Washington - You wouldn't know it in Milwaukee, but Mayor John O. Norquist has become a staple of local TV in the nation's capital.
The mayor is featured in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign for school choice, aired only in the Washington area.
"As a longtime supporter of vouchers, I often hear the argument that school choice might hurt public schools. The opposite is true in Milwaukee, where we have the nation's oldest and largest voucher program," the mayor tells viewers.
Milwaukee School Board member Ken Johnson will also be featured in an ad.
The spots are part of a long-running campaign by the Black Alliance for Educational Options, a group founded by school choice advocate Howard Fuller of Marquette University.
It's an example of a common phenomenon in Washington: political ads that are broadcast exclusively in the D.C. area, where they reach key "opinion-makers" - lawmakers, journalists and others in the federal city.
Norquist spokesman Steve Filmanowicz said the mayor "has heard a lot of myths about school choice, he knows those myths reach opinion leaders, and this is an opportunity to reach those people."
The ads began in April and will run into June, said Kaleem Caire, the choice group's executive director. Caire declined to say exactly how much is being spent on the campaign, but said the group hopes to eventually expand it to other cities.
On its Web site, the alliance lists "anonymous donors" and several organizations as its donors, including Milwaukee's Bradley Foundation, the Helen Bader Foundation, the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
Speaking of the ads' target audience in Washington, Caire said:
"Those folks don't hear about Milwaukee. They just hear about how bad vouchers are philosophically."
Caire's group approached Norquist about appearing in the ad. Other ads by the group have featured Milwaukee parents.
"It's surprising for people to hear we have a mayor, School Board members and public school teachers that support the existence in Milwaukee of a school parental choice program," said Caire.
However, Milwaukee's school choice program has been harshly criticized by the city teachers union, by some parents and by several School Board members and candidates.
Norquist says in the ad:
"Our vouchers give low-income children a chance to escape failing schools. And just as important, public school officials say vouchers give our schools an incentive to improve."
The 30-second ad refers viewers to the group's Web site ( www.schoolchoiceinfo.org) and ends with Norquist saying, "The Milwaukee story proves that school choice can strengthen public schools."
Norquist appeared in an ad aired by backers of a school choice referendum in Michigan last year. That proposal was rejected by voters.
Although senators are debating an education bill, Caire said the ads were not targeted at that fight. The bill before the Senate does not deal with vouchers. Caire said the ads were aimed more broadly at shaping opinion about school choice, which allows parents to use taxpayer funding on private school tuition.
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.