WHEREAS, the UFT will endorse one candidate for the Office of the Mayor of the City of New York in the June 22 Democratic primary as there is a vacancy in the Mayor’s Office due to term limits; and

WHEREAS, our political team evaluated the candidacies of the over 40 individuals running to be the 110th Mayor of New York City to determine the top candidates for our members to screen; and

WHEREAS, this evaluation included an informal Zoom screening, completion of a 14-page policy questionnaire, examination of polling and policy agendas (and/or record), a review of statements made during the campaign; and

WHEREAS, a dozen of the top interested mayoral candidates were selected for further interviews including Eric Adams, Art Chang, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Barbara Kavovit, Ray McGuire, Carlos Menchaca, Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Joycelyn Taylor, Maya Wiley, and Andrew Yang; and

WHEREAS, for the last three months our volunteer members conducted extensive Zoom screenings and an in-person Town Hall screening for these candidates; and

WHEREAS, more than 12,000 members signed up for these five mayoral Town Hall interviews; and members were surveyed after each forum and asked who they would vote for based on the candidates’ performances; and

WHEREAS, 14,000 of our members also engaged our campaign website nyc2021.uft.org and submitted feedback on what they want in the next mayor; and

WHEREAS, the next mayor needs to support an education agenda that recognizes the importance of funding, the benefits of lower class size, and the threat of charter schools; and

WHEREAS, our public schools, and we as a union, need a mayor who listens and responds to educators' concerns — including a drastic revamping of the bureaucracy at Tweed —and who has the experience needed to be an effective change agent; and

WHEREAS, the next mayor must support other positions that mean so much to our students and their families – such as the role of unions, a living wage, social justice, affordable housing and reducing homelessness; and

WHEREAS, we need a mayor with a demonstrated capacity for leadership that prepares them for the task of running the government of the biggest city in the nation; and

WHEREAS, the candidate we support needs a viable campaign strategy including the capacity to raise and efficiently spend the $9 to $10 million dollars necessary for this highly contested race; and

WHEREAS, particularly the “final four” — Eric Adams, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang — we interviewed came the closest to meeting these criteria outlined; and

WHEREAS, only one stood out with regard to all of these benchmarks — City Comptroller Scott Stringer; and

WHEREAS, on education policy, Scott Stringer has always been in the corner of public schools, public school educators and their students; and

WHEREAS, he has been a strong supporter of this union, backing us on issues like paid parental leave and standing with us when de Blasio tried to eliminate the last of our retro pay; and

WHEREAS, this summer, while de Blasio couldn’t make up his mind about how to safely open schools, Scott was with us in demanding strong, specific anti-COVID safeguards before schools reopened; and

WHEREAS, Scott has been a consistent critic of charter schools; and

WHEREAS, he has joined in our calls for lower class sizes, knows the importance of teacher retention, and he has joined in our efforts to get more school counselors and social services for our students; and

WHEREAS, he has been a champion of unions and working families, from the importance of a living wage to the pressing need to build affordable housing; and

WHEREAS, as comptroller Scott has overseen the city’s $88 billion budget and has successfully managed the city’s five pension funds, including the Teachers' Retirement System — in the last year alone, TRS returns were nearly 20 percent, well above the system’s actuarial target; and

WHEREAS, as a skilled campaigner, he has run successful races for the State Assembly, Manhattan Borough President and City Comptroller — often winning after starting well down in the polls — and has already raised $8.7 million in the mayor’s race and has the proven ability to raise and match more; and

WHEREAS, we have surveyed members of the Town Hall audiences about who they felt deserved our support after each of our sessions and Scott beat the next runner-up 2-1 in all of the screenings he took part in; and

WHEREAS, we especially need a candidate who has a fighting chance to actually win this election, particularly because charter school forces and other interests hostile to public education will be spending millions on their preferred candidates; and

WHEREAS, that candidate by any measure is clearly Scott; and

WHEREAS, the leadership of this union urges you to vote to support Scott Stringer in the campaign to be the next Mayor of New York City; therefore, be It

RESOLVED that the UFT endorses Scott Stringer for his primary election for Office of the Mayor of the City of New York.