What a Great Year for DC Latinos! A Letter From Our President
Hello, friends!
As 2021 comes to a close we continue to face pandemic uncertainty and personal loss, but the story of our community is one of resilience. With the help of COVID-19 vaccines, we keep stepping up and moving forward.
The DC Latino Caucus is proud of its work to promote Latino political participation and visibility across the city. I think we had a great year! Here are some highlights.
In January we started the year off strong by supporting Democratic US Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia runoff election held January 5. We phone banked and contacted Latinos in Georgia to help these candidates win election so that Democrats could keep control of the Senate.
In February, the DCLC Board unanimously endorsed a city-wide initiative to implement Ranked Choice Voting or RCV (which allows voters to rank their preferred candidates in multi-candidate elections) ahead of DC Councilmember Henderson introducing legislation to implement RCV for DC elections. RCV is increasingly used in cities around the country and evidence suggests it increases elected representation by women and People of Color. While our endorsement placed us at odds with our friends in the DC Democratic Party, we strongly believe that RCV fits well with our mission to expand Latino political power and get a Latino DC Council member elected for the first time.
After endorsing RCV we have worked closely with Black community leaders and advocacy organizations across all of DC's eight wards who want to see RCV happen. We think the legislation will pass given its seven DC Council sponsors, and we are working closely with Councilmembers and community leaders to guarantee plentiful multi-lingual voter education about RCV so that our community can maximize its voice at the ballot box.
In July we conducted a well-attended Happy Hour fundraiser, which when combined with other efforts resulted in DCLC raising thousands of dollars this year. These funds will allow us to greatly increase our community organizing and outreach activities, and to support future candidates for office that prioritize the needs of Latinos.
In August we joined the DC Democratic Party and many others to March On for Voting Rights. At a time when voting rights are under assault by Republicans around the country, it's more important than ever to pass federal legislation that prohibits voting restrictions that disenfranchise citizens, particularly Black and Latino voters.
Also in August, DCLC Board member Jaqueline Castaneda conducted a survey of our community that found that affordable housing, accessible healthcare, and education were the top issues of concern to DC Latino voters. These issues will form the backbone of our policy agenda, and you can expect to hear more about that soon.
In September, DCLC hosted Councilmember Brianne Nadeau to discuss her legislation to expand voting rights to include non-resident citizens (such as Green Card holders) and allow them to vote in local elections. We have endorsed previous versions of this legislation and will continue to support it.
In October, DCLC hosted Councilmember Elissa Silverman to talk about the legally required redistricting process that the District of Columbia conducts every ten years after the decennial Census. Redistricting will change several DC ward boundaries to ensure roughly equal population in each one.
But perhaps the biggest accomplishment that our Latino community can be proud of this year is the number of Latinos who assumed positions of senior leadership all across the city. Some examples include:
DCLC member John Zotolli was elected Chair of the Ward One Democrats
DCLC Board member Juan Ulloa was elected Chair of the Ward Two Democrats
DCLC Board member Ruth Pagani was elected Treasurer of the DC Democratic State Committee, making her the highest elected Latina executive in the DC Democratic Party
DCLC member Jackie Reyes-Yanes was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as Director-Mayor's Office of Community Affairs after leading the Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs for several years.
Latinos are also powering the candidacies of several individuals running in the hotly contested Ward 5 Council race in 2022. They include Ruth Pagani and Juan Ulloa working on Gordon Fletcher's executive team; Franklin Garcia serving as Chair for Vincent Orange's campaign; and Eduardo Ferrer, Edgardo Guerrero, and Ricardo Villalba working on Zachary Parker's executive team.
As we build on the successes of 2021, we are excited for what the new year will bring. 2022 will be a busy election year and we are planning numerous ways to promote Latino issues and to ensure our voices get heard like never before. I hope you will join us for another great year.
¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Regards,
Jose "Joe" Barrios
President