Rush for Dixon’s Seat Is Fueled by Desperation

The instant it was announced last December that veteran 32nd Congressional District Rep. Julian Dixon had died, the stampede was on by some of L.A.’s leading black politicians to fill his seat. And with Feb. 6 the actual opening date for filing, the likelihood is that even more would-be candidates will toss their hats into the ring. There’s a reason for the frantic, and tasteless, scramble for the seat: The opportunities for black politicians to get elected has plunged to disastrously low levels in the last couple of years, and may even get worse.

Dixon’s seat is a good example. It had long been considered a safe seat for African Americans. But today, whites and Latinos combined are in the majority, and, in the next few years, Latinos are expected to dominate the district.

But Dixon’s district is not the only one in which blacks are losing power. The other three black House members in California represent districts in which Latinos are the majority of their constituents. As the Latino vote continues to soar, Latino candidates will be visible and viable contenders for the seats in these districts.

The evaporation in black political strength is even more noticeable in state politics. In 1994, there were 10 black state representatives in the Legislature. Now there are six. Latinos, however, have nearly tripled their seats in the Legislature in the past decade.

The national picture is not much better. Last month, a report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington think tank, noted that the rise in the number of black elected officials has markedly slowed down. According to the report, the number of black elected officials nationally grew by a paltry 68 positions in 1999. And these were mostly in lower-level municipal offices. The bulk of black officeholders are still mainly concentrated in five states--Mississippi, Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana and Georgia. Overall, the percentage of black elected officials in relation to all elected officials has remained unchanged since 1996.

In the House, membership in the Congressional Black Caucus peaked at 39 in 1996. This has hampered its efforts to get Congress and the White House to support increased commerce; trade and aid to African and Caribbean nations; greater HIV/AIDS funding; strong backing for affirmative-action programs, and the passage of tougher laws against racial profiling and hate crimes.

The cavalier treatment by Democrats of allegations of voting fraud against African Americans in Florida and the muted response by Democrats to the nomination of John Ashcroft as attorney general fuels rage and deepens cynicism among many blacks about the Democrats’ commitment to issues important to them. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 1993 on minority redistricting could even further diminish black political clout. The court tossed out districts that had been gerrymandered to preserve African American majorities.

Any future increase in the number of black elected officials must come in majority white districts. Yet, with the exception of Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts and former Connecticut Rep. Gary Franks, both Republicans and both conservatives, who were elected from majority-white districts, it is still virtually impossible for African Americans to win in districts without black majorities.

Black politicians can slow the power loss by mounting intense voter drives to increase the still pitifully low number of blacks who register and vote; demand that Democrats and Republicans support more black candidates in local and national elections; and craft an agenda to tackle the crisis problems of failing public schools, police abuse, the crime and drug plague and urban disinvestment. They also must make stronger efforts to reach out to Latino and Asian voters.

For now, whoever emerges from the parade of African American politicians clamoring to fill Dixon’s seat can still bank on black voters to propel them to victory. But the handwriting on the wall--in big letters--is that this is going to change faster then some black politicians may like.