Whitney Tilson is running on education, and he’s claiming the pro-charter lane in the mayoral race

Newly approved for public matching funds yet still polling at a paltry 1%, Democratic mayoral candidate Whitney Tilson is hoping to catch attention with a $500,000 ad push highlighting his new education platform.

In a 90-second digital ad spot shared exclusively with City & State, former hedge fund manager Tilson highlights New York’s comparatively high per-pupil spending – which he says should be producing better results – and his history of support for charter schools, which he’s in favor of expanding. The campaign expects to put at least $100,000 behind that ad alone, and spend at least $500,000 total on ads promoting his education platform. (As of mid-March, the campaign had spent the majority of the $755,000 it raised, but this week the campaign received nearly $2 million in public matching funds.)

Tilson, a former member of the board at KIPP Academy – a national charter school network with nine schools in the city – also has support from other charter backers in his campaign. That includes John Petry, who helped found the popular Success Academy charter network and serves as the campaign’s finance chair. 

Tilson’s new education platform not only calls for expanding charter schools in New York City, but also pledges to fight state law requiring New York City schools to implement class-size mandates. It’s a stance that’s unlikely to get him any love from the United Federation of Teachers – one of the few major New York City unions that have still yet to endorse in the mayoral race. 

“I’m not a career politician and I don’t think like them. I can say what I actually believe and don’t have to suck up to the powerful special interests that run this city and state,” Tilson says in the new ad. “Instead, I put kids and parents first.”

Also included in Tilson’s platform are pledges to fully fund 3-K, identify waste in current education spending, increase pay for high-performing teachers, close or merge schools with low enrollment, and increase school safety officers.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was an avid supporter of charter schools in office and continues to be today. Tilson, another political outsider, is a vocal admirer of Bloomberg.

Following Bloomberg’s tenure, pro-charter groups found a critic in Mayor Bill de Blasio, and subsequently threw their support behind now-Mayor Eric Adams in the 2021 race.

In this year’s mayoral race, candidates have largely focused on affordability, and education policy has not emerged as a dominant issue – with the exception of calling for expanded early childhood education and afterschool programming.

But at least one other Democratic primary candidate has levied a frequent line of criticism against the expansion of charter schools in New York City, arguing that investment in them takes away resources from traditional public schools.

In criticizing mayoral front-runner and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s education record in his own education policy paper, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander takes a swipe at individuals reminiscent of the profile of Tilson or his supporters. “Cuomo’s tenure also saw a push towards privatization, with support from hedge fund billionaires advocating for charter school expansion at the expense of neighborhood public schools,” Lander’s plan reads. Lander’s son works at a charter school network, but he opposes lifting the charter school cap, unlike Tilson.