Bucking Florida Party, Big-Name Democrats Support 'Parent Trigger'

While some Florida Democrats complain about "Parent Trigger" legislation that targets failing public schools in the state, two big-name Democrats from California are supporting the bill.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- Democratic National Convention chairman, Barack Obamas national campaign co-chairman and a former teachers union organizer -- applauded the concept, saying:

"The Parent Trigger movement that started in Los Angeles and now is spreading across the nation encourages involvement in the education process and drums up the kind of support and encouragement necessary to build the foundations for student achievement.

"Parental empowerment and community intervention in education work to change our childrens lives and transform the communities surrounding them," Villaraigosa said.

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson, the Democratic mayor of Sacramento, Calif., called partisan opposition to Florida's Parent Trigger bill "just another political game to the status quo."

"Already we are seeing unions in Florida and across the nation confuse parents and dupe the public with conspiracy theories and outright lies.Even worse, the opposition is offering no solutions for communities trapped by failing schools," said Johnson, husband of former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee.