Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Latinos in Legislatures
- 2 The Effects of Population, Turnover, and Term Limits on Latino Representation
- 3 District Composition and the Election of Latino Candidates
- 4 Electing Latinos in Non-Latino Majority Districts
- 5 Voices from Within
- 6 Roll Call Voting Behavior of Latino Legislators
- 7 Conclusion
- Appendix A
- Appendix B
- Appendix C
- Appendix D
- Appendix E
- References
- Index
5 - Voices from Within
How Latino Legislators See Themselves
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Latinos in Legislatures
- 2 The Effects of Population, Turnover, and Term Limits on Latino Representation
- 3 District Composition and the Election of Latino Candidates
- 4 Electing Latinos in Non-Latino Majority Districts
- 5 Voices from Within
- 6 Roll Call Voting Behavior of Latino Legislators
- 7 Conclusion
- Appendix A
- Appendix B
- Appendix C
- Appendix D
- Appendix E
- References
- Index
Summary
“I don't carry a shield that says ‘I am a Democrat’ or ‘I'm a Latina’. I represent my district.”
– Rep. Fran Coleman (D-Denver)Pennsylvania State Representative Angel Cruz (D-Philadelphia), a Puerto Rican who represents a majority-Latino district, recounted a story about one of his constituents – a little girl named Delimar Vera who was presumed dead after being kidnapped from her home when she was a newborn. The kidnapper subsequently set fire to the home so that the Fire Department would think that the newborn had perished in the fire. Delimar's mother never believed her daughter had perished in the fire, but because of her difficulty communicating in English, she was never able to pursue the matter any further. Then, one day six years later, Delimar's mother attended a birthday party for a friend and noticed a young girl who resembled herself and her other children. She now had a Latino representative and decided to contact him and recount her story in Spanish. She enlisted the help of Representative Cruz, who helped her pursue DNA tests and file the appropriate police reports. At the end of the day, Representative Cruz was able to reunite Delimar with her mother.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Latino Representation in State Houses and Congress , pp. 106 - 124Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010