Someone sound the (fire) alarm.<\/p>\n
Former \u201cSquad\u201d Rep. Jamaal Bowman<\/a> could land on the short list to be the city\u2019s next schools chancellor if his pal Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor, sources told The Post.<\/p>\n A source close to United Federation Teachers said the former middle school principal\u2019s name is already circulating within the Mamdani camp as a potential candidate to head the nation\u2019s largest public school system with more than 900,000 students in 1,596 schools.<\/p>\n Ex-\u201cSquad\u201d Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a former Bronx middle school principal and lefty soulmate of Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, could land on a short list\u00a0to be the next New York City schools chancellor. Courtesy of the Mamdani Campaign<\/p>\n Bowman \u2014 who infamously pulled a fire alarm in a congressional office building and delayed a key House vote \u2014 was voted out of office by Democrats in party primary last year.<\/p>\n He sidestepped whether he was interested in the role, saying he was focusing on helping Mamdani win the general election for mayor.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not thinking about any of that. I want to help my brother get elected,\u201d Bowman, 44, said of\u00a0Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cI am exceptional in compartmentalizing. Right now, I want to help Zohran win the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n Bowman endorsed Mamdani in May, one of the few black leaders to do so.<\/p>\n The Mamdani campaign had no immediate comment.<\/p>\n Bowman lost\u00a0his<\/a> Democratic primary re-election bid last year to former Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the 16th House District that takes in parts of Westchester and The Bronx, in large part because of voters\u2019 disgust over his anti-<\/a>Israel positions and a series of missteps that even riled members of his own party.<\/p>\n Bowman was voted out of office in last year\u2019s primary after he infamously pulled a fire alarm in a congressional office building. Instagram\/@zohrankmamdani<\/p>\n He accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and belatedly apologized for denying the horrific rapes of Israeli women during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed an estimated 1,200 people \u2014 including 33 Americans.<\/p>\n The left-leaning \u201cSquad\u201d representative had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count for falsely pulling the fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building in September 2023 ahead of a vote to avert a partial government shutdown, and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine.<\/p>\n The House of Representatives later voted to censure\u00a0Bowman <\/a>for the fire alarm fiasco.<\/p>\n He also was forced to apologize after it was revealed that he espoused conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks while<\/a> serving as a school principal of Cornerstone Academy for Social Action in the Bronx in 2014..\u00a0<\/p>\n One Jewish leader denounced the possibility of Bowman being considered for the top leadership post.<\/p>\n Bowman said his goal is to help Mamdani win the general election for mayor in November. Courtesy of the Mamdani Campaign<\/p>\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t accept the appointment of a racist. Why would we consider a person who has expressed hateful rhetoric against the Jewish people?\u201d said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Even some of\u00a0Bowman\u2019s views on education have been considered controversial.<\/p>\n In 2015, then principal of\u00a0Cornerstone Academy, Bowman called standardized testing of students racist or the modern version of slavery,<\/a> The Post reported at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cPublic school high-stakes standardized testing is a form of modern-day slavery, and it is designed to continue the proliferation of inequality,\u201d Bowman said in a blog entry titled \u201cThe Tyranny of Standardized Testing.\u201d<\/p>\n Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post\u2019s signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica was born of horror for black people and that horror continues today for brown and poor people as well,\u201d he went on. <\/p>\n \u201cSlavery, Jim Crow, redlining, crack cocaine and now standardized testing were all sanctioned by the American government. All designed to destroy the mind, body and soul of black and brown people.\u201d<\/p>\n