Local News
Council
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“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
B ERNIE F OSTER
Founder/Publisher
B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER
Executive Editor
T ED B ANKS
Advertising Manager
J ERRY F OSTER
Account Executive
L ISA L OVING
News Editor
H ELEN S ILVIS
Multimedia Editor
D AVID K IDD
Graphic Designer
M ONICA J. F OSTER
Seattle Office Coordinator
In 2008, after the Justice
Department intervened, the city
of Sunnyside changed its entirely
at-large City Council elections to
a partially districted system that is
similar to the system in Yakima.
``I would hope that every City
Council would want to have a
Council,’’ said La Rond Baker, an
ACLU attorney. ``We realized the
City Council wasn’t going to
come to the table in any meaning-
ful way, so we filed today.’’
Baker also said the lawsuit isn’t
about getting minority candidates
onto the council, but about ensur-
Forty-one percent of Yakima’s
more than 91,000 residents are
Hispanic, but the city has never
elected a Hispanic member to its
at-large city council.
Yakima has four council mem-
bers who represent districts and
three at-large members, but the
district candidates are only select-
ed in the primary election. Every
resident casts votes for each coun-
cil seat in the general election.
Civil rights advocates contend
the method dilutes the Latino vote
and blocks minority representa-
tion, and the ACLU has been
pushing the city to change its sys-
tem since 2010.
Last year, council members
refused to put an initiative on a
special ballot requiring that all
seven members represent a spe-
cific district, and Yakima voters
defeated an initiative to change
the system in last year’s primary.
``The concerns of the Latino
community are not being effec-
tively represented in the City
Forty-one percent of Yakima’s more
than 91,000 residents are Hispanic,
but the city has never elected a
Hispanic member to its at-large city
council
ing the candidates that minorities
support have a fair shot in an elec-
tion.
Yakima isn’t the first communi-
ty in Eastern Washington, where
the Hispanic community has
grown significantly in recent
years, to have its voting system
come under review.
system that complied with the
Voting Rights Act,’’ Baker said.
``When we win, it may require
some of them to make alterations
to their own systems.’’
Earlier this year, an annual sur-
vey of Eastern Washington’s Lati-
no population by Whitman
College students recommended
Moreno looks forward to talking
with attendees about how they
feel about the President today
compared to 2008. He says a lot of
Democrats that received invites to
the convention have backed out
and he wants to get a sense of why
can platform. Moreno will also
ask delegates about issues affect-
ing communities of color in par-
ticular, including voter ID laws
and immigration policy.
Out of everyone, Moreno says
he is most interested in speaking
that the state pass a Voting Rights
Act to facilitate minority repre-
sentation in local communities.
The study found that Latinos
comprised nearly 22 percent of
the population in 10 Eastern
Washington counties between
1983 and 2011, but have been
elected to only 2.7 percent of their
city council and school district
seats during that time.
A legislative bill that would
have made it easier for minorities
to get elected in local communi-
ties passed out of committee but
failed to come up for a vote on the
House floor in the last session.
Modeled on the decade-old Cal-
ifornia Voting Rights Act, it
would have encouraged court
challenges to cities, counties and
school districts to push them to
switch from at-large to district
elections in areas where large
minority groups are present.
Party
J ULIE K EEFE
S USAN F RIED
Photographers
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into people you want to interview
all day long,” says Moreno. “I’m
not sure if it will necessarily be
the same this time around.”
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in October 1975, is a weekly publica-
tion, published each Wednesday by
IMM Publications Inc.,
415 N. Killingsworth St.,
P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228.
Telephone (503) 285-5555.
E-mail: info@theskanner.com
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Fax: (503) 285-2900
The Skanner is a member of the
National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ-
ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers
Association.
All photos submitted become the
property of The Skanner. We are not re -
spon sible for lost or damaged photos
either solicited or unsolicited.
While there may not be as much
buzz as four years ago, Moreno is
still excited about the new possi-
bilities for his coverage this year.
He says there will be a lot more
technology at his disposal. In
2008, he says reporters were tied
to a media room. Moreno’s laptop
was always plugged into an Ether-
net cable. This year, media repre-
sentatives will be able to file
reports from anywhere, mainly
with the help of smartphones.
Moreno will be providing a
variety of content, including tradi-
tional news stories, photos, videos
and live streaming. He will also be
plugged into all of the major
social media outlets to provide
updates.
At the Democratic Convention,
© 2011 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED.
REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART
WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED.
C
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A lot of Democrats that received
invites to the convention have backed
out and reporter John Moreno wants
to get a sense of why the level of
enthusiasm has changed
T
Y
C
Please
recycle
your
newspaper
with Artur Davis, a former Demo-
crat who had nominated President
Obama in 2008 and is now a
Republican. He wants to know
what about the President’s per-
formance has caused Davis to
the level of enthusiasm has
changed.
At the Republican Convention
he will be seeking out the few
Black and Hispanic delegates to
see why they support the Republi-
I
make such a drastic turn.
Moreno says he would have a
hard time setting up that interview
formally, which is why he appre-
ciates the setting of the conven-
tion.
“Most of the time when we want
to get an interview with an elected
official we have to reach out to
their press secretary,” he says. “At
the convention, there’s as good of
a chance as any that you might
just bump into an Artur Davis.”
A
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S EATTLE 2012
alternative to Labor Day. Noon – 9 p.m.
Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way NE.
If you have an event you want to share
with the community, email it two weeks
in advance to The Skanner at
info@theskanner.com
Saturday September 1
6TH ANNUAL BLUES FOR FOOD FEST. Our goal is to
have an organic and entertaining blues
Page 2 The Seattle Skanner August 29, 2012
PANCAKE BREAKFAST. Everyone is invited to join us
for good food and conversation. The breakfast is
free of charge (donations will be accepted) 9 –
11 a.m. Zion Lutheran Church, 4634 Alger Ave,
Everett, Wa
Saturday September 8
8TH ANNUAL WOMEN OF COLOR HEALTH
AWARENESS CONFERENCE: FIRST LADY OF HEALTH,
HONORING MRS. MICHELLE OBAMA. This free
community event starts at 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bethlehem Baptist Church, Family Life Center,
4818 Portland Ave, Tacoma, WA
THE MOUNTAINEERS OUTDORRSFEST BRINGS THE
GREAT OUTDOORS TO SEATTLE. The annual day-
long event is free and features vendors,
workshops and a range of recreational
demonstrations and hands-on activities from
hiking to extreme camping to climbing on a real
basalt rock columns. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The
Mountaineers Program Center in Magnuson Park,
Seattle