Activists Frustrated by Number of Latinos in Administration : Heads of national groups step up pressure on Clinton. White House spokeswoman says concerns are unfounded.

By GEBE MARTINEZ

March 4, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON —

Frustrated Latino leaders are stepping up pressure on President Clinton to put more Latinos in top Administration posts.

The heads of several national Latino organizations acknowledge that few jobs of any kind have been filled in the slow-moving appointment process. Yet they are concerned--in some cases angry--about the small number of Latinos on short lists of potential nominees for more than 1,000 top Administration jobs.

“The Latino community has not had its fair share” of appointments, said Lydia Camarillo of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “We are not talking about quotas. We are talking about the President keeping a commitment.”

Many leaders who have been lobbying quietly behind the scenes believe they need to become more vocal. They note that aggressive women’s organizations apparently played a role in persuading Clinton to nominate a woman for attorney general. Also, they have come to realize that the President’s inner circle of advisers does not include Latinos.

“Women and liberals have Hillary (Rodham Clinton), and African-Americans have . . . (transition Chairman) Vernon Jordan and (Commerce Secretary) Ron Brown, who was head of the Democratic National Committee,” said one Latino activist who asked not to be named. “Our community does not have (advocates) at that level. . . . We are not part of the network.”

White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers called the Latino concerns unfounded, reaffirming Clinton’s commitment to appoint not only Latinos but others from diverse backgrounds.

Education Secretary Richard W. Riley, who headed the search for sub-Cabinet appointments during the transition, also expressed support for Latino appointments. “As the nominations are announced, Latinos will be represented in that process,” said his spokeswoman, Linda Burstyn. “Here in the Education Department, we are going to be very well represented, with 20% of the top appointments being Latino.”

The clamoring for more political appointments and greater access to the White House coincides with the First Lady’s meetings Tuesday with members of the black and Latino congressional caucuses to lobby for health care reform. While members applauded her pledge to work with the caucuses, congressional sources said they hoped to “see more” of that kind of attention.

Yet Latino organizations remain skeptical. They recall Clinton’s pledge made at a Cinco de Mayo celebration last year: “If you vote for me, I will give you an Administration that looks like America.”

Latino political leaders have struggled to give high visibility to the nation’s fastest-growing minority group. They have pushed for increased voter registration and for unified policy statements in an effort to shed the Latino community’s image of deep division. Leaders backed Clinton’s presidential bid when many others would not, and Latinos voted for him by margins exceeding 60%.

Shortly after the election, members of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda--a nonpartisan coalition of Latino political leaders and organizations--met with transition officials. Among those attending were Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza; Andy Hernandez, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project; MALDEF President Antonia Hernandez; Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina; AFL-CIO Vice President Jack Otero, and Rep. Esteban E. Torres (D-Pico Rivera).

After the meeting, the coalition asked the White House for at least one Latino at the assistant secretary level in each federal agency, and for at least 120 positions among the 1,163 requiring Senate confirmation. So far, four Latinos have been tapped for top jobs, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry G. Cisneros and Transportation Secretary Federico Pena.

Two others have been nominated for posts requiring Senate confirmation: Fernando M. Torres-Gil, a UCLA professor of social welfare, to be assistant secretary of health and human services for the aging, and Jim Baca, New Mexico’s commissioner of public lands, to head the Bureau of Land Management.

At least 16 other Latinos are in temporary or full-time positions, including Dallas attorney Regina Montoya, who was named White House director for intergovernmental affairs. Those lower-level jobs do not require Senate approval.

“Isn’t it ironic that the only Hispanic woman’s name that has surfaced since President Clinton’s transition team was put in place has been that of Zoe Baird’s nanny, Lillian Cordero?” businesswoman Millie Santillanes of Albuquerque, asked in Hispanic Link, a newsletter.

Latino leaders are drawing comparisons to former presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, neither of whom Latinos supported to the extent they have backed Clinton.

Under Reagan, Latinos held 15 of 587 top-level jobs. Under Bush, they served in 22 of 659 top positions.

White House spokeswoman Myers played down the number of Bush appointments, claiming that none of the jobholders had “any influence in the Administration.” But Bush had two Latino Cabinet secretaries, and Latinos served as surgeon general and U.S. treasurer.

Latino leaders also say Clinton has not kept a campaign promise to meet with them regularly. Had he done so, they say, his Administration probably would have been spared the embarrassment of publicly nixing New York lawyer Mario Baeza as its planned nominee as assistant secretary for inter-American affairs in the State Department. Because of the controversy sparked by Baeza’s brief consideration as the nominee, Clinton instead announced this week the selection of career diplomat Alexander Watson to fill the post.

Baeza, a black Cuban-American, was recommended by Jordan and Brown. His prospects died after anti-communist Cuban-Americans complained he had taken at least two business-related trips to Cuba and was perceived as soft in his views toward Cuban President Fidel Castro.

If Clinton had consulted Latino organizations before floating Baeza’s name, he would have been warned about Cuban-American objections, Latino leaders say.

The National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials is sending the White House a letter signed by more than 20 leaders in nine states with high Latino populations, urging the Administration to step up Latino appointments.

Others are seeking a meeting with Clinton’s personnel director, Bruce Lindsey, and with Cabinet secretaries who are scanning resumes for appointments.

Some leaders said they still expect Latinos to make large gains under Clinton.

“I think (Clinton) wants to be inclusive,” Yzaguirre said this week. “I think it’s more about keeping him focused to make sure he does what he wants to do.”

Tapped for Top Jobs

President Clinton has named four Latinos to high-level positions. Here are profiles of the four:

HENRY G. CISNEROS

Post: Housing and Urban Development secretary

Age: 45

Home: San Antonio

Career highlights: Assistant to the secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, 1971-72; mayor of San Antonio, 1981-89

FEDERICO PENA

Post: Transportation secretary

Age: 45

Home: Denver

Career highlights: Colorado state Democratic leader, 1981; mayor of Denver, 1983-91