Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on Tony Thurmond Winning California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Race

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten on the election of Tony Thurmond:

“Congratulations to Tony on this historic win. Californians voted for the candidate who understands the importance of public schools and listens to the teachers who work in them and the parents who send their kids to them. Tony is a uniter who has devoted his life to strengthening public schools — fighting for them to be safe and welcoming places for every kid. He doesn’t shy away from a challenge, and he knows it takes educators, parents and the community working together to help those schools succeed.

“Despite a well-funded corporate-backed campaign against him, Tony won on the issues that matter most to families: partnering with teachers instead of demonizing them; investing in every public school kid, regardless of ZIP code; and preventing the Betsy Devos charter school agenda from wreaking further havoc on California’s schools.”