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Hispanidad: Statehouses gain Hispanics

By GREGORY TEJEDA, United Press International

If one-time House Speaker Tip O'Neill was correct in saying "all politics is local," then things are looking up for Hispanics as their representation in statehouses rises across the United States.

One Hispanic -- Bill Richardson of New Mexico -- is governor while 302 others serve as state legislators, up from the 192 who served during 1999-2000.

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That's important because state governments often address the most relevant issues in the daily lives of people and Hispanic perspectives on some issues differ in ways that might not occur to others in the political establishment. Hispanic politicians also make it possible for issues of special concern to be addressed.

Does anyone believe a congressional committee would have spent a day last week studying the "matricula consular," the special identification card issued by the government of Mexico to its citizens who live abroad, without the influence of Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.?

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But while representation on Capitol Hill (22 representatives, no senators) is nice, it is equally important for Hispanics to have officials in places like Springfield, Ill.; Albany, N.Y.; and Baton Rouge, La.

That's why some 60 Hispanic legislators spent last weekend at the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators in Washington, attending seminars to improve their understanding of issues ranging from healthcare to education.

Special attention was given to coming up with ideas for bills that could reduce the disproportionate number of Hispanics who drop out of school and who wind up incarcerated.

"This (gave) us an opportunity to collaborate on common issues on a nationwide basis," Kansas state Sen. Paul Feliciano said. "Outside the large states like California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and New York, most states have very few" Hispanic lawmakers.

But that is changing.

Just this year, the Georgia General Assembly got its first three Hispanic legislators. The Rhode Island Legislature got its first Hispanic member and state Sen. Juan Pichardo can claim to be the highest-ranking elected official of Dominican ethnicity currently serving in politics in the United States.

Other states have increased representation. Take Illinois, where the number of Hispanics rose this year from six to 11, out of 177 legislators.

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It's a significant boost from a decade before when the Illinois Senate's Black Caucus for a time was renamed the Minority Caucus so that state Sen. Miguel del Valle would not be alone.

Del Valle, a Chicagoan of Puerto Rican descent, leads a separate Latino Caucus of legislators from assorted Chicago neighborhoods and its first members from suburban areas -- Linda Chapa LaVia of Aurora and Frank Aguilar of Cicero.

Aguilar is unique because he's a Republican who hopes to get the otherwise Anglo GOP caucus to consider Hispanic issues, rather than leaving them entirely in Democrat hands.

But not being a Democrat means Aguilar will sometimes oppose his Hispanic colleagues.

He could learn from freshman state Rep. David Casas, a Republican from Georgia. The Cuban exile has already upset the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for voting against bills allowing undocumented immigrants living in Georgia to legally obtain a driver's license and to receive financial aid for college.

"Who I owe is the constituents that put me here," Casas told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. "That's what I represent."

Hispanics also are gaining representation in the organizations that decide who gets to run for office, but they need to be careful such moves do not restrain their political empowerment.

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In Chicago, where the Democratic organization that hasn't lost a mayoral election since 1931, there is a group called the Hispanic Democratic Organization. Known as HDO, it is a political mechanism of the Democrats that -- on the surface -- supports Hispanic candidates who wish to run for local offices or the legislature.

But among politically aware Hispanics, the term HDO is followed by a string of dirty words. For a Hispanic to gain HDO support, he must be subservient to Mayor Richard M. Daley and the white Irish establishment that runs Chicago government.

Hispanics who challenge HDO-endorsed candidates are the targets of nasty "mud-slinging" tactics from the politically experienced precinct captains and their crews. There even have been instances where HDO supported white ethnic candidates for alderman in Hispanic wards instead of Hispanic challengers.

A more legitimate Hispanic gain is in Nevada where state Democratic Party officials next month will elect a Hispanic woman as their new party chairman.

Adriana Martinez will make Hispanics feel like a part of politics by including them in her plans to get non-Hispanic Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., re-elected.

"Within our community, we don't have structure, or a base," the life-long Las Vegas resident of Mexican descent told the Review-Journal newspaper. "We're not active."

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Equally important is the new Republican chairman for Pitt County, N.C. Party officials recently chose Javier Castillo, a Nicaraguan who came to the United States in 1986 after the Sandinista movement gained control.

How un-Hispanic is the county? Local election records that give people the option of indicating their ethnicity showed 26 Hispanics registered to vote.

Some people might criticize the thought of supporting an official who sided with the tyrannical Nicaragua government of Anastasio Somoza. But then again, not all Hispanics think highly of United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez, even if he's getting his own commemorative U.S. postage stamp come April 23.

Casas says the differences among Hispanics will "present healthy debate." At the very least, it will make the statehouse scene all the more interesting.


(Hispanidad is a weekly column about the culture of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States, written by Greg Tejeda, a third-generation Mexican-American. Suggestions for topics can be made to [email protected].)

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