Politics
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A new ad campaign for Maine gubernatorial candidate Nirav Shah is being partially funded by a Democratic group that supports school choice, highlighting a clash of education interests and sparking criticism from two of his opponents.
314 Action, which backs Democrats with science backgrounds, launched a $650,000 campaign Tuesday with an ad that highlights Shah’s leadership of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the ad’s top funders was Education Reform Now Advocacy Inc., a nonprofit group that advocates for charter schools and school choice. That puts the group at odds with teacher unions, including the Maine Education Association, a 24,000-strong union that in April endorsed Shah as its third choice in the Democratic primary.
Former state Senate President Troy Jackson and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, ranked first and second by the union, released a joint statement Tuesday saying they were “deeply disappointed that Dr. Shah is being bankrolled by millionaires whose mission is diverting your tax dollars from Maine’s neighborhood public schools to private ones.”
The criticism came after Shah has cemented a frontrunner position in the race in polls since the winter. Internal surveys from Jackson and rival Hannah Pingree have put him in front. Pingree announced an endorsement from Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday in an attempt to consolidate institutional-minded Democrats behind her.
The critique of the PAC’s support for Shah comes as all five Democratic candidates — and their Republican counterparts — say reversing Maine’s downward trend in education rankings will be one of their top priorities if elected.
Education Reform Now Advocacy Inc. is a New York-based nonpartisan, nonprofit that calls for raising educational standards, expanding public school choice and charter school options, and promotes what it calls “fair funding” and increased resources for low-income students and students of color.
It is affiliated with Democrats for Education Reform and run by former Mayor Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island. It is unclear how much the group gave toward the pro-Shah ads because it has not yet had to file updated campaign finance reports with the state.
Shah did not advocate for school choice in his education plan released last month. He focused on investments in early childhood education, expanded mental health and after-school programs, raising teacher pay, and stronger career and technical education pathways.
The Shah campaign, 314 Action and Education Reform Now did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shah earned the third-place support of the Maine teachers union because members “came to know him through his leadership and communication during the pandemic, and they value his commitment to working in partnership with schools and supporting the people who make public education possible,” Jesse Hargrove, the MEA’s president, said in April.
Members interviewed candidates and ranked their endorsement choices based on information available at the time, spokesperson Samantha Burdick said in a Tuesday statement.
“MEA is confident that members will continue to review information throughout the campaign and vote for the candidate they believe will best support students and public education in Maine,” she said.