Latino: Vague Definition Can Raise Questions

Because the definition of the term Latino is vague, experts say minority contracting programs are rife with vendors whose status as Latinos is debatable.

GTE California, for example, is reviewing the status of Doty Brothers Equipment Co. in Norwalk, which did $2.2 million in heavy construction work for the utility last year.

The company has qualified as Latino-owned at several utilities and government agencies, President John T. Doty said, because his grandfather was born in Brazil.

Asked if he considered himself Hispanic, Doty acknowledged that he is “kind of ambivalent” about the issue.

“In thinking about the question, I can’t give an answer,” he said. “The only racial slurs ever thrown at me have been in Mexico, where I’ve been called a gringo .”

But Doty said he does not believe that he has taken advantage of the utilities’ minority contracting programs, because he gets work only when he offers the best price.

“In my experience in construction, it’s the bottom line,” he said. “It’s whatever we bid.”