William C. Thompson Jr., the mayoral choice of the influential teachers’ union, the United Federation of Teachers, is making education the centerpiece of his campaign in the closing days of the race for the Democratic nomination. On Wednesday, he campaigned in the morning with Michael Mulgrew and Randi Weingarten, the current and previous presidents, respectively, of the union, unveiled a five-point plan to help teachers, and then joined Mr. Mulgrew and Ms. Weingarten for a late-afternoon teleconference town hall meeting. Small wonder, then, that his latest television advertisement, “Schools,†released on Wednesday, also focuses on education.
Education, no doubt, is a priority for Mr. Thompson and his family. But the contention that Mr. Thompson will improve schools, not close them â€" an obvious criticism of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s practices â€" warrants some context. Mr. Bloomberg believes that closing schools that are deemed to be failing, or facing declining enrollment, is one way to improve education in the city. In addition, the Bloomberg administration has opened many schools in the buildings where schools have closed.
The ad is the first in which Mr. Thompson relies on his daughter to vouch for him, prompting comparisons to an ad featuring Bill de Blasio’s son, Dante, which many political analysts believe has been the most effective and memorable of the campaign to date. The ad also represents a shift in direction for Mr. Thompson’s commercials â€" his last ad was sharply critical of Mr. de Blasio over the stop-and-frisk issue, but this one is cheery. The ad is also striking in that the testimonials are from Latinos and blacks, important potential constituencies for Mr. Thompson. The ad is another indication that, with less than a week before Primary Day, and at a time when many New Yorkers express concern about schools, Mr. Thompson wants to be known as the education candidate.
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