Thread: New PAC musters Hispanic voters

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... /606050346

Monday, 06/05/06

New PAC musters Hispanic voters
Registration drive is its first campaign

By TRAVIS LOLLER
Staff Writer


"Only two things speak to politicians: money and votes," the Tennessee Hispanic Voters Coalition's Raul Lopez said.

The newly formed nonpartisan political action committee on which Lopez serves as vice president hopes to harness both for the benefit of the Hispanic community.




But first, the group has to organize its constituency. That means getting Hispanic citizens registered to vote and persuading legal residents to become citizens. Right now, the coalition doesn't even know how many Hispanic voters or potential voters there are in Tennessee.

The 2000 U.S. Census put the state's Hispanic population at about 124,000. Lopez said he had seen statistics estimating that at least 80,000 are of voting age.

"The last gubernatorial election was settled by 40,000 votes," he said. "If Hispanics had been registered to vote, they might have changed that election."

That's why the group's first campaign is a voter-registration drive. But only citizens can vote, and many Hispanics who are legal residents are not applying for citizenship, coalition President Fabian Bedne said.

Some people are reluctant to give up citizenship in their home countries because they think they may move back, he said. Others just don't get around to dealing with the paperwork.

"People get so caught up with work, they don't see that their real life is here," he said.

Bedne is from Argentina, but has lived in the United States for 16 years. He has been a citizen for about four years.

Asked how he will persuade other Hispanics to take the plunge and apply for citizenship, Bedne said, "I'll tell you what did it for me. I realized when the Bush and Gore election was decided by such a narrow margin that each vote really did count."

The coalition is probably the only Hispanic political action committee in Tennessee, according to Drew Rawlins, executive director of the state Registry of Election Finance.

Its leaders plan to eventually take on political issues, but only those issues that at least three-quarters of the board, made up equally of liberals, conservatives and independents, agree on.

The idea is to be nonpartisan and lobby only on issues that have broad support within the Hispanic community.

For instance, "we all agree there must be some kind of driver's license (available to Hispanics)," Bedne said.

Another long-term goal is to recruit Tennessee Hispanics to run for office.

"There are no Hispanics on the school board, the city council or the legislature," Bedne said.

"If there were Hispanics there, they could say, 'This is the way we see the issue.' It would save (those groups from) making a decision based on a stereotype."

Meanwhile, along with setting up an advisory committee and registering Hispanics to vote, the group is polling politicians on issues important to Hispanics, such as their stance on immigration issues, and will distribute that survey within the Hispanic community.

Originally Posted by Newmexican

For instance, "we all agree there must be some kind of driver's license (available to Hispanics)," Bedne said.

Since when can't hispanics get driver's licenses?

So you'll be lobbying for illegals and registering them to vote...real american...Well I VOTE to take away your American Citizenship for treason.

This is their master plan and we all know it. They get enough of the population they can position themselves in the government. It is already happening and is just going to get worse as the years lumber on.