by Jon Higuera
Barack Obama
Cuahubtemoc “Temo” Figueroa has worked on many political campaigns during his career but h is ro/e for f he Obama cam paign is his most prominent. As the Latino Vote Director for the Democratic presidential candidate, his job is convincing Latino voters that Obama is the right man for the job. His background includes that of staffer to the late Congressman George Brown, who during his time was dean of the California delegation, serving as policy communications director for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and most recently, assistant political director for AFSCME, a public union representing government workers.
On a Sunday afternoon from campaign offices in Chicago, Figueroa discussed with Jonathan Higuera, former editor of Hispanic Link Weekly Report, Obama’s strategy to garner the Latino vote.
Jon Higuera: How do Latinos fit info Obama’s strategy to win thee presidency?
Temo Figueroa: The way we believe can win this race is by doing a few things. One is to expand the playing field. The last few cycles, the way it has worked: is the Democrats go to bed at night praying they will get Florida or Ohio to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win. We decided to create new paths to 270. That entails playing in a lot of states that have gone Republican in the last few cycles. We have ads running in 17 states that have gone Republican in the past, some since 1964. We’re in states like Virginia, Georgia, Iowa, North Dakota, Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida and Ohio.
We also have to expand the voting electorate. This campaign is focused like a laser beam on voter registration.
Historically campaigns have relied on other groups to do that but we in the Obama campaign are doing that. We believe the result will be the largest voter turnout in history.
Cuauhtemoc ‘Temo’ Figueroa
That’s the mega picture. So where do Latinos fit? In the battleground of battleground states – New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Florida – they all have a high percentage of Latinos that vote. I hose elections have been incredibly close historically. !f we increase the amount of Latinos voting, it could make a difference.
JON: What is the on-the-ground strategy for registering more Latino voters?
TEMO: When it comes to voter registration, there are no secret weapons. It takes lots of volunteers, lots
of staff and people willing to go door to door. We have a large number of people will-
ing to give of their time to get this man elected.
Five months ago, we put out a call on the Internet for volunteers. We didn’t know what we’d get. Over 10,000 people applied. We picked 3,600 that we sent to 17 states.
JON: What will be the messages your candidate will use to appeal to Latinos?
TEMO: With a few exceptions, it’s not very dif-
ferent than the messages for all voters. The economy, jobs, how to pay for health insur-
ance. In some cases, these issues are more pronounced among Latinos. When there’s a mortgage crisis, who suffers the most? There were a lot of shysters preying on Hispanic communities. That’s a huge issue.Then, there are issues of particular importance to Latinos, especially in the Southwest, like comprehensive immigration reform.
People want to know what’s going to be done. We re hearing lots of rhetoric hyperbole from both sides on that issue but nothing is being done. Obama has said in front of Latino audiences and white audiences that will he fi ght for comprehensive immigration reform in his fi rst year as president.
He talks about border security fi rst and foremost and no one will jump to the front of the line, but he’s addressing that issue.
Also the Iraq war resonates higher among Latinos than in most other communities. We’ll say let’s put an end to this war and bring home our people.
JON: The campaign recently announced it is devoting $20 million focused on the Latino electorate. How and where will this funding be spent?
TEMO: A majority will be used on general market TV and radio in both English and Spanish. But it will also be spent on campaign literature in Spanish and bilingual, online organizing efforts, hiring of staff, training programs for grassroots organizers in Spanish and English, developing precinct leaders in battleground states and voter registration efforts.
What it’s demonstrating is we are fighting hard for every vote. We’re out to earn Latino votes in battle ground states. I’m proud of the training: programs we have going in these states.
JON: How will you win over Hillary supporters, many of whom are still harboring resentments that their candidate didn’t receive the nomination?
TEMO: One of the outcomes from having long primary contest was the feelings that supporters of candidates had toward their candidate. It’s expected. People worked years and had longtime relationships with the Senator from New York. But I’ve also seen the vast majority of her supporters, now supporting Barack. Among Latinos, Antonio Villaragoisa has been campaigning hard for us. Henry Cisneros, Hilda Solis and Nydia Velázquez and Jos6 Serrano were big Hillary supporters now on board with Barack.
My job has been to reach out to each and every one and listen to their comments and suggestions. They’ve done an amazing job in the primary and we’ve incorporated some of their strategies into our campaign. There are pockets (of resistance). It’s understandable some people are not quite there. But the vast majority is. The Senator herself is campaigning for us in Las Vegas and New Mexico.
JON: How are you addressing concerns that Obama has never visited Mexico or Latin America?
TEMO: After he won the nomination, the first trip he took was to Florida where he spoke to the Cuban American National Foundation. It was a comprehensive speech on Latin America. He didn’t just talk about Cuba but all of Latin America. He showed incredible knowledge of Latin America.
The speech is on our web site.
JON: Do you expect him to make a visit to any of those countries prior to the election?
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