by Adolfo Flores
California State Senator Gil Cedillo, who fought a long losing battle with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to permit undocumented immigrants the right to apply for driver’s licenses, has lost his bid to replace Hilda Solís in the 32nd U.S. Congressional District.
As Solís moved on to serve in President Obama’s Cabinet as Secretary of Labor, Cedillo was eliminated in the district’s Democratic primary of a May 19 special election by State Board of Equalization vicepresident Judy Chu.
The former Mayor of Monterey Park, who is Chinese-American, gained 15,338 votes, Cedillo 11,244, and another Latino candidate, Emanuel Pleitez 6,509. Nearly half of the registered voters in the heavily Democratic district are Latino and 13 percent Asian. Only 6 percent of its registered voters cast ballots.
Bolstered by support from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Chu picked up a third of the Hispanic vote.
Leland Saito, associate professor at the University of Southern California who has written extensively about Chinese-American and Latino relations, explained Villaraigosa’s failure to back a Latino political colleague, pointing out that if Villaraigosa runs for governor next year, he already has the Latino vote locked up. “Villaraigosa is eyeing the Asian community for fundraising as opposed to the vote,” he said.
He added, “When Latinos voted for Judy Chu, they were aware that the two groups share interest in many of the same issues.
They have some parallel life experiences when dealing with discrimination in housing, education and employment.”
Both communities stress the need for multilingual and diverse curricula in public schools, Saito said. In the 1950s both battled restrictive housing covenants in Monterey Park and neighboring Montebello.
Chu is expected to face only light opposition from Republican and Libertarian foes in the July 14 runoff. In the primary, precincts heavily populated by Hispanics voted by clear margins for Cedillo, who has a record of aggressive Latino advocacy.
He helped guide California’s DREAM Act, which would have made thousands of undocumented Hispanic and other immigrant students eligible for in-state tuition and allowed them access to certain financial aid programs. It passed the Democratic-controlled state legislature but was vetoed by Schwarzenegger, who is term-limited from running again.
The federal DREAM Act was reintroduced in both houses of Congress in March. It may be merged into a comprehensive immigration bill if and when that legislation is introduced again.
Summing up Cedillo’s campaign for Congress, Latino Caucus spokesperson Xochitl Arellano in Sacramento stated, “We achieved more than people thought we would. He’s absolutely back 100% as Senator at the state capitol giving a voice to those who don’t have one.”
Undocumented Decline
The number of immigrants caught entering or within the United States without documents, 724,840, has dropped for a third consecutive year. In 2007, there were 876,803 apprehensions; in 2006, 1,089,096.
The figure for 2008 was the lowest since 1973. Homeland Securirty reported 97% of the cases were on the Southwest border, with 91 percent involving Mexicans. The Pew Hispanic Center said jobs are the main reason Mexicans emigrate. Now, said spokesperson Jeff Passel, “There aren’t any.” Hispanic Link.
