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Democratic delegates ready for Colorado

By MARTÍN E. MARTÍNEZ / Vida En El Valle

SACRAMENTO -- Xóchitl Arellano is confident that if Barak Obama wins the United States presidency this year, the Latino community will greatly benefit.

Arellano, who was chosen in March as an Obama delegate for the Sacramento area to the Democratic national convention, says this has been one of his best professional experiences, especially because, from her point of view, Latinos share many core ideas with the presumptive candidate.

Arellano, who worked as a television reporter for 20 years and is now a spokeswoman for state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Ángeles, said until now she has never known a presidential candidate who has achieved so much in such a short time.

"This has been an incredible campaign because in a single year Obama has done more than any other presidential candidate before. He built a colossal cultural base that has been well-etched in everyone's mind at the community level," said Arellano.

Arellano stressed that this is the first time she's seen a presidential candidate approach the Latino community, in particular, in a genuine way and to really hear their needs and demands.

"Obama has gone almost door-to-door asking people what they need to give them real solutions to our community's needs," she said.

Among the initiatives that Obama supports for Latinos are: driver's licenses for undocumented residents, support of the Dream Act, and immigration reform to legalize more than 12 million people without documents in the country.

Arellano acknowledges that Obama's opponent, Republican John McCain, was initially active in supporting immigration reform; however, he has since moved away from that position, she said.

When asked about the possibility that Latinos may not support Obama, as when a majority sided with former candidate Hillary Clinton, possibly over racial concerns, she said it is important to understand that Obama also belongs to a minority group.

"Latinos are a mixture of indigenous and white, which is a matter of pride for us, but we also have black blood and to deny it would be like denying our own identity. We are all part of this minority who share the same needs and desires," said Arellano.

She added that Obama knows what it means to belong to a minority, and also to come from the Third World (Obama lived in Malaysia and his father was from Africa). That is a great advantage to minorities, Arellano said, because, for the first time, a presidential candidate understands and cares about immigrants' demands.

Arellano said it is important for Latinos to pay close attention to the presidential candidates, as not all of them offer solutions to the problems and needs of the Latino community.

"We must sit down and carefully study each candidate, which is something Latinos too often fail to do. We must vote for one candidate who really cares for our causes," she said.

One of the most important topics for the Latino community, Arellano said, is education, a subject Obama has addressed, declaring that Latino students need more preparation and better motivation.

One educational proposal Obama has made is to create a new, English-learning system for immigrant children.

"Throughout my career as a journalist, I have never heard a politician champion a program like this, which indicates that he is committed to educating our people and this is something that we should take advantage of."

For now, Arellano is preparing to attend the convention in Denver, Colo., beginning Sunday (Aug. 24).

Send e-mail to: mmartinez@vidaenelvalle.com