Latinos Come Together to Affect Vote

In a show of their growing political strength, a broad-based coalition of Latino activists--from conservative Republicans to liberal Democrats--have come together to fund an aggressive voter registration drive in advance of the November election.

Kicking off the drive tonight is a fund-raising dinner in Santa Ana for the nonpartisan Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, which has registered Latinos throughout the Southwest but until recently has not been prominent in Orange County. Organizers said the dinner would raise at least $20,000 for a field registration program, plus about $20,000 for advertising aimed at getting people to register.

The 42-member host committee for the dinner reads like a Who’s Who of Latino activists in the county, including some who have been bitter political rivals through the years. “Never before would some of these people meet in the same room,” said Nadia Marie Davis, an attorney who is coordinating the Orange County registration drive.

“What we’re finding is voter education is a very practical issue everybody can agree on. It’s not about who’s right or wrong or better,” she said. “Within the Latino community itself, and within the parties, this is something that’s uniting people.”

Latinos account for about one-fourth of the county’s population, but only about 10% of its registered voters, according to Political Data Inc. of Burbank. Statewide, Latinos are nearly 14% of the electorate.

The high-profile 1996 election of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), challenged by defeated Republican Robert K. Dornan in a dispute that drew national attention, spotlighted the growing importance of Latino voters in the county, but also showed how divisive ethnic politics can be.

“That [dispute] was such a big slap in the face for everybody,” said Enriqueta Ramos, president of the Rancho Santiago Community College District board of trustees. “But my mother always said, ‘From every evil deed, some good comes.’ I think this is going to be the beginning of a real unity, where people from both parties talk to each other instead of shouting.”

Nativo Lopez, executive director of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional in Santa Ana, a Latino rights organization that was targeted by Dornan in his challenge, is among those on the host committee. The district attorney’s office investigated Hermandad for registering Latino immigrants to vote before they were sworn in as citizens. A grand jury declined to issue indictments and no charges were filed.

Several participants in tonight’s dinner said the Sanchez election also highlighted the shortage of Latino officeholders in Orange County.

“It’s resoundingly clear to anyone who cares to look that our representation must be enhanced, and voter registration is the best route,” said Manuel Gomez, vice-chancellor for student services at UCI.

The dinner is co-chaired by attorneys from both major parties: Ruben Smith, a Democrat who helped with the Sanchez campaign, and John Cruz, a member of the Republican Lincoln Club.

Cruz called the dinner “a watershed” for Latinos in Orange County politics. “It really is shaping up to be a nonpartisan event,” he said. “Invitations went out to everyone, not the same small cadre of people you always see.

“So we have people who may disagree philosophically but agree on the need to discuss issues in a manner in which we don’t make enemies with each other. I would like to bring back some civility to public discourse.”

The dinner, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Salgado Community Center, features speakers Henry Cisneros, former U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary, and San Mateo County Supervisor Ruben Barrales.