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NYT: Booker for mayor

Newark mayoral candidate Cory Booker (disclosure: he’s an Alliance for School Choice board member) has captured the attention of the Gray Lady. 

On May 9, when Newark’s voters go to the polls, the curtain will drop on the memorable and controversial reign of Sharpe James. For the first time since 1986, Mr. James is not on the ballot in Newark’s mayoral election.

We believe that Newark’s new leader should be Cory Booker, who is running for mayor for the second time.

Of course, the editorial staff couldn’t help but take a swipe at vouchers:

Not all of Mr. Booker’s ideas are equally compelling. For example, he refuses to rule out vouchers as part of his remedy for Newark’s schools. He now notes with care that he supports vouchers financed with private, not public, dollars. But the next mayor should be devoting his energy to fixing the public schools, and not be sidetracked by schemes that would at best rescue a small fraction of the needy students.

Eh.  Who cares?  Cory probably shouldn’t.  As it looks now, his opponent, deputy mayor Ron Rice, will need all the help he can get: according to this, just two weeks before the May 9 election, Cory has a $6 million head start and a 43-point lead in the polls.