With less than two months until the June primary election, the California Charter Schools Association Advocates strongly endorsed former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for governor, while harshly criticizing Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the current front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Jerry Brown.
But what was striking about the endorsement, made by the political and advocacy arm of the charter school association, was the vehemence against Newsom that accompanied it. In a speech delivered at the Charter School Association’s annual meeting in San Diego, Jed Wallace, the association’s president, said that if elected governor, Newsom would “inflict major harm on our schools and claim to be our friend.”
Newsom’s campaign rejected these attacks as “name-calling and distortion” and that he supported “reputable” and “innovative” nonprofit charter schools.
