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Núñez: Governor Failing Latinos

Vida en el Valle, Juan Esparza Loera, Oct 20, 2005

While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about improving his relationship with Latinos, he is vetoing legislation that has a significant impact on that community.

That is the way Assembly Speaker Fabián Núñez sees it. The top-ranking Assembly Democrat made the observation during a telephone press conference last Tuesday with Latino media.

"I was happy to see last week that when the governor was on one of his state visits to San Diego, he told the Union-Tribune newspaper that his administration was not doing enough to improve his relationship with the Latino community," said Núñez.

But in Sacramento, he says, the governor has not done enough to pass pro-Latino legislation.

"At the same time he is saying that, we have seen that the governor has not done his part in establishing a positive relationship with the community," said the Assembly speaker. "I don't want to say the governor is a racist, but truly what that shows is that the priorities of the Latino community, and in particular the Spanish-speaking immigrant community, are very different from the governor's priorities."

This is evident in Schwarzenegger’s record of vetoing bills that would have benefited the Latinos.

After vetoing a bill last year that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver's license, the governor recently vetoed a new version of the bill proposed by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los �ngeles. He rejected the bill despite the fact that Cedillo "incorporated many of the changes the governor had asked for and had insisted on last year," says Núñuz.

Another bill, authored by Núñez, would have required the state Transportation, Environmental and Commerce secretaries to make plans and take action to improve relations between California and Mexico. Schwarzenegger, in his veto message, said this should be left to meetings between governors in the border states.

Núñez disagrees, calling the governors’ meetings largely “symbolic." He says they need to followed by concrete action.

A proposal by Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, would have provided financial aid and better opportunities in university admissions to medical students who wanted to return to their neighborhoods to establish their practice. "The governor, knowing that the great majority of those who would have benefited the most were Latino, decided not to support this bill," claims Núñez.

The governor also vetoed a bill by Assembly member Héctor De La Torre, D-South Gate, which would have allowed students to take the high school exit exam in Spanish.

Núñez, who describes his own relationship with Schwarzenegger as "very good," says there are many more examples. "The governor is paying more attention to his relationship with Latinos," he says, "but we haven’t seen anything here that would lead to a better relationship with our community."

“The irony of this is that last year when relations with the legislature were not as bad as they are now, we didn’t have the best relationship with the governor,� he says. “We had huge debates and political arguments about the budget that caused a little tension in our relationship. But,� he says, “this year we’ve gotten along really well.�

Schwarzenegger, says Núñez, still has time and a chance to restore his relationship with the Latino community.

"What we have to see from here is more respect for the immigrant community, not with words but with actions," he said.