Posted on 12/30/2002 10:46:38 AM PST by spintreebob
Frank Aguilar: A New Face From Cicero
Frank Aguilar will be sworn in for his first term as state representative next week. (Ilinois)....
AGUILAR: Growing up for me was fun - as far as I knew. I grew up in the Pilsen neighborhood in the city of Chicago. It was 1960, the gang issue was not then what it is now. I went to Catholic school and grew up in a family where faith was important. ....In Pilsen we had a one room apartment and considering the family was getting bigger and the gangs were starting to get worse, we moved to the suburbs to "live the American dream!" We moved to Cicero when I was 15 (I was in high school), and mom and dad bought a house. The city began to get much more rough and Cicero at the time was beginning to become more Hispanic. Our family was an entrenched Democratic voting family. By the time I was 21, I was beginning to realize that the Democrats just didn't match my value system, and values meant something to us. KMC: What do you mean by that?
AGUILAR: Latinos, as a community, value family very highly. We are pro-life. We tend to be very committed to our faith. We believe in the value of a whole family unit. And my dad, in particular, was repulsed by the idea of welfare. We may not have always had everything we wanted, but what we had, we were thankful for. When I was becoming politically aware I realized that Democrats were teaching (even people back in my old Pilsen neighborhood) that government-assisted handouts were the key to a better life. My dad was teaching me that my own hard work was the key to a better life. I believe one of the greatest hurts to the inner city, even today, is their dependency on public aid. And the statistics tell the story, 35% of whites are on welfare, 55% of blacks are, and only 12% of Latinos - and only 2% of those Latinos on welfare are actually immigrants. The other 10% are American-born. 90% of the factory workers I helped in the labor union were immigrants.
KMC: You said you grew up traditional Democrat but you got elected as a Republican, how so?
AGUILAR: The perception is this -- Democrats are for the poor and Republicans are for the rich. But the problem is that is the perception, and not the fact. Democrats and Republicans have both wealthy and poor people in their party. The issue for me is which party believes the most like the way I do? For me it was clear by the time I was 21, Republicans share my values, the values I believe can help solve the problems that so many now face.
KMC: How did you get involved in politics, what made you want to?
AGUILAR: ....Because Cicero was undergoing not only the new problems of gangs being present but racially divisive issues, as well, I decided that I would be a part of solving the problem. I talked to my local precinct captain who encouraged me to help him. I became his lieutenant. I would go door to door and find out how people were, what they needed, and how we could help. I would go back to the captain who would then go to the village hall to argue on behalf of what we needed. Cicero, at the time, was a very racially divided city and Latinos were not encouraged to participate in the village business. Eventually this began to change and Latinos in the community were slowly enfolded.
more at www.illinoisleader.com
(Excerpt) Read more at illinoisleader.com ...
Illinois freepers, What do you think? Typical politician? Or Better than average?
Democrats have no values (or value, for that matter).
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