Bill de Blasio changes mind on public input into schools chancellor decision

Critics are saying that the Mayor-elect's statement that he was 'not going to put the different finalists on display' contradicts a promise he made during his campaign.

By Erin Durkin AND Ben Chapman  

New York Daily News 

December 3, 2013

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, says the Mayor-elect's change of mind 'doesn’t bode well for the future.'

Seth Wenig/AP

In what critics called a reversal of an important campaign promise, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio said Monday he will not subject his pick for city schools chancellor to a public vetting process.
“We’re not going to have a beauty contest,” de Blasio told reporters after a meeting with state Assembly Democrats in lower Manhattan. “We’re not going to put the different finalists on display.”
Critics said the statement contradicted promises de Blasio made during a campaign appearance Nov. 19, 2012, when he vowed to choose a chancellor with a “serious public screening” of potential picks for the job.
“We need a chancellor who is presented to the public, not just forced down our throat,” de Blasio said at the time.

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