Race dividing Utah Hispanics

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635194756,00.html

By Deborah Bulkeley
Deseret Morning News
As one of three Republicans vying for the District 33 House seat, Alex Segura could become the state's only Republican Hispanic lawmaker.
Yet, not only is the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly not endorsing him, members of the assembly refused to let Segura join their ranks because of his stand against illegal immigration as head of the Utah Minuteman Project.
"I would say I know people who are white who are more Hispanic at heart than Mr. Segura," said Marco Diaz, chairman of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly. Diaz said the assembly is looking for candidates who support the Hispanic community, not because of their skin color.
However, Segura says Diaz's rhetoric is just another example of pigeonholing by what he calls the "Hispanic lobby."
"I think it's a disgrace . . . to go and tell a native Utahn of Mexican and Spanish descent that he's not Hispanic," Segura said. "You cannot erase my ethnicity because it does not meet your agenda. It's not going to work."

The rub between Segura and Diaz isn't new, but it is indicative of an increasingly diverse state, where the racial and ethnic minority population grew by an estimated 25 percent between 2000 and 2004.
As Utah's population becomes more diverse, officials within the state's Democratic and Republican parties predict that more minority candidates will follow.
James Evans, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, says Segura is one of two Republican Hispanics running for the state Legislature. The other is Christine Hansen, who is running against incumbent Democrat Ralph Becker in District 24.
Yet, there's a long way to go before the Legislature reflects the state's increasing diversity.
Minorities comprise about 16 percent of the state's estimated 2.4 million population, according to July 1, 2004, Census population estimates.
While Becker and Evans are aware of only eight racial and ethnic minority candidates for the Legislature, leaders of both parties point to increased participation of minorities within the parties and in candidacy for local seats.
In general, the minority candidates for the Legislature say they're proud of their heritage but hope voters will see them for their qualifications, not their skin color.
As a black candidate, South Ogden Mayor George Garwood Jr. says he hopes delegates will take Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of judging people by their character to heart when they decide whether he or Jonathan Aubrey will be the Republican candidate for House District 10.
"I'm hoping people will look at me, and what I stand for, what I've done, and look at my record as a City Council member and mayor," said Garwood.
Like Garwood, Democratic Senate candidate Mark Flores said he's "very proud of what I am" as a Hispanic, but "my campaign is really about being a Utahn."
Flores and another Hispanic, Rep. Ross Romero, are both among a crowded field of Democrats vying to fill the seat left open when Sen. Patrice Arent opted not to run for re-election.
Segura, who faces Pete Moesser and Andrew Parker for the Republican nomination in the West Valley District 33, sees his ethnicity as an advantage because "it helps people open up more" when expressing their frustration about immigration.
Other minority candidates that state Republican and Democrat officials of aware of are:
• Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, a Japanese American and the state's only sitting Republican of minority descent.

• Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray, a Hispanic.

• Ron Atencio of Ogden, a Hispanic and the only Democrat running in House District 9.
Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said there are active efforts to recruit more women and minority candidates.
"It's absolutely critical to be reflective of the community that's here," Taylor said. "I think it's important that the issues of race be addressed. They should not be ignored."
Taylor said he's not suggesting that minorities should necessarily represent minorities. He pointed to Romero, who two years ago was elected to represent a predominately white east side district; and Sen. Fred Fife, D-Salt Lake, who is white and represents a west side district that is mostly minority.
"It's important to have a candidate who can speak with authentic experience of what's going on in the community," he said. "It's nice if they match their community, but it's not necessary. What's more important is that they understand their community."
Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Utah Republican Party, said his party welcomes minorities, but "our approach is a colorblind approach" based on the party platform.
"If you require the Legislature to be representative in terms of race, you're assuming that a white legislator couldn't represent a minority," he said.
Hartley pointed to traditionally low voter turnout among minorities as a serious concern. Fewer than 8 percent of voters contacted in a 2004 Brigham Young University exit poll were racial or ethnic minorities.
"We know that the minority population doesn't vote at the level they could, and should, to participate fully," Hartley said. "That's something we should focus on more . . . and let them elect whomever they want."