We are Calling on the DSCC to Protect and Promote Racial and Ethnic Diversity as Essentials Elements to the DSCC Agenda

December 20, 2008

Hon. Robert Menendez, Chairman
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
120 Maryland Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002

Dear Senator Menendez:

We are pleased with the Senate Democratic Conference for selecting you as chairman of its campaign committee. Over the course of your career you have been and continue to be an inspiration to countless Latino men and women, beyond the State of New Jersey, who seek full and significant inclusion in the American political landscape. You sir, make us very proud.

As you settle in to your new post as head of the effort to elect Democrats to such an august body, we pray that you consider the following observation:

In light of the recent election of Senator Barack Obama to the White House, some in the media as well as various political circles are suggesting that the election of the first African-American to the highest office in this nation signifies a new political paradigm with respect to race and ethnicity. In essence, the argument goes that because of Mr. Obama’s race we are now in a post-racial era and as such any effort to press-on with a “diversity agenda” in our governmental institutions is redundant, pointless and unwarranted. WE COULD NOT DISAGREE MORE.

Throughout the 2008 election cycle, the DSCC worked hard to elect Democrats to the United States Senate by promoting fundamental Democratic ideals such as fairness, equality and freedom. We salute the DSCC for its efforts in preserving and expanding the Democratic majority. However, we were surprised to learn that the DSCC has made neither reference nor overt effort to enhance the number of Latino hires by the DSCC as either senior staff or temporary political contractors. Moreover, we were equally troubled to discover there are not many Latinos or Latinas in staff leadership positions for the members of the DSCC.

We believe that just as President-Elect Obama has made an effort to have a cabinet that is reflective of all Americans so should the DSCC. An atmosphere of civility and mutual respect towards ethnic, racial, religious and other differences is indispensable to an institution that values all Americans. We believe in that old axiom of the message being the messenger and vice-a-versa. However, beyond the appointment of a Latino at the helm albeit a most distinguished and remarkable leader such as your honor, the institution itself needs to make a greater effort to include Latinos in the leadership and rank-and-file staff as well as its political contractors.

We would prefer that diversity efforts at the DSCC extend to more than just the appointment of Latino surrogates during campaign season; hiring Latinos as entry-level staff; and, non-funded partnerships with Democratic organizations whose aim is to service and engage Latino constituents. We are speaking here of a sense of obligation on the part of the DSCC to enrich ethnic diversity and foster the representation of the full spectrum of significant political viewpoints, intellectual perspectives, gender, sexual orientation and yes, racial and ethnic diversity. We are not seeking to have the DSCC impose any artificial "balance" or an “ethnic” quota system. We are asking the DSCC to commit itself to a policy of inclusion, respect for difference, and fairness in its hiring practice and the selection of contractors.

The New York State Latino Democratic Committee (NYSLDC) was formed earlier this year to serve as a platform for the mobilization and deployment of a rapidly growing social network of civically minded, service-oriented, and politically engaged Latinos from across New York State. Our aim is to invigorate concerted civic action, gain greater access to political/policy “think tables” and consequently bring about the change for which our community longs.

Our ultimate goal is to prompt open, transparent and responsible conversations regarding how political power might be shared in order to provide for the greater good of all – including Latinos. Therefore, we are calling on you as Chair of the DSCC to expand the mission of the DSCC to include the protection and promotion of intellectual, political, religious, gender, sexual orientation, racial and ethnic diversity as essential elements to the DSCC agenda. In that vein, we would like to extend ourselves to you and to lend our voices to any effort that you commission in pursuit or our shared ideals.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. If you need further information, we will be glad to provide the same upon request.

Sincerely,

Carlos Ramos, Jr., Co-Founder
New York State Latino Democratic Committee


cc: Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members

Time for New Leaders -- El Diario/La Prensa Publisher & CEO Rossana Rosado on Leadership

Time for New Leaders (Spanish version follows below).

What a great way start to the year. The recent storm over Kirsten Gillibrand’s appointment by Governor Paterson to the U.S. Senate has injected energy into our leadership.

I am proud of how both elected officials and community leaders have banded together to be heard on the issue of immigration and how Gillibrand’s record on that issue was not acceptable to us. I am especially proud of the way in which El Diario led the battle with its coverage and its sharp editorial from day one.

I could say that it has taken us two years to get good and angry about the immigration issue. It has been my opinion that we – the collective – we as in we Latinos and we in the media – let other media and other leaders define the debate on immigration. We allowed them to put us in defensive mode. We let them lead with the term “illegal”. And if we lacked cohesiveness, it was not exclusive to this issue.

But as they say in Spanish “no hay mal que por bien no venga” and the recent activity in regard to Gillibrand and the governor have served as a wake up call.

Indeed there has been much conversation recently about the direction and cohesiveness, or lack thereof, in our leadership. We published an editorial about the importance of “unclogging the pipeline” last December. (http://impremedia.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=TTDJV8ECLJV4)

When we look at the state of affairs today, there is a lot of hope. I can say that because I have witnessed the evolution.

In 1982, I was sitting in the boardroom of El Diario when all of the New York Hispanic elected officials numbered 11 and they met with then candidate for governor Mario Cuomo. It was the summer campaign season and I was a volunteer in the re-election campaign of Armando Montano. The only other woman in the room was Senator Olga Mendez. I was a junior in college and no one knew me. The next day, the cover of El Diario proclaimed “Cuomo promete comisión hispana”.

Assemblyman Montano was running against democratic “machine” candidate Luis Nine. Both were incumbents forced to run against each other after reapportionment and from our offices on Southern Boulevard we would watch the competition marching in and out of their elegant offices next door to us.

Montano, who also died last year, liked to impart wisdom to us young people on the campaign staff. He called us to his office and said “do you know what power is?”

We looked at each other, knowing that an answer was not expected. He paused for effect and picked up the phone – punching the numbers into the touch tone phone and we sat and watched him as the phone rang and heard him say “this is Assemblyman Montano, can you put Mario Cuomo on the phone? He waited as he smiled at us and then we heard Mario, this is Monty”. Then he chatted a few minutes and then he hung up. “That is power boys and girls,” he said. “Power is nothing but getting the person you want to be on the other side of this phone to listen. That’s it”.

The ability to get someone to listen to you is the measure of your power. I would not grasp the wisdom of his statement for two decades. During that time I watched the same characters from that famous “machine” evolve, others who fought against machine politics evolved into the operators of that machine. The number of elected officials grew to 27 and while I am pleased to see more women, I believe there is widespread cynicism about the tendency to treat those positions like the jobs of longshoremen - being passed on from father to son.

Our editorial last December was titled “It’s tome to pass some torches” and it asked “Who supports and holds Latino leaders accountable? Part of the answer lies in unclogging a political pipeline cluttered with too many of the usual suspects. It’s time to pass some torches to the competent and visionary leaders in the wings”.

Inspired by that mission, I have developed a script. (see part II tomorrow, Tuesday)

Rossana Rosado is the Publisher and CEO of El Diario/La Prensa.

Ya es hora para nuevos líderes
http://impremedia.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=UA6SC8M3I8N1

¡Qué manera de comenzar el año! La reciente polémica sobre el nombramiento de Kirsten Gillibrand por el Gobernador David Paterson al Senado ha llenado al liderazgo hispano de energía.

Me enorgullece la manera en que tanto los oficiales electos como los líderes de organizaciones comunales se han unido para dar voz al tema de inmigración y dejarle saber a la nueva senadora que su récord sobre inmigración no es aceptable.

Me siento orgullosa sobre la manera cómo EL DIARIO lanzó y lideró la batalla con su cobertura con columnas y fuertes editoriales, desde el primer día del nombramiento.

Podría decir que nos hemos tardado dos años para reaccionar con vehemencia. Es mi opinión que nosotros – colectivamente – como latinos y como medios – hemos permitido que otros medios y otros líderes definan el debate sobre inmigración.

Les permitimos ponernos a la defensiva. Los dejamos enfocar el tema en “ilegal”.

Y si nos faltó la unidad, tampoco ésta se limita a este tema.

Pero como dicen, “no hay mal que por bien no venga” y la reciente actividad sobre Gillibrand sirve para despertarnos.

Por cierto, recientemente ha habido muchas conversaciones sobre la dirección y la unidad de nuestro liderazgo. Publicamos un editorial en diciembre sobre “unclogging the leadership pipeline”. (http://impremedia.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=TTDJV8ECLJV4)

Cuando miramos el panorama político actual, creo que hay mucha esperanza. Yo lo puedo decir porque he sido testigo de la evolución.

En 1982 estaba yo sentada en el salón de conferencia de EL DIARIO cuando el número de oficiales electos hispanos era 11, y se reunieron con el candidato para gobernador Mario Cuomo. Era verano y yo era voluntaria en la campaña para la reelección de Armando Montano. La única otra mujer en el salón era la senadora Olga Méndez. Yo estaba en el tercer año de universidad y no conocía a nadie. Al día siguiente la portada de EL DIARIO declaraba, “Cuomo promete comisión hispana”.

El asambleísta Montano estaba en campaña contra del candidato de la “maquinaria” demócrata, Luis Nine. Debido al rediseño de los distritos, ambos titulares se vieron obligados a enfrentarse el uno al otro. Desde nuestras oficinas en Southern Boulevard observábamos por la ventana a la competencia desfilando desde sus oficinas más elegantes en el edificio de al lado. A Montano, quien murió el año pasado, le gustaba darnos discursos a los jóvenes en la campaña. Nos llamó a la oficina y nos preguntó, “¿Saben ustedes lo que es ‘poder’?”

Nos miramos uno al otro, sabiendo que él no esperaba respuesta. Levantó el teléfono marcó números y lo oímos decir, “Este es el asambleísta Montano, quiero hablar con Mario Cuomo”. Esperó, sonriendo y luego se oyó decir, “Mario, este es Monty”.

Cuando colgó nos dijo “eso es ‘poder’ mis hijos. El poder es simplemente la habilidad de lograr conectarte con la persona al otro lado del aparato. That’s it!”

Yo no llegaría a apreciar lo sabio de esa frase hasta dos décadas después.

Durante ese tiempo observé como evolucionaron personajes de esa famosa maquinaria, otros que lucharon en contra de la misma, se convirtieron en los jefes de la maquinaria.

La cantidad de hispanos oficiales electos creció a unos 27 y, si bien hay más mujeres, creo que hay un cinismo sobre la tendencia a pasar los puestos entre padres e hijos. El nepotismo vive.
Nuestro editorial en diciembre preguntaba, “¿Quién apoya y mantiene a los líderes responsables latinos? Parte de la respuesta está en destapar la cañería que está tapada con mucho de lo mismo de siempre. Es hora de pasar la batuta a líderes competentes y visionarios que esperan su turno”.

Inspirada en esa misión, diseñé un libreto. (ver mañana)

Rossana Rosado es gerente general de El Diario/La Prensa

Latinos/as Not Considered in New Line-Up of Leadership Posts in Assembly Majority Conference

Dear NYSLDC Members,

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver today announced a new line-up of leadership posts and committee chairs. Please take note that not ONE Latino/a was appointed to any leadership posts in the Assembly Majority Conference.

The changes in the Assembly Majority Conference are as follows:

• Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper, was deputy majority leader, is now deputy speaker - a post left vacant by the departure of former Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette, who went to work for Gov. David Paterson. ($19,500 lulu to $25,000 lulu). (See, attached letter we sent Speaker Silver urging him to appoint a Latino/a to fill the vacancy of Deputy Majority leader).
• Assembywoman Vivian Cook, was assistant majority leader, is now deputy majority leader. ($19,500 lulu does not change).
• Assemblyman Nick Perry, from majority whip to assistant majority leader. ($18,000 lulu to $19,500 lulu).
• Assemblyman Dov Hikind, from deputy majority whip to majority whip. ($16,500 lulu to $18,000 lulu).
• Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, from majority conference secretary to majority conference vice chair. ($11,000 lulu to $12,500 lulu).
• Assemblyman Steve Cymbowitz, from majority conference vice chair to majority program committee - that post was stripped from Assemblyman Tony Seminerio after he was arrested on corruption charges. ($12,500 lulu to $15,000 lulu).
• Assemblywoman Ann Carrozza, from Election Law Committee to deputy majority whip. ($12,500 lulu to $16,500 lulu).

As always, our Latino/a leaders are relegated to standing committees or task force positions as opposed to leadership positions in the Assembly Majority Conference.

Sincerely,

New York State Latino Democratic Committee

Speaker Silver Slaps Latinos in the Face and Does Not Appoint a Latino to the State Assembly Leadership

From The Desk of Haile Rivera

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5th, 2009

Bronx, New York -- I was extremely disappointed with the news that Speaker Sheldon Silver did not appoint any Latinos, not one single Latino, to any of Assembly's Leadership positions for 2009-2010 legislative session. This raises questions on the importance Latinos are for the Speaker and I hope that our Latino leaders in the Assembly do not let this pass as if it has no importance.

On December 30th, 2008, I issued a statement calling for the Speaker to consider selecting one or more of our 11 Latino Assembly members. While I did not support any one Assembly member, I was hoping to see Assembly Peter Rivera (no relation to me) selected to a position with the Assembly's Leadership. As the longest-serving Latino lawmaker in New York State, Assemblyman Rivera had definitely earned it and would have been the ideal candidate. But, again, Speaker Silver has failed to recognize the importance Latinos play in this City and State.

If this does not change by the next session, I will be make sure that the Speaker hear the voice of Latinos. We will pay him a visit at his home and his office. Maybe then will the Speaker give Latinos the opportunity we have earned in the State.

In the meantime, I would like to remind the Speaker that the 64th district has undergone some demographic shifts since he was first elected and elections are every 2 years, not in four or six.

I am also ready, willing and able to stand shoulder to shoulder with any of our Latino Assembly members who is/are willing to stand up for the fight. Unity works, just look at the recent results in the State Senate where The Three Amigos (Senators Espada, Diaz and Krueger) stood with each other from beginning to end and now the Senate has Latinos in the leadership. It takes courage and we will all be waiting to see who has it.

Urge Speaker Silver to Nominate a Latino/a to the Assembly Majority Leadership

December 30, 2008

Hon. Sheldon Silver, Speaker
New York State Assembly
250 Broadway, Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007

Dear Speaker Silver:

As you re-settle into your post as Speaker to the New York State (NYS) Assembly, we urge you to consider the following observation:

In light of the recent election of Senator Barack Obama to the White House, some in the media as well as various political circles are suggesting that the election of the first African-American to the highest office in this nation signifies a new political paradigm with respect to race and ethnicity. In essence, the argument goes that because of Mr. Obama’s race we are now in a post-racial era and as such any effort to press-on with a “diversity agenda” in our governmental and political institutions is redundant, pointless and unwarranted. We could not disagree more.

Ever since assuming the Assembly’s top leadership post, you have worked hard to maintain the majority in the NYS Assembly by promoting fundamental Democratic ideals such as fairness, equality and freedom. We salute you in your efforts in preserving and sustaining the Democratic majority. However, we were surprised and equally troubled to discover that there is not one Latino/a in the New York State Assembly Majority Leadership, or better yet, not even one Latino/a in leadership in the entire conference (http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?sh=lea). Yet, there are 7 African-Americans and 11 Whites in the House leadership (see, below).

Assembly Majority Leadership

1. Speaker -- Sheldon Silver
2. Majority Leader -- Ron Canestrari
3. Chair, Ways and Means Committee -- Herman D. Farrell, Jr.
4. Deputy Speaker -- VACANT
5. Speaker Pro Tempore -- Aurelia Greene
6. Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore -- Harvey Weisenberg
7. Assistant Speaker -- Rhoda Jacobs
8. Chair of Committee on Standing Committees -- William Parment
9. Deputy Majority Leader -- Earlene Hooper
10. Assistant Majority Leader -- Vivian Cook
11. Majority Whip -- N. Nick Perry
12. Deputy Majority Whip -- Dov Hikind
13. Assistant Majority Whip -- Barbara Clark
14. Chair, Majority Conference -- William Colton
15. Vice-Chair, Majority Conference -- Steven Cymbrowitz
16. Secretary, Majority Conference -- Annette Robinson
17. Chair, Majority Steering Committee -- John J. McEneny
18. Vice-Chair, Majority Steering Committee -- Patricia Eddington
19. Chair, Majority Program Committee -- Anthony S. Seminerio

We believe that just as President-Elect Obama has made an effort to have a cabinet that is reflective of all Americans so should the New York State Assembly. An atmosphere of civility and mutual respect towards ethnic, racial, religious and other differences is indispensable to an institution that values all New York State residents. We believe in that old axiom of the message being the messenger and vice-a-versa. However, beyond the appointment of Latino staffers in the New York State Assembly, the institution itself needs to make a greater effort to include Latinos/as in the majority conference leadership.

With the sudden departure of Deputy Speaker, Assemblyman Ivan C. Lafayette, the NYS Assembly has an opportunity to address this shortcoming by ensuring that a Latino/a gets nominated to fill the vacancy. We are asking you to lend your full support and influence in the selection of a Latino/a as the next Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Thus you will send a signal that the leadership of the Assembly is committed to enriching and fostering the representation of the full spectrum of significant political view points, intellectual perspectives, gender, sexual orientation and yes, racial and ethnic diversity. We are not seeking to have the New York State Assembly impose any artificial “balance” or an “ethnic” quota system. We are asking for the New York State Assembly to commit itself to a policy of inclusion, respect for differences, and fairness in its selection of members to serve on the Assembly Leadership conference.

The New York State Latino Democratic Committee (NYSLDC) was formed early this year to serve as a platform for the mobilization and deployment of a rapidly growing social network of civically minded, service-oriented, and politically engaged Latinos from across New York State. Our aim is to invigorate concerted civic action, gain greater access to statewide political/policy “think tables” and consequently bring about the change for which our community longs.

Our ultimate goal is to prompt open, transparent and responsible conversations regarding how political power might be shared in order to provide for the greater good of all – including Latinos. Therefore, we are calling on you as Speaker to the NYS Assembly, to stand behind the appointment of the first Latino/a to join the ranks of the Assembly Majority Leadership.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,


/s/ Juan Ramos
NYSLDC Steering Committee