Posted on 06/23/2002 2:20:22 AM PDT by 4America
"Big tent" politics has come to Georgia, and it has a distinctly Latin look.
Two Hispanic candidates from Gwinnett County --- one from each major political party --- will likely take seats in the state House next January, as no one filed to run against either of them. State officials believe they will be Georgia's first Latino state legislators.
And a Norcross lawyer became what Republicans say is the first Hispanic statewide candidate for elected office when she signed up Friday to run for secretary of state.
Even before candidate qualifying closed Friday, state party chairman Ralph Reed was declaring the Republicans' slate for the fall elections the most diverse in Georgia history, with Latinos, blacks, Asians and even a husband-and-wife team signing up to run.
Democratic Party Chairman Calvin Smyre countered that Republicans shouldn't brag about diversity until they start supporting issues important to minority voters.
"We do not preach inclusion, we practice it," said Smyre, a state legislator from Columbus and an African-American.
Still, both parties could gloat over the belief that history was made when teacher David Casas of Lilburn, a Republican, and community activist Pedro "Pete" Marin of Duluth, a Democrat, qualified for state House seats without opposition. Since neither drew opposition, both will be elected barring an unlikely upset by a write-in or third-party candidate.
Each signed up to represent a political district carved out of other, population-bloated districts during last year's legislative redrawing of political boundaries.
That Gwinnett County could put Hispanics into elected office isn't surprising to political leaders, as the metro Atlanta county's Latino population rose from about 9,000 to more than 64,000 during the 1990s. Gwinnett also has the largest group of Hispanic homeowners among metro counties.
Yet neither of the new state House districts has a Hispanic majority. According to 2000 census data, Casas' 68th District is about 13 percent Hispanic, while Marin's 66th District is 30 percent.
Casas, 30, whose family left Cuba for Spain, then came to the United States in 1974, teaches social studies and political science at McEachern High School in Cobb County. When his students asked him why he didn't practice what he preached, he decided to run for office in a conservative, South Gwinnett district.
Along the way, Casas got support from state Reps. Charles Bannister and Gene Callaway, Republicans who used to represent parts of what became the 68th District and are running for re-election in neighboring districts.
"It is necessary for us to give back," said Casas. "This country has been good to us. It's not just our right but our responsibility to be involved in the political process."
Marin, 44, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, is program manager for the Gwinnett Housing Resources Partnership, a nonprofit agency that helps Hispanics find housing.
Marin said he was honored to make history with Casas.
"The faces of the community are changing. We need to be aware of that and cater to those needs," he said. "What we want to do is open that door for other people to join us."
Both were quick to say their candidacy isn't just about their ethnicity.
"I don't think my candidacy or Pedro's candidacy is a way to get the Latino agenda through," Casas said. "We're here to show our section of the community is ready to contribute."
Also Friday, Vernadette Ramirez Broyles, 37, a Norcross attorney, filed to run for secretary of state. A graduate of Harvard Law School, she has been an assistant district attorney in Fulton County and is a national spokeswoman for President Bush's "faith-based initiative," which would give religious groups greater access to federal funds to deliver social services to the poor.
"I am incredibly proud and honored to be party of a historic day," Ramirez Broyles said. "This is not tokenism. It's clear I'd be qualified, no matter my heritage."
Ramirez Broyles faces two Republican contenders, Charlie Bailey and Jerry Wyatt. The winner of the GOP primary will go up against Democratic incumbent Cathy Cox or challenger David Mays in the general election.
The state doesn't keep records on the ethnicity or race of lawmakers. Because of that, the secretary of state's office could not verify for certain that Georgia has never had a Latino legislator. However, political experts, longtime lawmakers and Hispanic and political party leaders all said the presumed election of Casas and Marin would be a first.
Smyre said Democrats considered the growth in the Hispanic population in areas like Gwinnett during redistricting when they divided up districts along largely partisan lines. "We had a very aggressive recruitment apparatus," he said. "The Latino community is becoming very prominent on our political radar. It is going to continue to grow."
Reed, speaking to reporters as Ramirez Broyles filed in the House chambers, was clearly pleased to present a more diverse slate than the heavily white male group of candidates the Georgia GOP typically fields.
"We have a stable of candidates that embraces the full diversity of Georgia," he said. "I think it's a landmark day, not only for the party, but for the state."
oh great, just great :(
thanks for the ping, lrp.
Please explain to me how running conservative candidates like David Casas make the Georgia GOP a "clone" of the Democrats? David Casas is a true conservative and a great American. Perhaps you should get your facts straight before you make such stupid comments.
Buzz Brockway
Chairman, Gwinnett County GOP
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