Page 2 Portland Observer, June 3, 1962
The minority mozaic in California politics--------------------- -----------
and races — M a rio O bledo is
running w ith all the risky candor o f
the darkhorse. He's not seriously
expected to threaten Bradley, but by
ru n n in g
a decidedly
ethnic
campaign, Obledo is striking chords
among m in o rity voters, especially
those Latinos who feel they have too
long been relegated to a second class
status.
“ A fte r 1948 (when C a lifo rn ia
passed from Mexican to US hands)
we were dem olished so cia lly,
p o litic a lly and e c o n o m ic a lly ,'*
Obledo said in an interview . “ We
were made to feel inadequate as
a people. We have the assets and the
history and made the contributions,
but the last tim e an H ispanic held
statewide o ffic e in C a lifo rn ia was
over 100 years ago . . . and this is
su ppose dly the most enlightened
state in the nation.”
S A C R A M E N T O — When Ronald
Reagan occupied the g o v e rn o r’ s
mansion here only eight years ago,
C alifornia was still the model o f an
Anglo-Am erican state, noted fo r its
spread-out suburbs, alternative life
styles and high-tech economy. T o
day, thanks to im m igration, a drop
in the A n g lo b irth rate and a
booming Latino birth rate, the real
C alifornia is a world away from the
s till fa m ilia r surroundin gs o f the
presidential ranch at Santo Barbara.
Since the Reagan days, the
p o p u la tio n m ix has changed
dramatically. Hispanics are now the
largest m inority and w ill make up 51
per cent o f the state by the year
2000. In the 1970s, more Chinese
and refugees fro m Southeast Asia
chose C a lifo rn ia fo r th e ir new
homes than any o ther state,
changing the human landscape o f
scores o f neighborhoods and small
towns overnight. The biggest ju m p
recorded in the last census was
_ among Pacific Islanders, while the
number o f Filipinos has grown more
than 160 per cent in ten years.
C a lifo rn ia — no longer New Y ork
— is the m e ltin g p o t state: a fu ll
quarter o f the nation’s foreign-born
live here.
Together w ith the su b stantia l
co m m u n ity o f blacks, w ho have
become m ore p o litic a lly adept in
recent years, the sheer numbers o f
th ird w orld arrivals and long-tim e
m in o rity residents mean an A nglo
political candidate is no longer the
surest bet. In a num ber o f sm all
towns in the C e n tra l V a lle y,
C hicano slates have captured
c o n tro l o f local governm ents and
boards o f education. Los Angeles
M ayor Tom Bradley, who is black,
governs the state’ s largest c ity ,
where the school population is now
75 per cent non-white. The large and
e co nom ically im p o rta n t A sian
com m unity remains w ith o u t much
electoral influence, the least visible
m in o rity in the p o litic a l spectrum.
Nevertheless, certain local Chinese
leaders have tried — unsuccessfully
this year — to persuade Secretary o f
State M arch Fong Eu to run fo r
governor.
The cu rre n t D em ocratic P arty
guberna torial p rim a ry is only the
most obvious exam ple o f this
developing mosaic, leading up to an
election that m ight w ell put the
country’ s first black governor inthe
seat so recently occupied by the
president. Aggressive registration
drives are ta k in g place in the
ba rrio s, th ro u g h o u t C hinatow ns
and other m inority neighborhoods
that comprise this “ o ther” face o f
California. In the June 8th primary,
which Mayor Bradley is expected to
w in h a n d ily , one o f his main
challengers is another m in o rity
candidate, M ario Obledo, Governor
Jerry B row n’s form er Secretary o f
H ealth, Education and W elfare, a
Latino who has developed a vocifer
ous, though long-shot, challenge.
Obledo sees himself as representing
the state’ s in creasingly visib le
Latino population, campaigning on
a platform o f parity fo r m inorities
— especially L a tin o s — in state
government.
Tom
B ra d le y’ s
cam paign
m inim izes any sense o f racial
politics, yet he successfully conveys
the potent image o f the great
American success story: from son o f
an A labam a share-cropper to a
p o w e rfu l
p o litic ia n
whose
constituen cy
today
includes
m in o ritie s , w hite lib e ra ls and
e n viro n m e n ta lists, and, most
s ig n ific a n tly ,
the
southern
C alifornia corporate com m unity —
bankers, lawyers and the c h ie f
executive o ffic e rs o f the key
m ultinationals so prom inent in the
s o u th la n d 's
business
w o rld .
Perceived as a winner, he has made
su b stantia l inroads am ong the
business e lite in the n o rth o f the
state, and even among the politically
potent agricultural barons.
It was a different story when Tom
Bradley firs t ran fo r mayor o f Los
Angeles in 1969 against incumbent
Sam Y o rty . Then he had little
corporate support and was subject
to what one candidate called “ the
dirtiest, most vicious election in L A
history.” Against a background o f
racist d ir ty tric k s , B radley lo s t.
W ith in fo u r years, how ever,
Bradley had successfully put
together the fir s t o f his w in n in g
coalitions, adding an environmental
constituency and a better showing
among Latinos. Today, after eight
years in o ffice , the mayor is extra
o rd in a rily p o p u la r w ith his key
c o rp o ra te
co n stituen cy,
yet
maintains his liberal cachet and the
image th a t has become his most
significant political weapon: that o f
the black candidate w ho is not
perceived as a threat by A n g lo
voters.
In fact, as the prim ary campaign
draws to a close, Bradley increasing
ly appears to represent the old
m inorities, who largely have melted
in and whose most visible concerns
are now indistinguishable from the
fa m ilia r concerns o f the establish
m ent. M a rio O bledo, m eanwhile,
may be speaking fo r those
m inorities who believe wholeheart
edly in the A m erican way and
institutions, but who also say, “ Yes,
we are d ifferent, we don’ t intend to
melt in or melt away, but we intend
to participate, as w ell.”
I f B ra d le y ’ s cam paign p ro
nouncem ents
are
restrained
sometimes to the p o in t o f
vagueness, attempting to project the
image o f the man fo r all seasons —
Aaron Mitchell and
Son Plumbing
* Experienced Plumber
* Licensed and Bonded
Established in business for 25 years
Have lived in the Portland Area for 40 years
WE STAND BEHIND ALL JOBS
1703 N.E. Alberta
«
288-4040
actions on the part o f anxious
m in o ritie s . A nd c o n tra ry to (he
o fficia l US stand, Obledo came out
squarely fo r A rg e n tin a in the
M alvinas dispute. “ We ought to
stick together in this hemisphere,”
he said.
I f th ird w o rld candidates are
operating here now w ith legitimacy
and a fair chance o f winning, it does
not mean (hat am ong themselves
m inority groups are unified, or that
the specter o f racial politics w o n 't
rise again. Obledo, fo r instance, at
times has attempted to use conflicts
between Latinos and blacks to
undercut some o f (he support Tom
Bradley
has
gained
among
Hispanics. Bradley, in tu rn , in his
developing embrace o f C alifornia
agribusiness, has created fears that
he w ill be fa r less a supporter o f
Cesar Chavez’ farmworkers than his
A nglo predecessor, Jerry Brow n.
And when Bradley faces either Mike
Curb or George Deukm ejian as his
Republican opponent in November,
there is some fear the election might
well witness a reversion to covert
racial themes rem iniscent o t early
campaigns.
Yet Tom B radley rem ains the
front-runner, not just fo r June but
November as w ell. A nd M a rio
Obledo, despite hs poor showing in
the polls, has accom plished his
prim a ry (ask: gaining some
c re d ib ility fo r a L a tin o candidate
fo r higher o ffic e . W hatever the
outcome o f C a lifo rn ia ’ s campaign
*82, i t ’ s clear that p o litic a lly and
dcm ographically the Golden State
w ill never again be (he same as when
a form er actor on the way to the
White House held sway.
Copyright Pacitk Nr»» Service
odays sound!
LOS ANGELES MAYOR TOM BRADLEY
by M ary Jo McConahay
Robert Gottlieb
Pacific News Service
O bledo acknowledges he is
running a campaign “ addressed to
the traditional non-voter.” Latinos
have the lowest vo te r tu rn -o u t
record among C a lifo rn ia 's cultural
groups, and m uch o f O bledo's
cam paign has been aim ed at
increasing registration.
In fact, Obledo seems less to be
running for governor than using the
governor’ s primary race to heighten
p o litic a l and ethnic awareness
among fe llo w H ispanics. Recent
events have underscored his self-
styled cham pion’s role: In the wake
o f highly-publicized jo b sweeps by
the Im m igration and Naturalization
Service
aimed
at
fin d in g
undocum ented w o rke rs, and a
probe by the US attorney o f persons
requesting bilingual ballots, Obledo
emerged as one o f the strongest
voices condem ning the federal
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