Why does Governor Andrew Cuomo love charter schools?

The simple answer is because charter school operators and their supporters are big campaign contributors.

In March 2014, Cuomo spoke at a charter school rally in Albany that attacked plans by New York City Mayor de Blasio to charge charters for space in New York City public schools. The charter schools were backed by wealthy and powerful Wall Street hedge fund brokers who paid $5 million for television advertisements supporting their positions. Cuomo responded by forcing New York City to provide charter schools with some of the most sweeping benefits in the country. They include free space in public school buildings or else the city must contribute to the cost of renting private buildings, increased per-pupil funding for charter schools, and allowing charters to operate prekindergarten programs.

Coincidently, Cuomo's re-election campaign received hundreds of thousands of dollars from charter school supporters, including William A. Ackman, Carl C. Icahn, Bruce Kovner and Daniel Nir. Kenneth G. Langone, a founder of Home Depot who is on the Board of Directors of a charter school gave Cuomo's campaign $50,000 last year. According to an article in the New York Times, Langone claimed Cuomo asked him to lead a group of Republicans supporting his re-election. Just before the Democratic primary on September , 2014, Cuomo received $41,000 from Daniel Loeb, a hedge-fund manager who is chairman of Success Academy charter schools as well as $10,000 from a political action committee controlled by Tom Gulotta, a former Republican Nassau County Executive.

Cuomo's reelection bid has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy supporters of Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy Charter School network, although as a not-for-profit organization the network itself is barred from making political donations. At least ten Success board members and two of their two spouses donated to Cuomo's reelection campaign fund. In addition, Cuomo received about $65,000 from Moskowitz's own political action committee.

By one estimate based on 2014 campaign filings, Cuomo received at least $800,000 in donations from "27 bankers, real estate executives, business executives, philanthropists and advocacy groups who have flocked to charter schools and other education causes in recent years." According to Chalkbeat New York, this far exceeds "what the same group gave him for his first run in 2010: $136,000."

The Cuomo reelection campaign has also received major contributions from Charter school advocates with ties to the board of JerseyCan, Say Yes to Education, Democrats for Education Reform, Turnaround for Children chair, Speyer Legacy School, KIPP, RELAY, ConnCan, New Schools Leadership Council, Harlem Children's Zone, Achievement First, NewSchools Venture Fund, Civic Builders, Bronx Preparatory Charter School, Icahn Charter Schools, StudentsFirstNY, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Public Prep, and Coalition for Public Charter Schools.