Press Room

Education key part of congressional hopeful's campaign

North County News, October 19, 2005
By Rita J. King

To Ben Shuldiner, 28, education is “the key to our society.”

To him, it’s so important that he started his own High School of Public Service in Brooklyn with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2002. When the school opened in 2003, Crompond’s Shuldiner became the youngest principal in the state.

As the founder and principal of the school, Shuldiner has had a chance to put has had a chance to put his Harvard University degrees in history and science to work. The same way he rapidly made his way up from teaching to administration, he’s now got his sights set on the 19th Congressional District, currently represented by Congresswoman Sue Kelly.

“We need a change in Washington,” Shuldiner said. “The Bush Administration has handled so many things poorly, from the war in Iraq to Hurricane Katrina. Sue Kelly has been a vocal supporter of the far-right conservative Bush Administration. She has received $12,000 from Tom DeLay’s ARMPAC, more than any other Representative from New York.”

“Though she portrays herself as a moderate, she has voted time and time again with the far-right conservative wing of her party. I grew us with a Republican party that was moderate,” Shuldiner said. “But that party is gone, so it is time for a change. It is time to focus on education, focus on protecting Social Security, and focus on protecting our families.”

While pursuing a full undergraduate course-load at Harvard University, Shuldiner also took graduate-level courses in education and received his teaching credentials. After graduating from Harvard, he won the Stowe-Harvard Fellowship to begin his teaching career in England. He then returned to New York and earned his master’s degree in Education Administration from Baruch City College while teaching at Erasmus Hall, a troubled, inner-city high school.

“The High School for Public Service provides rigorous academic training while cultivating citizenship through community service,” said Alex Marcopoulos, 23, who graduated from Walter Panas High School in 2000 and was a member of the Lakeland Debate Team for four years. He is now working for the Shuldiner Campaign.

“Ben’s visionary leadership and outstanding managerial skills have brought the school rapid success,” he said.

The Shuldiner campaign’s perception is the Democrats have been riddles by a lack of organization.

“Ben is no idle young dreamer,” said James Wilson, who also works for his campaign, “but a sensible, accomplished man of principle. He combines commitment to equality, tolerance, and compassion with pragmatism and efficiency.”

Wilson, who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 2002, said he is now jointly pursuing a Ph.D. in Politics at Princeton, and a law degree at Yale Law School.

On March 1, 2005, Shuldiner and a group of other dedicated and accomplished individuals, known as The Principals Project drafted “A Declaration of Progressive Principals,” aimed at pulling the party together.

“We believe in America’s historic promise of liberty, justice and the expansion of opportunity for all people,” the document begins. “These commitments to fundamental human dignity and a better nation for all animate the American spirit and give us a sense of common purpose. We honor these commitments by recognizing that with the great freedoms afforded us comes an even greater responsibility to see that those freedoms are extended to all people in all places. We believe that this sense of shared responsibility – for our families, our communities, our nation and our world – strengthens our country and secures our future.”

The Declaration includes:

Defending dignity (“all people are created equal is not just a fact,” the document reads, "it is a call to action”), strengthening democracy (“It is the shared responsibility of a nation to ensure each citizen’s freedom, security and equality. Through government, we honor our responsibility to promote the common good”), promoting progress (“We must promote innovation and entrepreneurship, cultivate the arts and sciences, and ensure a quality education for everyone. When we invest in individual potential, the benefits are shared by all”) and embracing leadership (“America’s security requires an effective military and a commitment to enduring alliances, but we must remember that America’s true power is found in its wisdom as well as its strength”).

“Our security and prosperity rely on the security and prosperity of all people throughout the world,” the Declaration of Progressive Principals points out. “By helping others, we will help ourselves. America must join with other nations to build global institutions that protect the vulnerable, promote the democratic self- government, and improve the health and welfare for all people throughout the world. America must never suspend its belief in democracy and human rights in the pursuit of its global objectives. Noble ends require nothing short of noble means.”

The last paragraph of the Declaration, Shuldiner said, is “powerful.”

“As progressives…We believe that our country must always be looking toward a better and brighter future for all people, and in this pursuit we pledge to come forward and work with whomever we can. We will fight for these principals in every community, every forum and every office of government, because the struggles of this new century will not only be about preserving the freedoms we already enjoy – they will be about expanding those freedoms for all people,” the Declaration concludes.

Shuldiner said he believes in helping people, and committing oneself to public service. He is a member of the Yorktown Lions and the Beacon-Fishkill Kiwanis Club. The Beacon club just finished distributing dictionaries to all the third-graders in Beacon.

“We bought the dictionaries and then gave them as presents to all the third-graders. That is what we should be focusing on. I am proud to be a member of a group that focuses on service to the community. I only hope to be able to support the actions of clubs like Lions, Kiwanis, and Rotary,” Shuldiner said. “It would be an honor and privilege to serve the 600,000 people in the 19th District.”

As a public school principal and teacher, Shuldiner said providing quality education is one of the government’s most vital functions.

“Improving education is critical to ensuring that the American Dream us available to everyone, so that everyone has the opportunity to succeed,” Shuldiner said.

As a congressman, he would commit the necessary resources the initiate new, innovative reforms to ensure that students in the Hudson Valley receive the highest quality education.

“Sue Kelly, along with the Republican-led Congress and the Bush Administration, is bankrupting our public school system,” he said. “No Child Left Behind has placed a tremendous burden on schools in the Hudson Valley. While I support increased accountability and improved performance, unfunded mandates is not the solution.”

Recruiting the highest quality teachers and high-tech classrooms in every school will “help students become leaders in the 21st-century workforce.”

He believes Social Security is the “single greatest policy tool for combating poverty in America.”

“In the last 50 years we have dramatically reduced poverty among the elderly in the next 50 years. Sue Kelly and the Republican-led Congress have spent the last five years dismantling the social safety net that represents American compassion and values.”

Imposing fiscal restraint and opposing privatization are two critical steps Shuldiner envisions himself taking if elected in 2006.

Proximity to Indian Point is also an issue in Shuldiner’s campaign.

“As home to Indian Point, our district is on the front line of homeland security defense,” he said. “Four years after the plans of American nuclear power plants were found in Afghanistan, Indian Point remains a major threat that poses serious health and safety risks to our community.”

The “devastating effects of poor planning in the Bush Administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina” have made Shuldiner more aware that “an effective voice in Congress is needed to advocate for true accountability and planning.”

He believes all New Yorkers deserve insurance, and said he will expand the reach and scope of such services. He also believes that VA hospitals should be maintained.

“I strongly believe that women have the right to choose how they live their lives,” he said. “Limiting choice is an invasion of privacy and relegates women to second-class citizenship.”

He said he also believes in “the sanctity of the family.”

“Families should be able to control their health and well-being,” he said. “The government’s role is to not dictate, but support the decisions of families. To this end, all women deserve access to safe medical facilities, and effective prenatal and neonatal care. I will also work to develop affordable childcare. I will also work to develop affordable childcare and fair treatment of working mothers. Sadly, under the Republican-led Congress, the number of abortions has actually increased while the availability and safety of these procedures has declined. As your congressman, I will help create a world where abortions are available but rarely needed.”

Working as a principal in a public high school, Shuldiner said he recognized the importance of educating young people to prevent teen-age pregnancy.

“Using methods that are ineffective and deceptive,” he said, “the Republicans are exposing future generations to increased risk with little concern for the effect this has on our young women. As a principal, I have seen firsthand the impact of health education on the prevention of unplanned pregnancies. I will work to ensure that the young women of the Hudson Valley not only have choices but know about these choices so they can make informed decisions.”

Shuldiner’s roster of goals is long and detailed. He is also seeking a responsible resolution to the war in Iraq.

“I believe we should bring our military forces home as quickly as possible but it must be done in a manner consistent with our national security and the stability of Iraq. While the Pentagon needs some freedom to accomplish this, we need tangible goals and clear oversight to ensure we are moving toward a responsible exit strategy,” he said.

“In part, our efforts in Iraq have failed because the Bush Administration has engages in favoritism, granting construction bids not to the best companies, but to their best friends. As your representative, I will work to ensure transparency in the contracting process. I will also ensure all companies have a fair chance to secure contracts in the region to make certain your tax dollars are spent in the most effective way possible.”

For more information about Shuldiner’s campaign, visit www.ben2006.com.