WNYC: No Public Record of Cuomo and Charters --Even Though He Had Central Appearance at Rally

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had a central appearance at a rally for charter schools at Albany this spring. Yet after a WNYC Freedom of Information request there was very little information in the public record about activity leading to the appearance.
Interesting, because the New York Times reported April 3 about the governor and the rally, "Cuomo Played Pivotal Role in Charter School Push." This governor has difficulty with transparency.

WNYC News

No Public Record of Cuomo and Charters

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

WNYC

By Robert Lewis : Reporter, WNYC News

 Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office has no public records showing how he came to attend and speak at a massive charter school rally in early March.

WNYC asked the governor's office for records of all communication between the executive chamber and Families for Excellent Schools, the group that organized the rally, and with Success Academy Charter Schools, the charter company at the center of the movement's clash with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

More than three months later, the Cuomo administration says it has no public record of any communication between the governor's office and rally organizers before, during or after the event.

There is no record of an invitation to the event, no record of calls or emails to discuss logistics, no calendar entries showing meetings and only one short email exchange with Success Academy and mid-level administration staffers to circulate court papers not directly related to the rally.

In fact, the administration, which has received large campaign donations from the charter industry, says it has no public records of any communication with the rally organizers and virtually none with Success Academy since Cuomo took office in 2011.
. . .
Eva Moskowitz correspondence . . .

The Cuomo administration has been widely criticized for its lack of transparency.

Click here for the rest of the WNYC news article, and here for the on-demand podcast.


The Perdido Street School blog also reported this week, "Governor Cuomo Apologized To Hedge Fund Managers Via Video About Skipping Lake Placid Education Reform Conference." As that blog asked, "Who's Your Daddy?"

Post-script: Daily Kos announced the launching of a special blog by New York Communities for Change:

CuomoWatch: Cash and Carry Cuomo

Today we're launching CuomoWatch - NYCC's blog covering Andrew Cuomo's corporate-backed agenda which is wreaking havoc on public education, low wage workers, immigrants, and homeowners and tenants through the state. Unfortunately, we'll be posting frequently - The Governor is really hard at work!