stop the rising cost of housing, and bring in the needed revenue to fund my priorities like universal pre-K education and expanding the MBTA.
If we do this right, rents go down, our tax base increases, and we create thousands of jobs for new and current residents. This won't happen all at once. It's a lofty goal to push us in the right direction and a plan for long-term growth.
A Herald poll shows Connolly with a small but growing lead.
Dan Conley has a five-point plan for Hyde Park (see attached, below), where he grew up and which he represented as a city councilor before becoming DA and moving to West Roxbury. But one Hyde Park business owner says he better add a sixth point: Remove her theater from his mailing to Hyde Parksters:
For 8 years Dan Conley represented Hyde Park on the City Council and he never showed any interest in the Everett Theater. Last year, we took the first step in revitalizing the Everett Theater when we unveiled the vintage lighted sign that Dan Conley shows in his mailer. Dan Conley did not have anything to do with getting the funding for that sign, but Rob Consalvo and Mayor Menino did. It's hard to believe Dan would 'take the lead' to restore my theater as mayor, as his campaign literature says, when, for all his time on the council and his many years as a Hyde Park resident before he moved to West Roxbury, he showed no interest in the revitalization of the Everett Theatre.
David Bernstein surveys the mess of a campaign he says Charlotte Golar Richie has run and says maybe Consalvo should stick to rubber sidewalks rather than making grand but vague pronouncements on things that could really cost the city money.
