Latino Absentee Votes in California

The Ballot’s In The Mail

California officially holds its presidential primary on Feb. 5, but many say it really starts on Jan. 7. That’s the date when absentee ballots are sent out to millions of Golden State’s electors who have chosen to vote by mail, rather than at the polls.

But far fewer Latino voters than their white counterparts will receive ballots in their mail box. According to a recent Field Poll, 75 percent of the vote-by-mail crowd is white, only 13 percent are Latino.

“There’s a significant gap between Latinos and non-Latinos on that front,” says Evan Bacalao, spokesman for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund.

Read more …

Villaraigosa Iowa Interview

Early Sunday evening, CandidatoUSA interviewed Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who was en route from Marshalltown, Iowa to Ames, Iowa. The mayor was in Iowa campaigning on behalf of Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy and speaking at events that are attended by as little as “ten, fifteen, twenty” people to as many as “sixty or more”, which is less than the capacity on an LAUSD school bus. That doesn’t sound like a lot of people and objectively it ain’t. But, for Iowa a turnout of a dozen people at an event by a campaign surrogate is considered respectable. Below is an edited and partial transcript of the interview:

What do folks ask you after you make your opening remarks at these events?

I always begin with a question that I ask rhetorically. What is the mayor of Los Angeles doing here a few days before New Year’s in the dead of winter in Iowa. And I say that I am here because this is the most important election in my lifetime. An election that goes to the heart of what really matters to most Americans and that is extricating ourselves from war, investing and restoring strength in the middle class, providing universal health care for uninsured Americans and investing in the fight against global warming.

And what I also say is that this the deepest and most talented Democratic field since I’ve been voting in 1971, my first Presidential election in 1972. I can’t remember a field this deep at least since 1968 when Bobby Kennedy and McCarthy were running. Although this is a deep, talented field I believe that Senator Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience that we need right now in the country to take on the tough challenges that we face as a nation.

You mentioned Muscatine and Marshalltown, a lot of these places have seen a sharp influx of Latino immigrants in the last 15 years. Do Latino voters attend these events? Do they ask about immigration?

Yes, there have been a number of Latinos. Particularly, Americans of Mexican descent and others who have come. I’ve met with a broad section of Iowans.

Does the topic of immigration come up?

Yes, the issue of immigration has come up in almost every event that I’ve been to here in Iowa. That is true of Nevada, as well, when I’ve campaigned for Senator Clinton. It is a very significant issue and a challenge that we face in the United States. Senator Clinton has the wherewithal to help, craft and enact a fair and just immigration reform plan that is founded on the principles that this great country was built on. The principles of embracing new Americans but also fortifying our borders, collaborating with our neighbors, providing employer sanctions but very importantly also providing a pathway to citizenship to those immigrants that play by the rules, pay their taxes and want to be part of the American dream.

You mentioned your time in Nevada. Why not spend that time trying to drum up votes for Clinton in California?

First of all, make no mistake, I spend the vast majority of my time in Los Angeles and in California. I can tell you that wherever I go, I talk about Hillary Clinton’s strength, her experience, her leadership and her candidacy. The eyes of the nation, of the world are focused on Iowa right now. When called upon, I’ve answered. By the way, I am in the thick fog on my way to Ames because as I said this is the most imp election in my lifetime.

What will you be doing on behalf of the campaign ahead of the February 5 primary in California?

Well, I’ll return to LA tomorrow afternoon. I’ll spend the first of January there. I’ll announce historic new crime figures in Los Angeles, that we’ve reduced crime to historic levels. And then I’ll return to Iowa for the election. Go back to Los Angeles. I’ll be in Nevada a good part of my time until those elections. And then back to Los Angeles and wherever else in California or anywhere else that the campaign needs me.

Why not start the electoral process in a big, racially and ethnically diverse state like California?

That’s a great question, a question that many Californians have asked for a long time. But, the fact of the matter is that at this time, these elections at this time begin in Iowa, go to New Hampshire and South Carolina, Nevada and then on February 5 to California. Given the rules of the game as they exist today, I am here in Iowa.

I think this election is too important to stay on the sidelines, to not get involved. I have said too many that I am here today because there is a Civil Rights Act and a Voting Rights Act that opened up the country to me. America has been good to me. And the American Dream is a dream that needs to be a dream that everyone of us can aspire to.

I am excited to be here in the dead of fog as we’re driving down this lonely highway in an effort to really get out the vote in support of change, of a new direction for America and of the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

Villaraigosa Bobblehead

From Christina Hoag, our correspondent in LA:
Looking for a unique Christmas gift? How about a bobblehead doll of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

As a tribute to Hizzoner and to raise some cash, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project is peddling the wobblies on its website. At 25 bucks a pop, they’re a little pricey, but the sale of each doll puts $19 in the nonprofit’s kitty.

The mayor was all for the idea when the Project asked him for permission earlier this year, says spokesman Juan Bustamante, “It’s cool. It really looks like him.”

For the rest of the story click here.

If you are visiting us from LA Observed then consider taking a peek at the first Spanish-language presidential campaign commercial or at mini-telenovelas created to promote Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy. Or read about how presidential candidates are mangling the Spanish language.

villaraigosa

LAT & NYT on Fire’s Impact on Immigrants

The Los Angeles Times belatedly weighed in on Sunday with a story regarding the differential impact of the wildfires on immigrants, legal and otherwise. Unfortunately, not only was the story late it included the by now discredited account of immigrants stealing from the stadium. Furthermore, the article states:

“In response to recent rumors, U.S. authorities deny that they have been rounding up illegal immigrants at evacuation centers, and Mexican Consulate officials in San Diego who visited numerous sites have found no evidence to support the rumors. ‘We are not arresting fire evacuees. It’s absolutely ludicrous to suggest otherwise,’ said Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

Except that the New York Times has been reporting and not just suggesting otherwise:

“Some of the illegal workers who sought help from the authorities were arrested and deported. Opponents of illegal immigration, including civilian border watch groups, seized on news that immigrants had been detained at the Qualcomm Stadium evacuation center as evidence of trouble that illegal immigrants cause.

“The Border Patrol also arrested scores of illegal immigrants made visible by the fires. Agent Fisher of the Border Patrol said 100 had been arrested since the fires started Sunday.

“He said that the agency never abandoned enforcing the border and that agents helped with removals and rescues. Fire blocked some access points to border areas, but Agent Fisher said, ‘We were very conscious in making sure our border security mission was met.’”

Either way, both the LAT and the NYT were late to the story compared to La Opinión.

Clinton’s Fresno Visit

Democratic leaders in California’s agricultural and heavily Hispanic Central Valley came out en masse to support Hillary Clinton on Monday.
At a rally in front of Fresno High School, Clinton touched upon her favorite themes: ending the Iraq war, affordable health care and alternative energy.
Acknowledging the Latino population in the area, she also promised to work for immigration reform, the key issue for many Hispanic voters.
About 55 Central Valley Democratic leaders – ranging from mayors to school board members – said they were throwing their support behind Clinton. Most were Latinos. “Senator Clinton is the most qualified candidate in the race having tackled such critical issues as health care, education, job creation and a strong defense,” said state Assemblyman Juan Arambula, D-Fresno.
The Clinton campaign estimated a crowd of 7,500 attended the 30-minute rally, but the city police estimated the throng numbered 2,500 to 3,500, according to the Fresno Bee.
The Fresno area is almost half Latino, according to population estimates, making it the second most densely Hispanic area in California behind Los Angeles. It also is traditionally a conservative Republican stronghold.
After the rally, Clinton met with United Farm Workers leaders before heading to San Francisco to attend a private fundraising event.
- Christina Hoag
Hillary Clinton

Fabian Nuñez To Be Investigated – La Opinión

A California state commission will investigate Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez’s use of campaign funds to pay for foreign travel expenses, La Opinion has reported.
The Commission of Fair Political Practices will look into the Los Angeles Democrat’s spending of thousands of dollars on luxurious hotels, meals and gifts on European trips, the newspaper said Saturday. The expenses were first revealed in a Los Angeles Times investigation last month.
Nunez has defended his expenses, saying that all were within the law. He justified the trips as legitimate legislative and governmental business.
La Opinion said the investigation was sparked by a complaint by the Fund for the Defense of Legislative Terms. The Fund opposes Proposition 93 on the Feb. 5 ballot that seeks to extend the 12-year maximum that state legislators can serve to 14 years.
Nunez, who would be able to serve an additional term if the measure is approved, supports the initiative.

- Christina Hoag

Obama interviewed by La Opinión

La Opinión reporter Pilar Marrero interviewed Senator Barack Obama during a car ride from East Los Angeles to Beverly Hills. I believe this is the first sit-down interview he has granted to one of the major Spanish-language dailies. Earlier this year Obama appeared on Piolín´s morning show during which he sang “México Lindo y Querido”. Click on the link on the same page where it says “Entrevista completa en inglés” to hear the original English-language audio of the La Opinión interview.

The excerpts below are based on translations from the Spanish, which, in turn, are based on translations from the English-language interview. Consider them indicative, only. That’s why they are marked with asterisks rather than quotation marks. Later today, I will listen to the interview and transcribe the best quotes.

I´ll also add the Chávez mentions to the Hugo Chávez Watch.

On Immigration

**The next President should be a leader on the topic of [ immigration]and generate a more positive attitude [towards immigration] in the United States.**

**On the other hand, I think it is legitimate that a modern nation should have control of its borders. Mexico, by the way, acts very harshly with would-be immigrants from Central America.¨**

**Secondly, I believe the reason we are seeing so much anti-immigrant sentiment is that there is a great deal of economic anxiety among American workers. Bush´s policy has been good for corporations but not for workers. Salaries are stagnant. Thanks to globalization, jobs are going overseas. They used to go to Mexico but now they go to China.**

**I also believe that the Republican Party has used this in very partisan fashion. Look at the resignation of Mel Martínez. He´s a decent fellow. I don´t agree with his political philosophy but I think he felt less and less comfortable heading a party that is using the topic of immigration to create fear.¨

**I think it is for show and it doesn´t resolve the problem. We have twelve million undocumented immigrants. The idea that we can resolve this issue deporting fifty people here and there is dishonest. I would continue to reinforce the border because we have the right to do so as a country. We would work on an employment verification system that was not discriminatory. I am not interested in making it a priority to arrest workers looking to earn a living for their family. And I want a path to citizenship for immigrants. I want to reform legal immigration, the delays are so serious that they increase the pressure to immigrate illegally.On Latin America

**The first thing we need to do is define how we structure our trade with Latin America so that it is good for workers on both sides of the border and not only for corporations. That means the agreements need to comply with basic labor and environmental standards.

**If you look at Nafta, for instance, it has provided some benefits to both countries. But, Mexican farmers, for example, have suffered a great deal thus generating more pressure for undocumented immigration.**

On Black-Latino Relations

**There is a long history in this country of inciting disadvantaged groups to fight against one another. When African Americans and Latinos make progress it is because they unite. Recently I attended the National Council of La Raza … and spoke about the correspondence between César Chávez and Martin Luther King Jr. The African American civil rights struggle empowered Latinos. César Chávez brought to the fore instances of injustice and inequality. To continue that cooperation, we need leadership on both sides that are willing to govern for all and not just a few.**

 

Obama

Obama’s Weekend in Los Angeles

Barack Obama had a busy agenda wooing Latino voters on the West Coast over the weekend.
On Saturday he spoke to about 200 students, teachers and other supporters at a town-hall tyle meeting held Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, the school portrayed in the movie “Stand and Deliver.”
Obama criticized California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for vetoing a bill last year that would make illegal immigrant students who graduate from high school eligible for aid for college. A similar bill, known as the Dream Act, is pending again this year.
If elected, Obama promised increased funding for schools and early childhood education. “It’s time to stand up deliver for America’s urban poor,” he said, in reference to the film, that starred Edward James Olmos as a math teacher who succeeded in teaching calculus to a group of poor Hispanic students.
As president, his first act would be to call a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and tell them to “get our troops out of Iraq,” he said.
Obama also made a whistle stop in Nevada, where Federico Peña, former energy and transportation secretary under President Clinton, launched Nevada Latinos for Obama.
The grassroots movement is aiming to muster up support for the senator for the Jan. 18 caucus.
“With Obama, the Latino community sees someone committed to providing real solutions to improve our education system, comprehensively reform our immigrations laws and respond to the community’s health care needs,” Peña said.
- Christina Hoag

Obama

National Latino Congress

Mobilizing the Latino vote emerged as the top issue from the National Latino Congress that gathered some 3,000 Hispanic activists in Los Angeles over the past five days.

“We understand that policies we care about will not happen unless the politicians we elect take us seriously,” said Angela Sanbrano, president of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, one of the event’s nine key organizing groups. “The way to do that is to win the election.”

The Congress, in its second year, passed close to 100 resolutions that ran the gamut from reducing climate change to reforming free trade agreements to ending the war in Iraq.

But the probably the issue that galvanized everyone was voter registration, Sanbrano said.

The Congress set a goal of registering 3 million new Hispanic voters, to reach a total of 12 million eligible voters for the 2008 presidential election. Of those 12 million voters, the Congress aims at getting 10 million to cast ballots.

In the 2004 presidential election, 9.7 million Latinos were registered to vote, and 7.2 million voted.

“We are launching voter mobilization to make a powerful statement and change the forces in the White House and Congress to the issues we care about: immigration, education, end to the war, universal health care,” said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, another key organizer of the Congress.

Both Sanbrano and Gonzalez pointed to the “extraordinary unity” that underscored the conference. “Our biggest achievement is the continued unification of Latino politics across the country,” Gonzalez said.

Not all resolutions were unanimously adopted. “There were significant disagreements and clashes over policy but everyone moved on. That’s not usual in Latino politics,” Gonzalez said. “It shows maturity.”

The Congress attracted a number of prominent Hispanic politicos including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, California Assembly Speak Fabian Nunez; Congresswoman Hilda Solis and representatives from the presidential candidates’ campaigns.

The Congress will be convened again next year in Los Angeles, after that organizers will evaluate whether to keep it up, Gonzalez said. Attendance this year increased about 50 percent over 2006.

“What you have in essence is a newly crafted, broadbased rich Latino agenda,” Gonzalez said.

- Christina Hoag

Latino politics

California’s Latino mayoral ranks are on the wane

Since 2003, the number of Hispanic municipal chiefs has dropped from 58 to 41 in 478 municipalities where Latinos comprise 35 percent or more of the population, according to figures from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

The year 2004 saw a slight increase, to 60 Hispanic mayors, before slipping to 53 in 2005, 52 in 2006 and 41 this year.

The drop is probably due to the type of municipal government system that prevails in the Golden State, said Harry Pachon, director of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California.

Most smaller cities in California operate under a rotational mayoral system – council members take turns as mayor each year, he said.

“There may be one or two Latino council members so there are more years where there’s a non-Latino mayor,” Pachon said.

NALEO spokesman Evan Bacalao said the association did not differentiate between elected and appointed mayors when compiling its figures.

The decline was surprising given the overall trend of increasing numbers of Hispanics in government positions, he noted.

Latinos are most rapidly gaining ground in newer Hispanic-population centers, such as the South, Midwest and Pacific Northwest. In more established Latino population centers, such as California, the rate of increase of Hispanic officials is slowing, Bacalao said.
- Christina Hoag