Political Change in the Wind : As Latinos Flex Muscles, Victories at the Polls Grow

A beaming Martha Escutia and 25 supporters celebrated her state Assembly victory with an election night party in a one-room office above a Huntington Park bank.

At 11 p.m., when Escutia led her opponent by a 3-1 margin, she gave an informal address. For the “first time we are all united in this Assembly district,” she said, referring to the greater geographical cohesiveness that redistricting brought to the previously fragmented 50th District.

Meanwhile, four miles away at Steven’s Steak House in the City of Commerce, a well-known politico watering hole, more than 200 friends and supporters heard Lucille Roybal-Allard declare victory in the 33rd Congressional District race. Little Richard’s late-’50s hit “Lucille” blared across a banquet room again and again before giving way to dancing till the early hours.

In her victory speech, Roybal-Allard, surrounded by her father, Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles), her mother, her sister and her own family, highlighted her hopes to get her constituency more involved in the political process.

This past Election Day, Latino candidates’ celebrations came in all shapes and sizes--as did their agendas.

However, the overriding constant, according to political experts, is the increasing penetration of Latino elected officials into government at all levels, impelled by the growing muscle of the Latino electorate.

A record seven Latinos, including Escutia, were overwhelmingly elected to the Assembly, nearly double the current four. Four California Latinos were elected to the House of Representatives, an increase of one from the present three. Even greater victories and electoral influence by Latinos are being predicted for future years by political experts. The Southwest Voter Research Institute projects a sharp increase in Latinos elected to Congress, from California and nationally, within the next six years.

Richard Martinez, director of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, pointed out that many congressional seats are occupied by non-Latinos who represent areas with Latino population majorities.

“As the Latino voter turnout continues its rapid growth, as it has for the past 16 years, we can project that these will become Latino-occupied seats,” Martinez said.

*

Harry Pachon, national director of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, lauded the victories of a record 150 Latinos to state legislatures across the nation and 17 Latinos to the 103rd Congress.

The elections reflect “both recent Latino political successes as well as the results of redistricting after the 1990 Census,” said Pachon, who is a political science professor at Pitzer College.

Pachon cited the victory by three Latinas to Congress in what was termed the political Year of the Woman. Roybal-Allard is the first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress, while in New York, Democrat Nydia Velazquez will become the first Puerto Rican woman to serve as a voting member of the House of Representatives. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican Cuban-American, was reelected from Florida.

Roybal-Allard will be joined, among Latinos in the California delegation, by another newcomer, Assemblyman Xavier Becerra, also a Democrat, and incumbents Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park) and Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente).

Becerra, who at 34 will be one of Congress’ youngest members, will be taking the seat of Edward Roybal, who is retiring after 30 years in Congress.

Other Latinos elected to the House of Representatives are Ed Pastor, an Arizona Democrat; Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican; Luis V. Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat; Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat; Bill Richardson, a New Mexico Democrat; Jose Serrano, a New York Democrat; Henry Bonilla, a Texas Republican, and four Texas Democrats: E. (Kika) de la Garza, Henry B. Gonzalez, Solomon P. Ortiz and Frank Tejada.

The increase of Latino congressional members from 11 to 17 will “ensure the Hispanic voices will be heard in our nation’s Capitol next year,” Pachon said.

Pachon and Martinez also point to the growth of the Latino electorate in California. The Southwest Voter Research Institute’s preliminary estimate is that 900,000 to 1 million Latinos voted in California, compared to a 1988 figure of 827,000 estimated by the NALEO Educational Fund from census figures. About 11 million Californians voted Nov. 3.

The Latino voter rate is ready to accelerate, Martinez said, “due largely to the immigrant factor.” In California, 2.5 million Latinos over 18 are not citizens. Many of them are moving toward citizenship, he said. Coupled with the 2.5 million Latinos with U.S. citizenship, there is the potential of 5 million Latino voters in the next 10 years, Martinez said.

In the California Assembly, all seven Latino Democrats won handily. In addition to incumbent Richard Polanco (45th), they are Louis Caldera (46th), Diane Martinez (49th), Escutia (50th), Hilda Solis (57th), Grace Napolitano (58th) and Joe Baca (62nd). Martinez is the daughter of Rep. Martinez.

The Latino caucus, which some are calling Los Siete (The Seven), will represent nearly 10% of the Assembly and will have about one-sixth of the votes needed for a simple majority of 41. None of three Latinos in the state Senate, Art Torres, Charles Calderon and Ruben Ayala, were up for reelection.

Although the seven Assembly members represent heavily Democratic districts, some crossover vote was evident. In Escutia’s district, which is 67% Democratic, she captured 75% of the vote. “Obviously, I took in some Republican (and minor party) votes,” she said.

Escutia cited Bill Clinton’s presidential election and the strong overall performance by Democrats as a favorable environment in which to pursue her priorities for a district that, she said, “has the dubious distinction of having the two poorest cities in California--Bell Gardens and Cudahy.”

These legislative priorities are three-pronged, said Escutia, an attorney who also is involved in charitable work. They are jobs, education and health care. She pointed out that, while these priorities are almost universal in this economy, they are especially important in her district.

Louis Caldera, a Harvard-trained attorney, captured 73% of the vote in a district that includes Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Pico Union and parts of Koreatown and downtown Los Angeles. He said that his victory, along with those of other Latinos, will represent significantly greater political clout in the Legislature.

*

Latinos are likely to be “involved in every committee of the Assembly, making policy for the state,” Caldera said. “We now cannot consider issues to be simply Latino issues. We will have input on every issue because Latinos are involved in every issue.”

Jobs are also a high priority with educator Hilda Solis, whose district includes Baldwin Park, El Monte, La Puente and Azusa. She plans to set up councils of public- and private-sector representatives to recommend programs to expand her district’s job base. Solis also plans to place a high priority on health care, in view of the aging population of her district.

Solis also said she is excited about the increasing number of Latina elected officials. Five of California’s eight new legislators in the Assembly and Congress are women, a development that could enhance not only Latino causes but, more specifically, Latina women’s causes.

In addition to the seven Assembly members, an eighth seat may be occupied by a Latino in the near future, resulting from a special election early next year in Central California’s 31st District. Assemblyman Bruce Bronzan, who is from the Fresno area, has announced his resignation effective Dec. 23.