Hispanic Republican Lacks Support of Republican Hispanic Assembly

March 27th, 2006 @ 6:40am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Republican Hispanic legislative candidate Alex Segura lacks the support of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly.
In fact, the assembly does not want him in their ranks because of his stand against illegal immigration as head of the Utah Minuteman Project.
"I would say I know people who are white who are more Hispanic at heart than Mr. Segura," said Marco Diaz, assembly chairman. Diaz said the assembly is looking for candidates not for their skin color but for their support of the Hispanic community.
Segura said, "I think it's a disgrace ... to go and tell a native Utahn of Mexican and Spanish descent that he's not Hispanic. You cannot erase my ethnicity because it does not meet your agenda. It's not going to work."
Segura sees his ethnicity as an advantage because "it helps people open up more" when expressing their frustration about immigration.
Segura faces Pete Moesser and Andrew Parker for the Republican nomination in West Valley House District 33. The seat is held by Democratic Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson.
James Evans, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, says Segura is one of two Republican Hispanics running for the Legislature. The other is Christine Hansen, who is running against incumbent Democrat Ralph Becker of Salt Lake City in District 24.
As Utah's population becomes more diverse, officials within the state's Democratic and Republican parties predict that more minority candidates will follow.
Minorities comprise about 16 percent of the state's population.
Becker and Evans are aware of only eight racial and ethnic minority candidates for the Legislature, but leaders of both parties point to increased participation of minorities within the parties and in candidacy for local seats.
In general, the minority candidates for the Legislature say they're proud of their heritage but hope voters will see them for their qualifications, not their ethnicity.
As a black candidate, South Ogden Mayor George Garwood Jr. says he hopes delegates will take Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of judging people by their character to heart when they decide whether he or Jonathan Aubrey will be the Republican candidate for House District 10.
"I'm hoping people will look at me, and what I stand for, what I've done, and look at my record as a City Council member and mayor," said Garwood.
Democratic Senate candidate Mark Flores said he's "very proud of what I am" as a Hispanic, but "my campaign is really about being a Utahn."
Flores and another Hispanic, Rep. Ross Romero, are both among a crowded field of Democrats vying for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Patrice Arent of Murray, who opted not to run for re-election.
Other minority candidates include Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, a Japanese American and the state's only sitting Republican of minority descent; Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray and a Hispanic; and Ron Atencio of Ogden, a Hispanic and the only Democrat running in House District 9.
Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said there are active efforts to recruit more women and minority candidates.
"It's absolutely critical to be reflective of the community that's here," Taylor said. "I think it's important that the issues of race be addressed. They should not be ignored."
Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Utah Republican Party, said his party welcomes minorities, but "our approach is a colorblind approach" based on the party platform.
"If you require the Legislature to be representative in terms of race, you're assuming that a white legislator couldn't represent a minority," he said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Utah delegation, like U.S., shows a lack of diversity

Beehive State group has but one non-Anglo among 68 delegates, alternate delegates and party officials

By Thomas Burr The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:09/05/2008

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" posted a billboard outside the Twin Cities proclaiming to Republican National Convention delegates: "Welcome, Rich White Oligarchy." Republicans may sharply disagree with two of the descriptors, but with a sea of almost all white delegates, they'll have a hard time arguing with the other. Of the 2,380 delegates at the convention, only 36 are black (1.5%), according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. And a CBS-New York Times survey of delegates found 93 percent of delegates are white and only 5 percent are Latino. Utah's delegation is a prime example: There is only one non-Anglo among the 68 delegates (1.5%), alternate delegates and party officials. That is despite the fact that Latinos are the fastest-growing population in Utah for the past decade and now make up about 12 percent of the state. More than 300,000 Latinos reside in the Beehive State. Even so, Sean Reyes, a Salt Lake City lawyer who is a quarter each Japanese, Hawaiian, Spanish and Filipino, says the lack of diversity on the floor of the Xcel Center this week is not an accurate reflection of the party overall. "The party has welcomed us with open arms," says Reyes, an alternate delegate. "It's not an indictment of the party, but an opportunity for us to do more with the party." Reyes - who was joined at the convention by Utahn Marco Diaz, vice chairman of the National Republican Hispanic Assembly - says the Republican Party has made strides in reaching out to Latinos. He predicts that in 10 or 15 years, many more Latinos will realize the GOP shares their values. "The system may reflect more our newness to the political process and not understanding necessarily how to become a delegate or the importance of being a delegate," Reyes says. The Utah Democratic Party's 40-member delegation to its national convention last week included four blacks and three Latinos. Surveys show a similar diversity gap nationally. In 1999, a survey by the Pew Hispanic Center found that Latinos who identified with or leaned toward a party backed Democrats 58 percent of the time, compared to 25 percent for Republicans. This year, the same survey showed 65 percent of Latinos identify or lean toward the Democratic Party, and 26 percent aligned with the GOP. President Bush drew about 40 percent of Latino voters in the 2004 election, but the party has since lost sway with this population. A poll earlier this year showed almost a 66 percent vs. 23 percent difference between Latinos supporting Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain. "Hispanics traditionally are Democrats," says Susan Minushkin, deputy director of the Pew Hispanic Center. While Bush did well with Latinos, she said, "Right now, they appear with party identification to have switched back." Utah Republican Chairman Stan Lockhart says the party is trying to recruit more people, including Latinos, to join through the Republican Hispanic Assembly and other outlets. He says the party is being aggressive in trying to send the message that Republican values are Latino values as well. "We'd like to see a delegate makeup very similar to the makeup of the population of our country and of our state," Lockhart said. Diaz, a GOP activist and former congressional staffer to Rep. Chris Cannon, says the lack of diversity is something the party is working on. "Obviously, we have some opportunity to try and recruit, engage and involve more Hispanics in our party," he says. But the makeup may not change dramatically overnight. "It's a process; it takes time," he says.


Alex Comment;
Marco Diaz wants Hispanics that DONT support illegal immigration reform (or whites) joining the Utah Republican Hispanic Assy.
He would not let me join, also the Utah GOP leadership loves him because his brown and down with the invasion.
Token Hispanic

Sarah Palin silent on immigration issues

Sarah Palin & Jason Chaffetz
Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain surprised America by announcing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice-Presidential running mate -- a virtual unknown in US politics. Since then, McCain's campaign has kept the press from interviewing Palin; her stance on a number of issues is unknown. This especially includes immigration -- a hot topic in today's American political landscape.
Non-partisan political websites such as ontheissues.org mark Palin as having no stance on immigration. However, given John McCain's stated positions on the topic, and the amount of spotlight shining on his young running-mate, the issue is likely to come up before November when the nation chooses the next President.

In an unusual situation in America's two-party political scene, both McCain and his opponent Barack Obama are both on the record as supporting a guest worker program that offers a path to eventual citizenship. They also both support an increase in the nation's H-1B visa quota.

For McCain, his positions on immigration have caused some friction within his party. The topic of immigration was notably absent during the Republican Convention. With Sarah Palin garnering all the attention, the absence of such an important issue during the many speeches went virtually unnoticed.

Governor Palin's background in politics has not given her a much of a foundation to take a stance on this issue -- there is no fence under discussion for her State's border with Canada. However, the press will have their chance to interview Palin soon; it remains to be seen what her position is on issues such as H-1B visas, a guest worker program and other topics that make up the debate on immigration reform.
Source: http://www.workpermit.com/news/2008-09-09/us/sarah-palin-silent-immigration.htm

Utah studies Oklahoma's HB1804

September 11th, 2008
State Rep. Randy Terrill, author of Oklahoma's omnibus immigration reform law, recently testified on the law's positive impact at a legislative hearing in Utah.
Utah lawmakers have used Terrill's law as a model for their own immigration reform efforts.
"Oklahoma has blazed a trail on immigration reform that other states are now following due to our success at addressing this issue at a time when Congress refuses to act," said Terrill, R-Moore. "I am excited by this opportunity and look forward to helping the people of Utah reduce the tremendous burden that illegal aliens place on society."
House Bill 1804, by Terrill, reformed Oklahoma law to eliminate incentives that lure illegal aliens to the state.
The bill terminated most public assistance and taxpayer-funded entitlement benefits for illegal aliens, restricted the ability of illegal aliens to obtain official government IDs such as driver's licenses, granted state and local law enforcement officials the authority to enforce federal immigration law including the ability to physically detain illegal aliens until they are deported, and penalized employers who knowingly and willfully employ illegal aliens.
In 2008, the Utah Legislature passed Senate Bill 81, a measure that included some of the same components as Terrill's House Bill 1804 in Oklahoma. Senate Bill 81 was approved by the Utah Legislature and signed into law by the governor, but its effective date was postponed until July 2009.
http://www.tulsabeacon.com/?p=890

FAIR Lobby Days Wrap Up

FAIR Lobby Days Wrap Up
Participants in FAIR's 2008 Lobby Days in Washington D.C. are wrapping up their visits today. The effort, which ran at the same time as the FAIR Congressional Task Force's "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" radio row event on Capitol Hill, brought activists from around the country to let their legislators know the American people demand real immigration reforms like building the fence, enforcing the law against illegal hiring, and making America secure from attack.
(photo from yesterday's press conference. FAIR president Dan Stein discusses FAIR's new 9/11 report. more photos and video to come)