Earlier this week the Latino Action Network joined with the Women's Political Caucus, Latinas United for Political Empowerment - Political Action Committee, New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association, Latino Coalition of Monmouth County, and Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO to file an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in In re Contest of November 8, 2011 General Election of Office of New Jersey General Assembly, Fourth Legislative District, the New Jersey Supreme Court case in which Gabriela Mosquera's election as 4th District Assemblywoman in November 2011 is being challenged despite her having won more votes than her opponents.
On Wednesday, January 26, 2012 we heard that the Supreme Court has accepted our amicus brief.
One of her opponents, Shelley Lovett, argues that because Ms. Mosquera moved to the 4th District 11 months prior to the election, she violated a requirement in the New Jersey Constitution that all candidates must live in their district for at least a year. However, a federal judge back in 2002 had held that provision invalid under the United States Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. As such the Secretary of State (Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno) had told Ms. Mosquera that she could run for office, without challenge, and in fact every candidate since 2002 has been told the same thing.
Last month, Governor Christie called on the New Jersey lawmakers to pass his version of education reform during the lame duck session of the legislature. The governor listed four bills as crucial to his reform agenda. Among those bills was the controversial 'Opportunity Scholarship Act' which would provide corporations a 100% tax credit for contributions made to a state run voucher program, which would then distribute the funds. This legislation would divert from $360 million to over $1 billion in tax dollars away from the public education system to private and religious schools. As a result of the governor's announcement, voucher proponents have renewed their efforts to get this bill passed claiming that vouchers would help poor children in New Jersey.
The Latino Action Network opposes the publicly funded voucher bill because we see it as a big gimmick that benefits corporate interests that would do nothing to help poor children stuck in failing school districts. Not one penny of corporate money would fund the scholarships established by this misguided legislation.
Latino Action Network Announces Opposition to Opportunity Scholarship Act
For Immediate Release: December 5, 2011
Christian Estevez, Chair, Education Committee - 973-418-7012
Daniel Santo Pietro, Chair, Public Policy Committee - 732-496-9628
The Latino Action Network [LAN] today announced its opposition to the Opportunity Scholarship Act because it would drain money away from public education and give it to corporate interests so it could be doled out to private schools.
"The Opportunity Scholarship Act is a big gimmick that benefits corporate interests that would do nothing to help poor children stuck in failing school districts," said Christian Estevez, Executive Vice President of the Latino Action Network and Chair of the Education Committee. "Not one penny of corporate money would fund the scholarships established by this misguided legislation. The state would take money from our public schools and hand it to the corporations, who would then claim corporate philanthropy with our tax dollars."
Estevez concluded: "This is an educational gimmick of the worst sort. This legislation does nothing to address the core issues of housing and educational segregation. We pledge to work with legislators to address the real issues that hurt so many children of low and moderate-income families."
Below is the official policy statement of the Latino Action Network with regards to the Opportunity Scholarship Act:
This is a fair criticism, though we question whether forward movement on minority representation was the prime mover of that rumor. Either way, there are too many white men repping us all, and the time is well past ripe to change that. - Rosi
The New Jersey Legislative Redistricting Coalition is comprised of the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP, La Causa NJ, The New Jersey Black Issues Convention, Latino Action Network, the Latino Coalition, the Garden State Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, the Association of Black Women Lawyers, and various community leaders from the African American, Asian and Latino communities.
The New Jersey Redistricting Coalition's main goal is creating more opportunities for people of color to run for elected office...PERIOD...this is not born out of a desire to gerrymander or create an unfair advantage for one demographic or another. If leaders of both parties adhered to the law (i.e. the Voting Rights Act) and produced a map consistent with the new Census data that shows significant increases in minority populations statewide there would be no need for the coalition to exist.
"The problem was not that Americans lived beyond their means but that their means had not kept up with what the larger economy could and should have been able to provide. The American economy had been growing briskly ... but a larger portion of the economy's winnings had gone to people at the top.... The central challenge is to rebalance the American economy so that its benefits are shared more widely." - Robert Reich: AFTERSHOCK (Alfred A. Knopf - 2010)
Brescia:The Cost of Inequality substantiates this lack of balance. Inequality in NJ can be viewed in terms of 1) our poverty rate: 8.7%; 2) differences in our median household income: Whites: $47,036, Black: $29,293 and Latino: $35,744; and 3) the difference between the median income of the three above groups and the State median income of $64,470, suggesting a number of individuals with a disproportionately high income. In comparison with other states NJ fares worse, but not significantly so because these disparities have become widespread throughout the U.S.
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The other day, Senator Menendez sat down with the Star Ledger Editorial board and among the topics of conversation was Immigration Reform. The Senator said that Latinos believe reforming the country's immigration system is the "civil rights issue of their time"
"I think it's a real challenge at the end of the day not to seek progress on it and not to have progress on it," he said. "I think it has a political equation."
"All of us who are U.S. citizens, all of us who are permanent residents, all of us who wear the uniform of the United States, when we hear the debates on immigration ... to hear some senators saying, 'those people, those people,'" he said. "I've heard along the way what that means, 'those people.'
He said that Latinos identify with the issue no matter what their own immigration status is. You can view the Senators comments here:
The other part of the political equation is that many elected officials are so afraid of the consequences as they perceive, that they'd prefer it not come up now. In the past when the issue has come up, it's been demagogued and set aside for another day. In order to get the reform the Senator is seeking, they're going to need to overcome the other sentiment.
The Corzine campaign put out this bilingual television ad today featuring the President. Here's what the campaign has to say about this ad:
President Obama asks New Jersey Latino voters to support Governor Corzine in his upcoming bout for re-election. The half-Spanish, half-English (with Spanish subtitles) ad features President Obama telling voters that the future of New Jersey is "in your hands," or "en tus manos." This is the first direct to camera political ad that President Obama has recorded since taking office.
Citing the similarities between his fight on a national level and Governor Corzine's fight here in New Jersey, President Obama praises Corzine as "the leader New Jersey needs in these tough times," for his focus on improving health insurance, getting the economy back on track and ensuring everyone gets a quality education.
The Immigration Policy Center is out with a new study talking about the political and economic power of Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in New Jersey:
Immigrants, Latinos, and Asians account for large and growing shares of the economy and electorate in New Jersey. Immigrants make up roughly 20% of the state's population, and more than half of them are naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote. "New Americans"-immigrants and the children of immigrants-account for 15.1% of all registered voters in the state. Moreover, Latinos and Asians wield roughly $67.3 billion in consumer purchasing power, and the businesses they own had sales and receipts of $25.7 billion and employed 125,593 people at last count. Immigrant workers contributed at least $47 billion to the state economy in 2006, representing almost one-quarter (or 23%) of all earnings statewide. At a time of economic recession, New Jersey can ill-afford to alienate such a critical component of its labor force, tax base, and business community.
I'll put the full findings below the fold. Bottom line, almost 1 in 5 residents are immigrants. Over half of them are naturalized meaning they are eligible to vote. In fact, they say that 15% of the total registered voters are naturalized citizens or US born children of immigrants.
In the :30 second ad U. S. Senator Robert Menendez speaks to the Latino community on Governor Corzine's education initiatives and his support for Governor Corzine's re-election in November.
The ad will be on broadcast television across the major New Jersey/NewYork metropolitan area and Philadelphia region.
And here's the ad:It's interesting, the only words Corzine speaks in the whole ad are, "Senator, come here!" The rest of the ad has Menendez talking in the foreground about education and his support for Corzine, while you see the Governor speaking with a group of people in the background. What do you think? I'll put the script in english below the fold.
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) is playing a key role in a statewide effort to increase voter turnout among Latino voters for Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign. This weekend, Menendez presided over a meeting in New Brunswick that was attended by over 200 statewide Latino leaders, including U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-West New York), State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), Assemblywomen Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden) and Annette Quijano (D-Elizabeth), Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Newark) and Vincent Prieto (D-Secaucus), Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, Paterson Mayor Joey Torres, and Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco.
At full strength, Latinos form 14% of the electorate, according to Patricia Cabrera, Corzine's outreach director. Regardless of Christie's aggressive efforts, the Corzine ally is confident of the governor's ability to pull Latinos come Election Day.
"Latinos composed seven percent of the electorate when McGreevey ran," said Cabrera. "In 2005, that was up to nine percent. Last year, Latinos came out to make up 11 percent of the electorate in New Jersey. We don't anticipate having numbers like that this year, but they will be high, and we anticipate the majority of them voting for Gov. Corzine."
Along with the importance of the healthcare issue, another topic was the 1st Latina Supreme Court Justice and Christie's critique of her:
Everyone from Menendez to Trenton Councilman Manny Segura plugged away, too, at Christie's comments about Sonia Sotomayor, a Supreme Court Justice nominee when Christie pronounced, "She's not my kind of judge."
"If Sotomayor was not good enough for that individual, none of us would be good enough for him," Segura said.
It will be essential for the Governor to see Latino voters turn out in number to help him win on Election day. It's good to see all these leaders across the state aggressively planning their work and working their plan. They'll need that work to show up in the form of results at the ballot box for the Governor.
Republican NJ-Gov candidate Chris Christie doesn't seem too interested in letting Spanish-speaking voters know he's a Republican. Compare the English and Spanish versions of his new "Bringing Back Our Cities" web ad. The Spanish one omits the word "Republican" in a couple places where the English one identifies Christie with his party.
Here's the first ad in english. In the opening 30 seconds, he mentions the fact that he is a Republican twice:And here is the ad in spanish. While I'm no expert, I don't hear the word Republican at all:A viewer of the Spanish version was insulted by the omission and left this comment:
Hablamos diferente idioma, no somos estupidos.
That's exactly right, they may speak a different language, but they're not stupid. So what gives with the Christie campaign and what is their explanation for only being a Republican in English? Maybe it's just like he was only a conservative for the primary too.
Of the states with the largest Latino populations, New Jersey ranked first in the percentage of Hispanic voters -- 78 -- that cast their ballots for Sen. Barack Obama, according to exit poll data by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Nationally, 66 percent of Latinos voted for the president-elect, said Mark Lopez, associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center.
GOP candidate Sen. John McCain got 21 percent of the Latino vote in New Jersey, and 32 percent nationwide.
Wow, that's some margin. And how does this compare with recent numbers?
In 2004, President Bush captured 40 percent of the Hispanic vote nationally, and 43 percent in New Jersey.
That's an impressive turnaround. A winning Obama got 35% more of the Hispanic vote in 2008 than a winning George Bush in 2004. Along with the fervor of the immigration issue over the last 4 years, there's this:
"Hispanics are largely working class," said Cid Wilson, a Leonia resident who was a member of the Obama campaign's National Hispanic Leadership Council. "Many of them saw McCain, and the Republican Party, as favoring the wealthy, and having a reverse Robin Hood policy of robbing from the poor to give to the rich."
The Republicans are going to have to figure out a way to reverse this trend because nearly 10% of eligible NJ voters are Latino. You start yourself in a pretty deep hole if you lose three out of every four of those voters from the jump.
Having posted the invitation for LASO-NJ's inaugural meeting on January 24, I received a most unexpected email with questions regarding the organization. Our history, purpose and goals. I wrote frantically to cover as much as I possibly could. To this brief introduction I will be adding more detailed bits and pieces of my experience as a Latin American immigrant from Colombia and a citizen of the City of Englewood.
It is our pleasure and honor to invite you to join a new movement in progressive politics. The community of the Americas has transcended traditional borders and is redefining these United States. The Latin American Society of New Jersey will strive to be emblematic of this uniquely historical phenomenon.
LASO-NJ recognizes and honors our current leaders in public office and the many fine organizations throughout our community that have spoken and continue to speak on our behalf. LASO-NJ will look to build upon the strong foundation that these trailblazers have fought to establish. However, it is our belief that the Latin American community must reject the political conformity that is hindering our progress. Our demographics demand that we establish a unique identity outside the traditional political status quo.
LASO-NJ will work to identify and support leaders from within and outside our community that will advocate and engage in meaningful discussion of local issues, public policy and legislative initiatives.
We hope that you will give this request serious consideration. Your participation would help to ensure LASO-NJ's success and relevance. Our first meeting will take place at the following location:
Technology Resource Center in the City of Englewood (27 South Van Brunt Street) on January 24, 2007 from 6-7p.m.
Please RSVP by January 22 at LASONJ2007@gmail.com or (201) 673 - 0749.
We look forward to working with you on behalf of the community.
Sincerely,
Lucas Sánchez
Co-Chair
Bermarí Roig-Eichler
Co-Chair
