California Leads in Percentage Growth of Latino Officials

California leads the nation in the percentage increase of Latino elected officials, according to annual figures released Thursday by the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

This year, Latinos won 580 elected offices in California--an increase of 20.8% over the last year--and a total of 3,783 offices nationwide. Latino officials say that the increase--primarily at the county, municipal and school board level--will translate into a rise in political influence over the next decade for Latinos nationwide.

“Hispanics continue to make impressive electoral gains at every level of office,” said Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles). “A barometer of an ethnic group’s integration into the political system and society can be measured through their number of elected officials.”

However, an expert on American voting trends said that as a voting bloc Latinos have yet to define a clear political agenda--mainly because of ethnic differences.

“Clearly, there is not a monolith within the Hispanic community,” Curtis Ganns, head of the Washington-based Committee for the Study of the American Electorate. “There’s no question the Cubans in Florida have totally different views than the Hispanics in Texas, New Mexico and California. Their agenda, at this point, isn’t very clear. Until that changes they won’t have a significant effect on the voting population.”

Los Angeles City Council member Gloria Molina was particularly pleased with the inroads of female Latino elected officials nationwide, who now make up 19.7% of Latino officeholders. “For the sixth straight year, Latinas continued to show impressive gains,” she said. “More Latinas are running for office--and they are winning.”