A quality education is the right of every child and is the bedrock of a functional democracy. Unfortunately, here in New York City, our public school system is failing too many of our children. Class sizes are too big. Teachers are overwhelmed. The high school graduation rate is at an appalling 50 percent. Poor districts are punished for low test scores—and denied the resources to improve them. Parents panic that their children won’t have a place in a good middle- or high-school. And every year, frenetic development places thousands of new students into a system that simply can’t absorb them.

I believe that public transportation is the indispensable support system for our city. Everything we love about living in Brooklyn–from our pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and shopping districts to our fine schools, playgrounds and public parks—depends on an efficient and reliable system of subways and buses. Public transit is good for the environment, good for our health and good for our quality of life.

Secret slush funds. Public officials using our tax dollars for their political agendas. Millions of taxpayer dollars stashed in bogus accounts. Almost every day, the headlines bring new evidence of a culture of corruption in the New York City Council. We Brooklynites are all too familiar with the unethical ways of our elected officials. For decades, we’ve suffered through a corrupt Democratic Party machine that hands out judgeships and other posts to political allies rather than to the most qualified candidates. As voters, we deserve a better class of public officials than we get.