GOP’s Latinos Shut Out in State Capitol

SACRAMENTO — If this were basketball, they would be the Clippers. The other team would be the Lakers. If fish, they’d be the bluegill; the other species the bigmouth bass.

But it’s politics and they’re the Republicans--the Republican Latino legislators. The dominant group is the Democratic Latino legislators.

How dominant?

When Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo was at the state Capitol last week to kick off a three-day California tour--escorted by Gov. Gray Davis with fellow Democrats in tow--the GOP Latinos were virtually ignored.

“I sent a letter to the president requesting an opportunity to meet with him,” says Assemblyman Robert Pacheco of Walnut, chairman of the fledgling Hispanic Republican Caucus. “I have not had a response yet.”

OK, you could argue that a lot of people wanted to meet with Zedillo. As a scheduling aide, Davis just couldn’t fit in everybody.

But there is no disputing this: In the Capitol rotunda now, there’s an exhibit celebrating Latino state officeholders. There are displays for founders of the Latino Legislative Caucus 25 years ago and for later members--all Democrats. There are big displays for Assembly and Senate “Present Members”--again, all Democrats.

Then, segregated off to the side, there’s a display for “Additional Latino Legislators.” Not Republican Latinos, mind you, but “additional.” There will be no mention of Republicans here.

“They don’t know what to do with us,” says GOP Assemblyman Rod Pacheco of Riverside (no relation to Robert).

Sure, Democrats know what to do with you, Rod: Ignore you. Carry on as if Latino and Democrat are synonymous, as if no real Latino is a Republican.

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There are trends that way, but not every trend.

Four Latino Republicans were elected to the Assembly last November. They’re still greatly outnumbered by the 20 Latino Democrats--13 in the Assembly, seven in the Senate. But those four represent a quadrupling of GOP Latinos. And the lone Republican Latino elected in 1996--Rod Pacheco--was the first in eons.

Each has an intriguing story:

* Robert Pacheco, 64, grew up in New Mexico picking cotton, the son of a Mexican immigrant. Couldn’t speak English when he started school. Went to night school for 18 years to get his law degree. Became an attorney and banker. Walnut city councilman. The most conservative of the four.

* Charlene Zettel, 52, of Poway, descends from a Spanish land grant family that fought with Mexican Gen. Santa Anna against the Texans. That’s her dad’s side; her mom was born in Mexico. Zettel’s a dental hygienist and former school board member. A moderate who favors abortion rights.

* Abel Maldonado, 31, of Santa Maria, is the son of a bracero father and migrant field hand mother. Parents saved, bought a half acre, caught the real estate boom and leveraged it into a 1,200-acre farming operation. Angrily entered politics after he couldn’t get a building permit for his farm. Elected to City Council, then mayor.

* Rod Pacheco, 41, is a former death penalty prosecutor who was recently dumped as Assembly Republican leader. Too strident, critics complained. Favors abortion rights and opposed Proposition 187, the anti-illegal immigration initiative.

All the Republican Latinos have one thing in common: They won elections in districts dominated by white voters.

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Barred from the other Latino Caucus, they recently formed their own Hispanic Caucus.

Their goal is to recruit and help bankroll good Republican Latino candidates, not only for the Legislature but for local government. “We’re going to build a farm team,” says Robert Pacheco.

They also hope to promote their party in the expanding Latino communities. “First thing we need to do is start approaching issues with sensitivity, seeing them through the eyes of a Latino,” asserts Pacheco, who notes the Prop. 187 campaign “basically slammed Latinos.”

Since that divisive 1994 election, says GOP legislative aide Mike Madrid, Latinos have accounted for 85% of the voter registration increase in California. And only one in eight Latinos has signed up as a Republican. “The new Latino voters are younger, poorer and politicized, which does not bode well for Republicans,” he points out.

Scoffs Sen. Richard Polanco of Los Angeles, chairman of the Democratic Latino Caucus: “It’s going to take more than a caucus and whoop-de-do about recruiting Latino candidates to win back the Latino community. It will take Republicans supporting issues that matter to the Latino community.”

The four Republicans know that. They also know that if the GOP can’t attract Latino voters and their ignored little caucus doesn’t grow, the party in California will wither like the Whigs.