School-choice supporters need to be watching Newark, where a vocally pro-voucher mayor was just elected (along with some of his favored Municipal Council candidates): Cory Booker.

As followers of the changing politics of school-choice might guess, Booker is an African-American Democrat. His main opposition in the election came from — wait, you can get this one, too — the Newark teachers union. Still, he won by a margin of 3-to-1 over the union’s favored candidate, Ronald Rice (great name).

For a further (worrying?) indication of where school-choice politics may or may not be heading, check out this, from Reason’s David Weigel (emphasis added):

The slate’s central ward candidate, Dana Rone, is probably its most vocal advocate of school choice.

…

"Vouchers have been pegged as something negative in the African-American community," Rone says. "When I explain them to people who are skeptical, I say: Look, you get vouchers. Medicare is a voucher. Social Security is a voucher. Welfare is a voucher. This is the same principle; it’s the equalizer that can get your kids into good schools. And when you explain it like that, they understand and they support it."

While support for school vouchers on this basis is better than the alternative (opposition to school choice), it’s also probably not exactly what school reformers are going for. Welfare, Social Security and Medicare are all programs where recipients are essentially passive clients. School choice — both charter schools and vouchers — is about making parents into active, informed consumers.

This will be one to watch. For now, we’ll have to wait until June 13 (runoff election) to see if the school-choice proponents in Newark have a solid majority or an even split with anti-reform candidates.