Latinos Open Fund Drive for County Bias Lawsuit

Latino activists launched a fund-raising drive Wednesday to help pay the high legal costs of going to court to fight what they contend is discrimination against the Latino community by Los Angeles County officials.

About 90 people attended a breakfast at a Chinatown restaurant that raised about $32,000 for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which has joined the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California in filing a class-action lawsuit against the county.

In the federal court lawsuit filed last August, the two organizations claim that the Board of Supervisors and other county officials discriminated against Latinos in redrawing supervisorial district lines in 1981 that precluded the election of a Latino representative. A similar lawsuit, filed two weeks later by the U.S. Justice Department, also accuses the county of denying political representation to Latinos and asks the court to order the county to revise the district lines.

With the legal proceedings now in the fact-gathering stage, MALDEF and its supporters opened their fund-raising drive in an effort to not only raise money but also their collective spirits.

Critical Issue

“There seemed to be a uniformity and consensus on how critical this is,” said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Gloria Molina, who spoke to the group. “This is an overriding issue, and everyone recognizes that we have a big (expensive) battle in front of us.”

“Hispanics may have money to contribute, but it really hasn’t been directed. This is a good cause, and everybody will benefit from this legal case,” said businessman Joe Sanchez, an organizer of the event who hopes to raise about $100,000 from the business and professional community.

Sanchez said about $32,000 was raised at the breakfast, which cost major donors $500 a plate and attracted a number of Latino community organizations and professional groups. Among the groups were the Mexican American Bar Assn., the Los Angeles County Employees Assn., the Los Angeles City Employees Chicano Assn. and groups representing Latino grocers and law enforcement officers.

In addition to Molina and Sanchez, Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park) and Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra) spoke to the group. Antonia Hernandez, president and general counsel of MALDEF, also told the gathering that it is clear that the Latino community, which has long provided moral support to such causes, is now coming through with financial backing.

‘Shows Support’

“I think the meeting today shows support from a broad cross-section of the Latino community,” said Richard Fajardo, MALDEF staff attorney. “The county likes to portray this lawsuit as a product of malcontents or radical groups, but I think it will be difficult for the county to say that this is an unrepresentative group.”

County officials have denied that they engaged in discrimination while redrawing district lines after the 1980 census.

Mary Wawro, a senior assistant county counsel, said county officials contend that the district lines, as currently drawn, are fair to all, but that they have invited the Justice Department to provide the county with a proposed district containing a majority of voting-age Latinos. She said the county would be willing to review such a map.

Wawro said MALDEF has also provided the county with some census tract information that includes districts with heavy Latino populations. But she said that no matter how new lines might be drawn, “our preliminary assessment is that this does not meet the test under the Voting Rights Act.”