Steven brill politics

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As president of the 1. The first openly gay woman to preside over a labor union, Weingarten, 60, was raised in Rockland County, N. Weingarten spoke recently as she traveled by train from Washington, D. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. For the first time ever, the most critical issue is whether we will even have a public education system.

This is an existential threat beyond politics. Public education is the foundation of democracy and the path to opportunity. Can you explain? People have a right to send their children to whatever school they want, but public funds have to go to places that are nondiscriminatory, accountable and transparent. The First Amendment, which stops government from establishing religion yet grants its free expression, created the lines here.

Taxpayer dollars come with a justice component. Some people think of that as a constraint. Others think of it as a path to tolerance and inclusiveness. The process was pretty scary for me because there was tremendous discrimination. I had decided not to talk about being gay but also not to hide it. But I came out 10 years ago to enable others to do the same and to debunk stereotypes and myths.