SPRINGDALE : Hispanic voter increase seen as boon to races
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/240158/
SPRINGDALE — The mayor’s race is less than a month away, and a significant number of Hispanics, invigorated by the presidential election, made the Oct. 6 voter registration deadline and are ready to head to the polls.
Though an exact number is hard to determine, estimates by organizers say as many as 800 Hispanics — enough to determine the outcome of the six-person race — could vote this year. During registration, the focus was primarily on the presidential election between John McCain and Barack Obama.
With three weeks remaining, the possibility is distinct that Hispanic voters could pick a mayoral hopeful and deliver victory.
“We haven’t thought about keying in on one candidate, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t,” said Diana Gonzales Worthen of the Hispanic Caucus of Democratic Women.
The excitement of this year’s election between McCain and Obama triggered a surge of interest in the political process, and Hispanic organizers have taken advantage of the moment. Arkansas voter registration applications, printed in Spanish and English, were placed at restaurants and at social events across the region leading up to the registration deadline. Public service announcements touting the vote have appeared throughout Northwest Arkansas’ Spanish-language media.
“We’ve tried to be present where we can engage Latino voters, and it was rather easy, because people are hungry for information,” Worthen said.
A sustained voter registration drive among Hispanics has been under way, beginning in 2004. Since then, Margarita Solorzano, executive director of the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas, estimates that as many as a thousand Hispanic residents have registered to vote. As many as 700 registrants live in Springdale, she estimated.
Voter registration is about bringing people into the mainstream instead of keeping them on the outside looking in, Solorzano said.
“We need to create a sense of community, that people need to care for it and that they need to participate in,” she said.
Meanwhile, Worthen said, as many as 150 Hispanics recently registered in Washington County, and about 100 of them live in Springdale. Since the registration numbers are estimates rather than precise counts, there’s no telling exactly how many Hispanics in Springdale can vote. Worthen expects as many as 800 Hispanics in Springdale to cast ballots this year, she said.
In Springdale’s race, which is expected to go to a runoff, 800 is a towering figure.
In 2002, for example, Mayor Jerre Van Hoose edged Mike Overton by less than 200 votes in the runoff.
Still, the candidates are gearing their campaigns toward traditional voters and toward an issue that has nagged the city for 20 years — illegal immigration. Even though immigration is a federal, not local, responsibility, candidates still find themselves answering questions about the 287 (g ) program, which gives local police officers the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.
The City Council authorized enrollment in the program last year, and in February, authorized the installation of an immigration office for the program on city grounds. A member of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Immigration and Criminal Apprehension Task Force — which includes Rogers and Springdale, and Benton and Washington counties — has six officers trained for 287 (g ).
All six candidates have expressed a strong interest in having a “legal” population, and to that end have said they would like to enroll more officers in the 287 (g ) program. That’s the last thing the Hispanic community wants to hear.
It “will definitely be an issue that will be brought up,” Worthen said of 287 (g ).
If the city could afford it, Overton said that he would like to have all, or at least most, of the Springdale police force trained for immigration duty, while Doug Sprouse said, “I think we should expand the program as the budget allows.”
Former police officer Ken Watson agreed that the program needs to be expanded. “We don’t need the whole department trained,” he said.
Overton, Sprouse and Watson agreed that Springdale does not need to pass local legislation aimed at illegal aliens that could put the city in an expensive federal lawsuit.
“We can’t afford that right now,” Sprouse said.
Indeed, Springdale has witnessed profound population changes in the last 25 years. In 1990, the U. S. Census counted 29, 988 people in Springdale, and only a few were Hispanic. By 2000, the city population had ballooned to 45, 798, with nearly 20 percent of that number, or 9, 005 people, listed as Hispanic.
A special census in 2005 identified a population of 62, 459, with nearly 33 percent, or 20, 468 people, listed as Hispanic, making Springdale the heart of the state’s Hispanic community.
Over the years, Springdale has seen pronounced growth in Hispanic businesses, as entrepreneurs have opened restaurants, markets, bakeries, clothing stores and beauty salons.
The schools have exploded with Hispanic students, too. And it is in the schools where the first Hispanic broke into public-policy leadership. On Oct. 2, Eddie Cantu, the pastor at Centro Christiano Hispano church in Springdale, was appointed to the Springdale School Board.
His appointment is sure to motivate others to seek public office. “We’re getting more people involved at the policy level,” Worthen said. “Anytime you get that first person out there, it helps others come along.”
Some Hispanic leaders say residents like Cantu might have crossed a major ethnic and cultural barrier by being appointed to an important public board, but those who work in poultry plants and in construction face a more daunting challenge: staying in America.
Alderman Jim Reed said he believes in a robust expansion of 287 (g ), but still wants the officers in the program to act with caution and prudence.
“I don’t want to scare the Hispanic community, and I don’t want the program to be abused,” Reed said. “I want us to all be one family.”
Still, Reed has strong views on illegal immigration and how to put an end to it, at least in Springdale.
“I think illegal immigration adds to our gang problem,” he said. “I think all our officers should be trained for 287 (g ) so all our eyes are open all the time.”
Candidate Nancy Deason Jenkins said she would first like to ride along with immigration officers and see what they’re up against. If she believes that immigration officers are overworked, she would push for more training. Regardless, Jenkins believes that it’s important to meet with Hispanic leaders and discuss the goals of 287 (g ).
“We don’t want to scare anyone,” Jenkins said. “We’re out for the big issues: crime, gangs and drugs.”
Jenkins said she introduced herself to the Hispanic community on Sept. 21 when she attended Latin America Culture Day at Victory Family Worship in south Springdale.
“I stayed long and played soccer,” she said.
Ray Dotson appeared at a Hispanic bull riding competition in Fayetteville on Sept. 27, giving his campaign speech through an interpreter on a Spanish-speaking radio station.
“What I’m hearing from the Hispanics is that they want to be part of our community,” Dotson said. “My response to that is, we’ve all got to live by the letter of the law. We have laws against bank robbery, and we have laws against illegal immigration.”
However, Dotson said, he makes no distinctions between Hispanic and non-Hispanic residents, and as an astute follower of local politics, understands how important 800 votes can be.
“If you’re a legal, registered voter, I want your vote,” said Dotson, who runs on a probusiness platform. “We’ve got to have a mayor that’s not out of touch with old Springdale or the newcomers.”
And there are plenty of newcomers.
On Sept. 17, 64 people from 18 countries were sworn in as U. S. citizens at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. Most came from Mexico and El Salvador. The ceremony also was attended by natives from Vietnam, Ukraine, India and Australia.
Some of the latest inductees are Springdale residents, and at least one of them is voting in the election.
Omar Mejia, an El Salvador native, has been in the United States since 1992. This November, the 23-year-old Springdale resident will vote for the first time in his life.
“There are people who don’t want to become a U. S. citizen, but I did,” Mejia said. “Voting is an extra privilege, and if it’s a privilege I have, I want to make sure I use it.”