…The Education Equity Campaign, a pro-test coalition which launched in February to counter the mayor’s plan, hired top firms Tusk Strategies, Bolton St. Johns and Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates to the tune of $80,000 total in May and June, according to the recent bimonthly filings with the state’s ethics watchdog. Those contracts cost them $65,000, according to filings from the previous March and April period.
The campaign also dropped $395,000 in April and March on a media campaign that went through Tusk and included $50,000 for video production, $300,000 for digital advocacy, $30,000 for media advocacy and a $15,000 retainer payment to Bully Pulpit Interactive, a communications agency for brands, causes and candidates.
Big Money Enters Debate Over Race and Admissions at Stuyvesant
Follow the money they typically say.
…Ronald S. Lauder, the billionaire cosmetics heir, and Richard D. Parsons, the former chairman of Citigroup, have for decades had their hands in New York City affairs. Mr. Lauder ran a failed bid for mayor and successfully led a campaign for term limits for local elected officials. Mr. Parsons has been a prominent adviser to two mayors.
Now, they are teaming up to try to influence one of the city’s most intractable and divisive debates: how to address the lack of black and Hispanic students at Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science and the other elite public high schools that use a test to determine admission.