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Maud Maron

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Maud Maron is a former public defender and is a former member of the New York City Community Education Council District 2. She was formerly its president.

In 2019, Maron co-founded Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education NYC (PLACE NYC) to oppose Bill De Blasio's plans to widen access to selective middle and high schools.[1] She co-founded the New York City Chapter of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism and served as its interim executive director in 2023.[2][3]

She has run unsuccessfully for New York City's 1st City Council district[2] and the 10th[4][1] and New York's 12th congressional districts.[5] Her comments have been criticized as racist and transphobic.[6][7]

Activism

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PLACE NYC

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In 2019, Maron and Yitin Chu formed Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education NYC (PLACE NYC) to oppose Bill de Blasio's attempts to shift away from screened middle and high schools. Maron served as co-president.[8][1][2] PLACE argues that the city's schools are failing their students, that the city should redouble its focus on academics, and that racism does not contribute to the city's underperforming schools.[2] Other parental groups have described it as shifting rightward.[1]

In October 2023, Maron stepped down as co-president of PLACE.[9]

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Maron worked as a Senior Staff Attorney for the Legal Aid Society.[10] In July 2020, Maron wrote an opinion piece critical of a NYC DOE anti-bias training session.[11][6] The Black Attorneys of Legal Aid caucus released a tweet criticizing the piece and stating "It is obvious to anyone with any sense of racial justice that Maud is racist and openly so". The Legal Aid Society's official Twitter account retweeted it.[11] Maron sued the LAS, stating her colleagues had unfairly labeled her a racist, but lost the lawsuit.[11][12]

Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism

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In 2021, Maron and Yiatin Chu co-founded the New York City Chapter of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, which advocates against Critical Race Theory and advocates a "human first" mindset critics have likened to "All Lives Matter".[2][1] In 2023 Maron served as interim executive director of FAIR following internal power struggles in the organization.[6][3][13]

Moms for Liberty

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Members of PLACE leadership have promoted local chapters of Moms for Liberty in their private discussion forums[1] and Moms for Liberty has praised PLACE.[14] In January 2024, Maron spoke at a panel organized by Moms for Liberty,[15] whom she has described as "one of the more dynamic and genuinely diverse parents groups to emerge from the school closure era."[16] Maron told the New York Daily News she was not a member of Moms for Liberty, and in a statement the organization confirmed Maron was not a member.[16] When speaking to Gay City News, Maron stated "I am, at this point, a member of Moms for Liberty, yes I am".[17] The flyer for the event listed her affiliation with the educational council but did not issue a disclaimer that the views expressed were her own.[15] Maron was criticized at a District 2 CEC meeting for her participation in the Thursday panel.[15] At the meeting, she described a protester identifying herself as a "proud queer woman" as "a straight girl without a boyfriend", drawing criticism.[18][9]

Political Campaigns

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Community Education Council District 2

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From 2019 to 2020, Maron was president of the Community Education Council (CEC) for District 2.[19][20][11] In 2019, the student organization Teens Take Charge rallied against NYC's segregated school system. The group called on Maron to resign from the CEC following her criticism of the city's proposals for a more culturally diverse curriculum and implicit bias training.[21] At the October 2020 meeting of CEC 2, Maron was removed as President of the council by a vote of 6 - 5. In 2023 Maron was elected to CEC 2 again by a margin of 1/2 vote.[22]

2021 District 1 City Council election

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In 2021 she ran in the Democratic primary for the New York City's 1st City Council district with endorsements from the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association and Police Benevolent Association, stating her priorities would be to get schools fully reopened and prevent the opening of a new jail in Chinatown. She stated she favors Kathryn Garcia and Eric Adams for Mayor.[10] The campaign was unsuccessful and she continued to run as an independent.[2] In November, she won 14% of the vote and lost to Christopher Marte.[23]

2021 New York City Council election
Party Candidate Maximum
round 		Maximum
votes 		Share in
maximum
round 		Maximum votes
First round votesTransfer votes
Democratic Christopher Marte 8 10,785 60.5%
​​
Democratic Jenny Low 8 7,054 39.5%
​​
Democratic Gigi Li 6 4,662 23.9%
​​
Democratic Maud Maron 5 2,495 12.1%
​​
Democratic Susan Lee 4 2,020 9.6%
​​
Democratic Sean Hayes 3 928 4.3%
​​
Democratic Tiffany Johnson-Winbush 3 809 3.7%
​​
Democratic Susan Damplo 2 344 1.6%
​​
Democratic Denny Salas 2 292 1.3%
​​
2021 New York City Council election, District 1 general election[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christopher Marte 16,733 72.1
Independent NY Maud Maron 3,265 14.0
Republican Jacqueline Toboroff 3,166 13.6
Total votes 23,212 100

2022 Congressional District elections

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Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New York

In 2022, Maron ran against Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic Primary for New York's 12th Congressional District raising concerns about the inclusion of transgender women in college athletics, stating "Now, any dude who feels like a woman is supposed to be treated like a woman. That’s absurd".[5]

Maron also ran in the Democratic Primary for the 10th Congressional district, calling for revisions to the Biden administration's proposed updates to Title IX and exclusion of transgender people from women's athletics and "single sex spaces". Maron stated the policies would one of her top issues if she were elected, arguing that the inclusion of protections for gender identity will do "real damage to girls and women".[25] Maron finished last at 2% of the vote.[4][1]

2022 New York's 10th congressional district Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dan Goldman 16,686 25.8
Democratic Yuh-Line Niou 15,380 23.7
Democratic Mondaire Jones (incumbent)[a] 11,777 18.2
Democratic Carlina Rivera 10,985 17.0
Democratic Jo Anne Simon 3,991 6.2
Democratic Elizabeth Holtzman 2,845 4.4
Democratic Jimmy Li 777 1.2
Democratic Yan Xiong 686 1.1
Democratic Maud Maron 578 0.9
Democratic Bill de Blasio (withdrawn) 477 0.7
Democratic Brian Robinson 322 0.5
Democratic Peter Gleason 147 0.2
Democratic Quanda Francis 121 0.2
Total votes 64,772 100.0

Stuyvesant School Leadership Team

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Since December 2023, a petition to remove Maron to remove Maron from the School Leadership Team of Stuyvesant High School has gained over 700 signatures. It was circulated after she was quoted in a NY post article calling an anonymous student author a "coward" guilty of "Jew hatred" and calling for their name to be public for their op-ed.[26][27]

Views

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Maron argues that Critical Race Theory has influenced how teachers educate their students, though CRT is not taught in the city's public schools,[28] and that extended classroom discussions on race are unnecessary.[2]

Maron has opposed mask mandates in public schools.[29][30]

Maron has described city schools as an "oppressor woke environment where DOE employees make them pledge allegiance to their LGBTQI+ religion."[1] Parents and teachers called for her removal from the CEC District 2 board following a story published by The 74 which revealed private texts in which Maron stated "there is no such thing as trans kids" and "the social contagion is undeniable" when replying to a parent's concerns about the number of LGBTQ+ youth in their child's school.[18][7] A DOE spokesperson called the comments "despicable and not in line with our values".[18] In February, Maron led a resolution urging Eric Adams's education officials to restrict transgender girls’ athletic participation.[7][31]

Personal life

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Maron was born in Manhattan and lived in Pennsylvania before returning to Manhattan in the 1980s to attend Barnard College.[32] She taught at the Cardozo School of Law from 2003 to 2005.[33]

Maron is a mother of four. She is married to Juan Pablo and has lived in District 1 for the last 20 years.[10][1][32] She is a convert to Judaism.[34]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Due to redistricting, Mondaire Jones decided to move to NY-10, which is not connected by territory to his home district of NY-17.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Riddle, Safiyah (2023-04-28). "City Education Council Elections Bring Polarizing National Issues to Local School Districts". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Salhotra, Pooja (2021-07-13). "Critical race theory debate hits New York City public schools". Chalkbeat. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  3. ^ a b Villarreal, Daniel (2023-06-07). "GOP donor gave lesbian transphobe Bari Weiss $500K to start an "anti-woke" non-profit". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  4. ^ a b Lahut, Jake; Kang, Hanna (July 18, 2022). "Bill de Blasio is finishing nearly last in Congressional polling". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  5. ^ a b Gartland, Michael (2022-04-25). "Rep. Carolyn Maloney vies for reelection amid crowded field and third credible challenge in a row". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  6. ^ a b c Green, Emma (2023-06-05). "Is It Possible to Be Both Moderate and Anti-Woke?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  7. ^ a b c Touré, Madina (March 20, 2024). "National debate over transgender athletes comes to New York City". Politico.
  8. ^ "New York City Schools Chancellor Calls On State To End Specialized High Schools Admissions Test - CBS New York". CBS News. 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  9. ^ a b Anderson, Gardiner (2024-01-18). "NYC elected officials, teachers protest at right wing Moms for Liberty event". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  10. ^ a b c Seiwell, Emma (June 4, 2021). "Crowded City Council Race in Lower Manhattan District Devastated by Covid". Gotham Gazzette. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  11. ^ a b c d Brown, Stephen Rex (2021-07-13). "Public defender running for City Council sues Legal Aid for labeling her 'racist'". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  12. ^ Dorrian, Patrick (June 6, 2022). "Legal Aid Society Lawyer Denounced as 'Racist' Loses Lawsuit". Bloomberg Law News. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  13. ^ Woolhouse, Meg; Martin, Phillip (2023-10-30). "Right-leaning groups opposed to diversity efforts find unlikely allies in Newton parents". WGBH. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  14. ^ Bamberger, Cayla (2023-06-24). "Progressive backlash? A coalition pressing for more selectivity in schools notches key wins in NYC education council elections". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  15. ^ a b c Elsen-Rooney, Michael; Zimmer, Amy (2024-01-18). "Moms for Liberty came to the Upper East Side. Many locals were less than thrilled". Chalkbeat. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  16. ^ a b Folk, Zachary (January 18, 2024). "Moms For Liberty Hold Manhattan Town Hall Amid Protests From NYC Elected Officials". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  17. ^ Allen, Dashiell (2024-01-19). "'No hate! no fear!': LGBTQ activists and politicians protest Moms for Liberty event in NYC". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  18. ^ a b c McShane, Julianne (January 19, 2024). "That time when Moms for Liberty came to deep-blue NYC". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  19. ^ Veiga, Christina (2019-09-27). "Two coveted Manhattan high schools, Lab and Baruch, tweak their admissions". Chalkbeat. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  20. ^ Veiga, Christina (2020-03-04). "Integration efforts kick off in Manhattan's District 2, home to some of NYC's most affluent and coveted schools". Chalkbeat. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  21. ^ Vohra, Sweta (October 18, 2019). "The Weekly Episode 16: The Fight To Desegregate New York Schools". New York Times.
  22. ^ Zimmer, Amy; Amin, Reema (2023-06-16). "Candidates endorsed by PLACE win seats on parent councils across NYC". Chalkbeat. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  23. ^ "Christopher Marte wins City Council seat". Tribeca Citizen. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  24. ^ "General Election 2021 - Member of the City Council, 1st Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  25. ^ King, Joseph (July 5, 2022). "Democratic congressional candidate calls for restrictions on trans students". NY1. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  26. ^ Elsen-Rooney, Michael (2024-03-13). "Misconduct complaints against NYC parent leaders surge as tensions flare in education councils". Chalkbeat. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  27. ^ McMurdock, Marianna (2024-03-22). "NYC Parent Council Seeks Trans Sports Policy Change, Condemned by Chancellor". The 74. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  28. ^ Chalkbeat New York
  29. ^ Michel, Clifford (2022-02-14). "One seat possibly in play is the newly drawn State Senate district currently occupied by Democrat Diane Savino". The City. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  30. ^ Bardolf, Deirdre (2022-02-28). "Indoor school mask mandate could end next week". Queens News Service. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  31. ^ Bamberger, Cayla (2024-03-19). "Manhattan school board could advise trans girls ban from women's sports". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  32. ^ a b "The Candidates 2022: Maud Maron for the 10th Congressional District". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  33. ^ "Maud Maron". The Federalist Society.
  34. ^ Kornbluh, Jacob (2022-08-22). "In New York's primaries, tough choices for many Jewish voters". Retrieved 2024-03-31.
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