Latinos Likely to Decide South L.A. Campaign
By Tony Castro, Voxxi
Latinos now make up 78 percent of the South L.A. political district, known as “The Great 9th” since the mid 20th Century, when the area was an almost exclusively African-American haven.
But Hispanics account for less than half the district’s voters, while blacks — though 15 percent of the residents — compose 40 percent of the voters.
It makes for a political toss-up, confused even more by the fact that South L.A.’s longtime African American councilwoman is stepping down because of term limits, leaving this election wide open.
Three Hispanics, three African Americans and a Japanese American are on the city election primary ballot, though most experts agree that the Latino vote could likely determine the outcome.
“For the black community, [the loss of a black council seat] is the bad medicine they’ll have to swallow to get to reality and help themselves,” says Dermot Givens, a longtime political operative in the district. “Because the reality is, we’ve lost a lot of political power.”
African Americans currently hold three of the 15 city council seats.
Cubas for South L.A.
The leading Hispanic candidate is Ana Cubas, the Cal Berkeley-educated daughter of Salvadoran immigrants who has extensive connections to all communities and has been campaigning for almost a year.
Most recently she has been the $147,000-a-year chief of staff for Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents a district on the other side of the city.
Cubas, 41, has long ties to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and State Sen. Alex Padilla — who was formerly city council president — as well as to various Latino lawmakers and their extensive fund-raising and campaign operations. She has been endorsed by La Opinion, the city’s Spanish-language daily, and the Mexican American Bar Association.
“One of my biggest dreams is to make a difference in my community,” she says. “To come back and use my skills and my education to help others.”
The last time a Latina served on the Los Angeles City Council was 25 years ago, when Gloria Molina was on the lawmaking body.
For years, African Americans have been losing power to the influx of Latino immigrants and overall Hispanic growth in the city. Latinos are now a majority in all but one of the council districts long held by African Americans, but they represent a minority of eligible voters in those areas.
This article was first published in Voxxi.
Los Angeles based writer Tony Castro is the author of the critically-acclaimed “Chicano Power: The Emergence of Mexican America” and the best-selling “Mickey Mantle: America’s Prodigal Son.”
[Photo courtesy Cubas for Council]