Latino Activists Think L.A. Remapping Suit Could Aid Republicans

Latino activists, while happy with the Justice Department’s decision to sue the City of Los Angeles for a council redistricting plan that the federal government says discriminates against Latinos, say they may be part of a bigger fight in a game of political one-upmanship between Republicans and Democrats.

Republicans, they said, can be expected to subtly point out that it was Democrats, still the party of choice for large numbers of Latinos, who fashioned the council district lines long under attack by Latinos and now by the Justice Department.

“By vigorously pursuing this lawsuit, the Republicans will be able to capitalize and showcase the drubbing the Democrats handed Hispanics,” said one Latino federal official who asked not to be identified. “Don’t think this will be lost on the Republicans with the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles running against a Republican next year.” Mayor Tom Bradley, named as a defendant in the suit along with other city officials, is expected to run next year against Gov. George Deukmejian.

‘Political Implications’

John Huerta, a private attorney active in past reapportionment movements and once a high-ranking Justice Department official during the Carter Administration, said many of the Justice Department attorneys “seek out cases because they’re good ones, not on a strictly partisan basis. But of course they can’t help but be aware of political implications. . . . Undoubtedly there’s some political motivation because they wouldn’t go for it if they didn’t feel they could win it. It can be the Republicans kind of tweaking their noses at Democrats who for the most part created the districts as they are now.”

“We are very aware this thing is political,” said Richard Santillan, an associate professor at California Polytechnic Institute, Pomona, and an activist who has sought to change the council district lines for about 15 years. Santillan, who calls himself an independent, noted that although “this Republican Administration has been known for wanting to get away from voting rights extensions and affirmative action guidelines, they went after this.”

‘Strange Bedfellows’

“You can have some strange bedfellows who normally don’t come together, especially over this reapportionment issue,” he added. “Latinos are interested in reapportionment because of voting power, and Republicans are trying to advance a way with Latinos, get better lines for themselves and not incidentally, embarrass Democrats.”

“But part of the growing political sophistication of Latinos is that we don’t care who filed the lawsuit against which party. Three or four seats on the City Council will be better than one.”

No Latino has been elected to the City Council since 1962. The Justice Department lawsuit charges that the council carved up a principal concentration of Latino residents and dispersed them into seven council districts.

The 15-member council is all but assured to have one Latino after a Dec. 10 special election in the city’s Eastside and predominantly Latino district. All of the leading candidates to replace retired Anglo Councilman Arthur K. Snyder are Latino.