HispanicVista Columnists

Notas por La Casa Politica: Lost in Las Vegas

By Steven J. Ybarra, JD/HispanicVista.com

May 23, 2005

    

So here I am in North Lost Wages. Stop and think about it.  It is the only city in America built on losers.  You come here and you leave (i.e., lose) your money and then the city grows.

Growth is an important issue here in North Las Vegas, Nevada.  Amidst all the wealth, however, there is this enormous poverty across the city boundary between Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. Differences are obvious, such as streets that are paved and those that have potholes.  Differences even exist between reasonable development and a sprawl that does not provide any vision for how to take care of the needs of children and old people.  Of course, other differences include that North Las Vegas is mostly brown, black and Asian, which accounts for something, I guess. 

Here is the question of the day: How is it that a Republican mayor is still in office here in North Las Vegas after eight years of neglecting the needs of this community? 

I guess the answer is that this community has not had somebody show up to run for the office - until now.  I know Andres Ramirez, the Democratic challenger in this upcoming North Las Vegas mayoral race.  Andres is a good guy.  He has been doing Democratic politics for many years and is a native son of the golden west.  He and his crew are working night and day to win this election.

The problem is that most people take a look at the election and say, well, the Democrats have a two-to-one registration advantage, so the guy has got it in the bag.  Do not get me wrong, there are a lot of folks who are in this game and are helping Andres - but the reality is, he still needs people and money.  [Just think about California and remember all the races where we had the advantage of registration and no support for a candidate ? that is how we got Arnold, remember].

It is now 21 days until the election and there are 32 targeted precincts that will make the difference between winning and losing this election. Among registered voters, 4,678 Spanish surnamed voters in this election will give Andres a margin of victory.  However, it is estimated that only 15% of these voters will vote.  So what are the rest of the Democratic National Committee Hispanic Caucus members and the State Democratic Party Caucus members of each of the surrounding states doing to help?  If each Hispanic DNC member was able to get 32 people to come to Nevada to help walk and talk to these voters, it would mean a great deal.

Here is my sense of reality, I know that Antonio Villaraigosa and Julian Castro are the big dogs in Latino politicas, but this race is about a Democrat against the dark side.  The current Republican Mayor of North Las Vegas has made such statements as, ?Hispanics do not count? and ?capping property taxes would be a disaster.?  This comes from the city that has the highest property taxes in Nevada and offers the worst public services.  I wonder what is going on in this guy?s mind.  I know that the Republicans will put on the full court press to keep him in office.  I saw the signs all over town ? up to twenty in a row, and those babies are not cheap.

So, what is it going to take to win this ?too close to call? race?  I think I know the answer, 32 sound Democrats and Independents who want to make sure that changes are made.  Thirty-two folks who show up each and every day from now until Election Day for walking and talking to voters who have ballots or who will vote early.

On Monday, May 16, 2005, 21 days before the ?polling places? open, 16,347 absentee ballots will hit mailboxes in voters? homes and we need to make sure that our guy?s message is heard loud and clear.

Surely, other States have folks that can come on down.  After all, is that not what we have been asking for ? to take control of our own political future?

©Steven J. Ybarra JD is a retired civil rights attorney who operates a consultant company in California.  He is a member of the Democratic National Committee and a long time political activist.  Contact Steven at: sjybarra@aol.com.  This article is copyright by Steven J. Ybarra JD, originally published in www.Hispanicvista.com but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media if this entire credit paragraph is attached.