CA: Latinos Souring on Gov. and His Party

LA Times ^ | 9/15/05 | Mark A. Bazarak

[NormsRevenge]

As he prepares to launch his reelection bid, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is facing attack from a group of fellow Republicans who condemn his record on Latino appointments and assail the state GOP as "morally wrong and politically stupid" in its treatment of Latino candidates.

In an unusual open letter drafted for release today, the activists offer a litany of political grievances and assert that "the California Republican Party and its key leaders are systematically excluding Latinos from any kind of meaningful role in the state party or state government."

The letter noted that Schwarzenegger has no Latinos in his cabinet or in senior positions. It said that the governor and prominent state GOP leaders have endorsed non-Latino candidates over "qualified, credible and competitive" Latinos in statewide races in recent years, contrasting that approach with President Bush's aggressive courtship of Latino voters. It also said that just one of Schwarzenegger's first 56 judicial appointments was Latino — a claim that could not be independently verified because there is no precise record.

"The California Republican Party's exclusion of Latinos is morally wrong and politically stupid," the letter states, urging "dramatic action to change course before it's too late for our party and our state."

Margita Thompson, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Schwarzenegger had a strong record of appointing Latinos and had enacted legislation to benefit farmworkers, small-business owners and schools in disadvantaged communities, all of which have lifted California's Latino community.

More broadly, she said, "The state was on the verge of bankruptcy and what the governor has done in terms of improving the jobs climate and bringing California back from the brink of bankruptcy has helped all Californians."

[irishlass007]

Can anyone get a copy of the letter and the names of the signers? I don't recognize the name of the one person the LAT mentioned, Uvaldo Martinez.

[irishlass007]

Do you think this is the guy who wrote the letter?

Uvaldo Martinez
Booted out of office a decade ago for charging lavish personal lunches and dinners on his city credit card, former San Diego Councilman Uvaldo Martinez keeps a low profile these days. He’s president and chief executive officer of TWTel Inc., a local telecommunications firm that just hit the market with prepaid cellular phones. Martinez was appointed to the City Council in 1982 and elected to a full term in 1983. Three years later his promising political career came to an end when he was indicted on 28 felony counts of misappropriation of public funds and falsification of public documents. He resigned in November 1986 and, as part of his plea bargain, reimbursed the city $607.