Woman Seeks to Be 1st Indian in Legislature

One of California’s most prominent Native Americans launched her campaign for a state Assembly seat Friday, setting in motion her drive to become the first Indian to serve in the Legislature.

Democrat Mary Ann Martin Andreas, a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians’ tribal council, announced her decision to challenge the incumbent in the 80th Assembly District -- a heavily Latino district stretching from the Coachella Valley to the Arizona and Mexican borders.

Flanked by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, Andreas addressed the roughly 200 supporters who had gathered in the punishing desert heat outside her Palm Springs campaign headquarters.

“It is the time for a tribal person to be elected to the state Legislature,” she said in an interview. Andreas added, however, that she was prepared to serve a diverse constituency and saw herself as a “Democratic candidate that happens to be Native American.”

Political professionals said they expect Andreas, 57, to be the leading, and perhaps only, Democratic contender. That would set up a showdown with Republican Bonnie Garcia in the November 2004 election. Garcia is serving her first term after a closely contested campaign last year in which she spent more than $1 million.

Garcia declined to discuss Andreas’ campaign, saying only that “it’s a great country; anyone can run.” She added that she was focused on the state’s budget crisis and “doing her job,” not concerning herself with reelection.

Andreas, who has spent much of the last two decades involved in tribal politics, served four terms as the chairwoman of the Morongo tribal council. Under her leadership, the tribe experienced tremendous growth and today operates several enterprises, including a casino and a bottled-water company. In May, the tribe broke ground on another casino project.

Bustamante’s presence at Andreas’ announcement indicates that the state Democratic Party places considerable emphasis on reclaiming the Assembly seat from the Republicans.

“It’s a seat the Democrats shouldn’t have lost in the first place,” said Allen Hoffenblum, publisher of the California Target Book, a compendium of political information. “They have it on the top of their list to acquire that seat.”

But he added that even though a redrawing of district lines gave the Democrats a boost, Andreas nevertheless “has an uphill battle ahead of her.”

He wondered why, in a district in which 35% of the voters are Latino, the Democratic Party had chosen to throw its weight behind a Native American.

“On paper, they didn’t recruit the strongest candidate,” said Hoffenblum, a longtime Republican consultant. “She’ll have to convince a lot of Latino voters to vote for a Native American.”

Andreas said she had already begun to raise money for the campaign, with about $150,000 collected so far. Aware of the millions that Garcia and her opponent spent in the previous election, Andreas said she expected to have to raise similar amounts to compete.

Bustamante said that although Andreas would be a rookie in Sacramento, she has proved her leadership abilities through her work on California Indian issues. And growing up extremely poor on the Morongo Reservation, he said, has helped prepare her to be empathetic to the less fortunate.

Andreas said her childhood home had dirt floors and no indoor plumbing. Pulled out of school at 14 to help her mother work at a laundry, the candidate attended night school to earn her diploma at 21 and continued on to receive a college degree.

“People want to be assured,” Andreas said when asked what message she would carry to Sacramento.

“There is a great deal of fear in the district. People are disappointed and cynical.”