Vasquez Tells Latinos Their Time Has Come : Census: A business group hears the supervisor’s call for a once-’sleeping giant’ to take a rightful place in the county power structure.

Citing significant population gains among county Latinos in new census results, Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez urged Latino business leaders Wednesday to join the race for political empowerment.

“For many years, people were saying that Latinos were a sleeping giant,” Vasquez told about 1,000 Southern California members of the Assn. of Hispanic Professionals for Education. “That giant is getting up now. Times are changing.”

In his speech at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers, Vasquez referred to newly released U.S. Census figures showing Santa Ana and Anaheim with the largest increases in Latino population among the top California cities.

Latinos now make up 65% of the population in Santa Ana, a 111% increase in the last decade, while Anaheim recorded a 122% increase, with total Latino population standing at 31% of city residents.

With those figures, Vasquez said, come responsibilities for providing educational opportunities for Latinos and vehicles for greater participation in local and statewide politics.

In communities with significant Latino populations, “one of the greatest deficiencies is the lack of political empowerment,” Vasquez said. “If you don’t participate in the political process, you are not going to be part of the discussion that takes place in the halls of government. Are you ready to take your place in what is a powerful economic, political and social force?”

Vasquez said that shortly after the census figures were released, his office was deluged with calls from business leaders, asking how their work forces could better reflect the community’s new population shifts.

“One out of every four people in Orange County is Hispanic,” the supervisor said. “Some say that’s great, others say, ‘My God, they are taking over.’ ”

In a bid to clear a path for greater political participation among Latinos, Vasquez urged association members to return to their own communities and become participants in local politics and role models for future generations.

“If we are going to make a difference in our communities, let us never forget where we came from. You can go back to where you came from--each and every one of us has the capacity to go back and make an investment.

“As Latinos,” he said, “we grew up in a unique environment where our moms and dads, for the most part, had to struggle to make ends meet. Let us remember that all of us come from humble beginnings. We have a responsibility for the next generation.

“The race for Latinos has begun. The gun has sounded. The race is ours to win.”