Tag Archives: Latinos

OC Special Election: Who’s to Blame for Our Loss? WE ARE! (And how we CAN turn this around!)

February 8, 2007 Andrew Davey (atdleft) 4 Comments

So who are we to blame for yesterday’s loss? Whose fault is it that we have lost our one and only Board of Supervisors seat in Orange County? Some are blaming State Senator Lou Correa. Some may want to blame Santa Ana DINO Mayor Miguel Pulido. I was about ready to blame Garden Grove Councilmember Mark Rosen as the Democratic spoiler…

But you know who is really to blame? WE ARE!

Want to know why… AND find out how we can get our groove back in The Land of the OC? Then follow me after the flip for more…

I saw this as a comment on The Liberal OC, and it got me thinking:

One thing I’ve learned – until you take full responsibility for your loss, you won’t learn from your mistakes.

But you know what? Publius is correct. We need to take responsibility for our mistakes, and make sure that we don’t repeat them in the future.

Basically while we OC Democrats were focusing on taking down Carlos Bustamante in Santa Ana, we were ignoring what was happening in the rest of the district. The whole Janet Nguyen-Trung Nguyen Battle of the Absentee Ballots caught us completely off guard. I’ll admit that even I didn’t recognize this until the very end. Not until last week did I and others finally realize how we put ourselves in peril by avoiding any type of serious outreach in the Vietnamese community for this election. Some might say that we could not have won the Vietnamese vote against a Vietnamese GOP candidate, but I must still say that there was no excuse for us to just avoid the entire community and risk losing the recent gains we have made with younger Vietnamese voters for future elections.

Why did we pick a candidate who doesn’t particularly have a good track record of community involvement? Why didn’t we participate in more Vietnamese community functions? Why didn’t we get our potential supporters to vote absentee like the two leading Republican candidates did? Why didn’t we give Latino and Vietnamese working-class voters a reason to get out and vote for our person?

Hopefully, this disappointing and frustrating loss will teach us a serious lesson: STAY CONNECTED WITH ALL THE ETHNIC COMMUNITIES!! Last night, I spoke with Irvine City Councilmember Suhkee Kang. Apparently next year, he will be running for mayor when Beth Krom is termed out (as mayor, but NOT on city council). Already, the Irvine Democrats (Krom, Kang, and Larry Agran) are working on continuing the relationship with Asian-American communities in Irvine that has resulted in their long-running success in what’s supposed to be a “Republican city“. Of course back in Central OC, Loretta Sanchez wouldn’t still be in Congress today if it weren’t for her terrific outreach to the Vietnamese community. Lou Correa wouldn’t be our State Senator today if it weren’t for his team’s amazing outreach to the Vietnamese community. Perhaps we should learn from these two successful Orange County Democrats, and remember to stay connected with the voters in the district.

OK, so not all the news from OC is bad. I’m glad that the young Democratic
activists are reaching out to young people in ALL ETHNIC COMMUNITIES in Central OC… So why couldn’t we follow their lead? Why didn’t I see as much Vietnamese outreach going on for this election as I did last year in SD 34? Lou Correa and Loretta Sanchez have always had strong outreach programs to the Vietnamese community. Why couldn’t Umberg do the same? Hopefully from now on, we have learned the consequences of what happens when we ignore the working-class ethnic voters that we are supposed to represent. Lou Correa and Loretta Sanchez don’t, and that’s why they are trusted by the community. I hope we follow their example.

I know that we Orange County Democrats worked our patooties off to get Tom Umberg elected to the Board of Supervisors. Unfortunately, we came short. But still, we shouldn’t give up. Lou Correa showed us how to reach out to working families in Orange County. Loretta Sanchez showed us how we can build bridges among different communities to create a lasting winning coalition. If we Orange County Democrats want to get our groove back and start winning again, then perhaps we should pay attention to our two most prominent elected officials. If they can win, then so can we.

Los Angeles Area, Orange County

Threatening Letter Sent to Latinos in Orange County (SD-34)

October 17, 2006 Brian Leubitz 1 Comment

Somebody is sending letters to Latinos in SD-34, the matchup between Lou Correa and Lynn Daucher. You’ll remember that Daucher was standing behind Arnold as he told all Mexicans that they need to assimilate better. And those letters that are being sent? Yeah, not exactly friendly and neighborly:

The mailer – sent on letterhead from the California Coalition for Immigration Reform – warns voters in Spanish that those who do vote could end up in jail. It also says federal officials are keeping a searchable database – available to anti-illegal immigration groups – that tracks people casting votes. (OC Register 10/17/06)

And some actual text from the letter from the LA Times:

“You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time …,” the letter says.(LAT 10/17/06)

CCIR is a well-known anti-immigrant group that has frequently used racist tactics in the past. You can view a video of one of their events over the flip. While it is not clear that CCIR actually sent this letter out, it would not be surprising. But whomever sent the letter, it is clearly disgusting. This letter is seeking to decrease turnout by threats. It is clearly illegal, unethical and racist. There is no place for this in our election system.

The best part: “Go Back to Mexico! You are the Racist! You want everything for the white race!” Umm…yeah, who’s the racist again? CCIR actually put this video up on their website, as an example of what I don’t know. I’m guess it’s to get them some street cred with the other racists.

Uncategorized

Governor “admits he erred on [Proposition] 187”

July 25, 2006 Attorney At Arms 4 Comments

(So very very much Schwarzenegger backpedaling as the election nears. – promoted by jsw)

I’m about as white as they come, being of Scandinavian descent, but I do read a little Spanish. So when I browsed to La Opinion this morning this was the headline:

“Admite erró con la 187” with a giant picture of Ahhnold underneath. Now, I don’t read every paper in the state every day, but I do read “Rough & Tumble” and none of its headlines covered this. I will update if I missed it.

Goofily translated by Google for Gringos here.
More below.

I wonder if Arnold would have bothered with this now that the polls show him with an 8 point lead? Anyway, I think it’s interesting that this is in the Spanish media, not the English, and I wonder what the Wingers would think if it were.

Proposition 187 is sort of a reprise of 1950’s race based New Deal exclusionism. The wingers hate social services in general, and, well, they’ll be damned if they’re going to let dirty illegals have them, right? And they can appeal to poor whites by making them feel less privileged than the new comers to get enough votes to put it over the top.

So, anyway, I’m just wondering how much play this gets in the English media and how effectively this can be used to erode Arnold’s Republican support.

UPDATE: Capital Notes has this story now. Beat you by an hour, Myers. (=

UPDATE II: Someone puh-leeze tell me there will be a “Arnold: I was for Prop 187 before I was against it” commercial.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Hidden Electorate: Latino Votes in the Governor’s race

July 23, 2006 Brian Leubitz 2 Comments

Latinos are a typically underpolled minority, and Latino votes will make a huge impact partially because of language issues, but also for a lundry list of other reasons. That undercounting could end up having a big impact this November, as even national news sources (h/t CPR) are picking up the growing discontent with the Governator amongst Latinos.

[Arnold Schwarzenegger] “cut the budget for the schools,” Gonzales said. Her answer is not unusual in this heavily Hispanic section of Los Angeles County. Mentioning the Republican governor elicits an almost invariably negative opinion about him.

The harsh views illustrate how far Schwarzenegger’s star has fallen among Hispanics since the heady days of the 2003 recall election, when he won 32 percent of their vote. That accomplishment was magnified because his main Democratic opponent was Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a Hispanic.

Today, polls indicate Schwarzenegger’s support among Hispanic voters is much lower as he seeks re-election. A recent survey by San Jose State University found 58 percent supported his Democratic rival, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, while just 12 percent supported the governor. (ABC News 7/22/06)

It’s now a well-known cliche (and cited in the ABC News article) that the Governor must win at least a third of the Latino vote in order to win the race. The best poll I’ve seen of Latino issues is the PowerPac poll that has Arnold with 25% support. However, that poll is a bit old. More recent polls have him a bit lower. If Latino voter participation is high, I think we might be in store for a surprising result come November.

Uncategorized

Schwarzenegger reaffirms support for Minutemen vigilantes

July 13, 2006 Jenifer Fernandez Ancona 1 Comment

(See, Governor, the problem is that you’re caught in what some might call a pander bear trap on immigration. You could do the right thing by Latinos, or you can pander to your nativist base. Looks like you’ve picked the pander. – promoted by jsw)

Cross-posted on PowerPAC.org

As Gov. Schwarzenegger runs for re-election and attempts to court the Latino vote, there are several things that we on the opposition want to remind these critical swing voters, lest they be confused by the facade of the “really new and improved” Schwarzenegger (it’s hard to keep track, with all his self-reinventions).

Luckily, Schwarzenegger has started to do that for us! This week, the Governor reaffirmed his famous and controversial support of the Minutemen border patrol. When he praised the group last year, after many leaders — including even George W. Bush — labeled them as “vigilantes,” he drew criticism from a deeply offended Latino community.

Apparently he was trying to undercut some of that criticism and lack of support by holding a PR event called “Hispanic Families for Arnold,” where he…repeated the gaffe.

Immigration politics also surfaced in California’s gubernatorial race Tuesday, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger renewing his support for the civilian Minuteman border patrols at a campaign stop to showcase his Latino supporters in a Mexican restaurant in Lynwood.

“I support any time that a civilian wants to go and do the job that law enforcement cannot do,” Schwarzenegger said in response to a question.

My guess is that Schwarzenegger wasn’t trying to offend Latinos, though he must know that comparing the border patrol clan to him hiring security guards to protect his Santa Monica mansion wouldn’t get very far with anyone. A safer bet is that he could count on the mainstream media to either ignore the comment or downplay it. Indeed, the ironic blunder was only mentioned deep in an L.A. Times story about Rove’s visit to the National Council of La Raza (speaking of awkward audience-speaker dynamics), and the Mercury-News story about the PR event doesn’t mention it at all.

An interesting sidenote is how Sen. Abel Maldonado quickly jumped on the Minutemen comment as an opportunity to blast Schwarzenegger after the Governor left him in the lurch during the Republican Primary for Controller. Maldonado took heat from conservatives for carrying a minimum-wage increase bill that Schwarzenegger asked him to take on, but when Maldonado wanted Schwarzenegger’s endorsement, he stayed silent.

But the funniest is the response to Maldonado’s comments from the Schwarzenegger campaign:

Arnoldo Torres, a senior Schwarzenegger campaign advisor, called Maldonado’s remarks “unfortunate.” He said the governor had shown a “very, very clear commitment” to matters of concern to Latinos, including education, public safety and healthcare.

Hahahahaha. If by “very clear committment” you mean “has done absolutely nothing,” then yes, you’re right, Arnoldo.

Blog Roundup

California Blog Roundup, 5/5/06

May 5, 2006 jsw

Today’s California Blog Roundup is on the flip. Teasers:Infrastructure Bonds, Governor’s Race, Immigration, 15% Doolittle, Paid-For Pombo, LA-area Assembly Races, some cynicism, Latinos as a power, labor, and some pictures.

Infrastructure Bonds

Bonds during the day yesterday.

Bonds today from ABC.

Bonds today from California Progress Report.

Bonds today from Bill Bradley.

Bonds tomorrow from Randy Bayne.

Governor’s Race

Julia Rosen from ABC sends us to the Washington Post for an outside perspective on the Governor’s race. Shortest: California is big, nasty, and expensive. See also, this ABC post, which suggests that the race is also largely unpredictable.

Angelides’ new ad. Not bad, IMO, but relying very heavily on the endorsement proxy-race.

Immigration

Demosthenes at BTC News wraps some historical and personal context around the immigration issue. Terry Preston suggests that history repeats itself regularly on this issue.

Cab Drollery has some brief thoughts on why federalism is not a good answer to concerns about immigration.

CA-4 and CA-11

15% Doolittle likes things just as they are. No ethics, no change. Inertia is profitable.

Oh, and SNTP also points us to CREW ethics and IRS complaints against Richard Pombo. It’s all about the Benjamins with him, apparently.

Say No To Pombo has a good post and really dense discussion thread concerning the DCCC’s involvement in CA-11 and other primaries.

Everything Else

The Mad Professah adds some context to an LA Times piece on the AD-45 primary.

Mayor Sam’s Sister City has a couple endorsement updates in AD-42 and AD-44.

Rising Q1 foreclosure rates in California part of a longer trend.

Guest-posting at California Progress Report, the President of PowerPAC argues that Latinos are the slumbering electoral giant in California.

Final CDP convention post by Greg Dewar. He’s not even a little bit cynical.

Marc Cooper lets us know about the California Legislature’s golf fundraiser with AT&T. He’s maybe a little bit cynical. Public financing, people.

Randy Bayne attended the California Labor Federation Legislative right after the CDP Convention and gives us his impressions. See also Randy on small businesses and the minimum wage.

Tom Hilton has two last posts with Mendocino picture sets: one and two.

calitics