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Hispanic Roundtable
hosts forum to discuss, debate election issues
By Arooj Ashraf, La Prensa Correspondent
Cleveland: Growing in
population with increasing political issues, the Latino
community is an essential bloc of voters. After the Hispanic
Roundtable’s Candidate’s Night Forum on Oct. 18, 2012 at
La Sagrada Familia Church, they are becoming better educated
and empowered.
More than 300 people
packed the gym to meet 30 candidates running for elective office
and heard about important issues like the Cleveland
Metropolitan Schools Levy and were encouraged to vote Yes on
Issue 2, State of Ohio Redistricting.
Activist Rubén Castilla
Herrera said Issue 2 is an important vote to protect
the voice of voters and prevent misuse of redistricting. If
approved, an independent commission would determine boundaries
for legislative and congressional districts. Education is one of
the most worrisome issues for the Latino community with an
alarming dropout rate from high school. The school levy is in
its second stage; if approved it will have four years to reform
the schooling system.
“Our numbers are growing and we will be the balance of power in
this election and in every election in the foreseeable future.
We want to help prepare our community to make informed decisions
at the polls,” said José Feliciano, Chairman of the
Hispanic Roundtable, which co-hosted the political forum.
The population has seen an increase of 40 percent since the 2008
elections, with
62,725 Latino residents in Cuyahoga County. Only 40 percent of
those residents are registered to vote.
Regional candidates talked
briefly about what to expect if they are elected, and were faced
with hard questions by a panel of Young Latino Network (YLN)
members. From promises of fair courtrooms to plans for
increasing employment and reforming unfair laws hindering small
business progress through the Common Sense Intelligence Office
(CSI), candidates made efforts to distinguish their records and
clarify their stances.
Although not involved in
the current elections Donna W. Walker Brown attended the
forum to introduce herself as the mayoral candidate for the City
of Cleveland in 2013, saying education is a priority for her.
Rick Cyngier,
State Assembly Representative for District 14, said education
needs to be reformed, “We don’t need more teachers, we need
better teachers.” He also advocates changing laws so online
sales would be taxed, “So we do not have local businesses losing
out money because consumers can purchase across state lines for
less.”
Minority leader Armond
Budish—a Democrat—from District 8 spoke strongly against any
laws in Ohio that would resemble Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070,
and said Ohio was built on immigrants and will always welcome
immigrants, “Because that is how we create jobs.”
US Congresswoman Marcy
Kaptur (Democrat, 9th District) was asked to
defend her vote against the DREAM Act
and if she favored the legislation now. Kaptur said her vote
against the DREAM Act in December of 2010 was only because of
the lack of comprehensive immigration reform legislation as she
views it as unfair that only certain children can receive
protection while their families are left in the dark. Ms. Kaptur
has since gone on the record that she now supports the DREAM
Act.
Juan Sepúlveda,
Former Director, White House Initiative on Educational
Excellence for Hispanic Americans, represented Pres. Barack
Obama and defended Obama’s performance in the past years saying
in context of the resistance the administration accomplished a
lot in terms of health care reform and increasing the employment
in the Latino population.
He said the DREAM Act’s failure was not due to a lack of
commitment by the President. Sepúlveda said the administration
has worked tirelessly behind the scene to change unfair laws
such as the 3-10 year bar that was passed by Congress in 1996.
The law requires any alien who applies for green card through
marriage to return to the country of origin and be subject to a
3 to 10 years bar from re-entry.
While many do not apply for a hardship waiver, Sepúlveda said 85
percent of applicants receive it. The Deferred Action for
undocumented minors plan went into effect August 15 and he said
the feedback from it has been a positive one. When pressed by
the YLN panel to respond to criticism that the President is not
a strong leader and unable to chart a course,
Sepúlveda posed a question; “Ask yourself if any of his policies
have made a different in your lives.”
Republican Hector Barreto, former administrator of the US
Small Business Administration represented presidential candidate
Mitt Romney and clarified that if elected Romney would
not deport those who benefited from the Differed Action Plan. He
did not clarify Romney’s stance on reversing it but added; “It’s
a shame that President Obama only introduced the Deferred Action
Plan with only two months left in the election.”
Republican candidate Romney did tell Iowans earlier in the
Republican primaries that he would veto any DREAM Act
legislation.
Barreto said Romany is a man who understands business and jobs
will be the number one priority, “Governor Romney is a good man
and he will work for 100 percent of the people.” Barreto said
Obama administration policies have not brought back the jobs, or
helped small businesses, “Consider the possibility of a new kind
of leadership,” he said adding that Ohio is a key battleground
state and each vote matters.
Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula (HOLA)
filled the room with
bright yellow shirts, bringing a strong community of 130 people
from Akron, Painesville, and Lorain, Ohio.
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