I am going to assume you don't know much about the Hispanic population of the city of Houston or Hispanic people in general because NO ONE with any real understanding of the Latino community in this city (or any other in the US) would make a statement that bizarre. There is an extremely strong group of Latino voters in Houston - many of them in their 2nd or 3rd generation as US citizens. The Latino PAC and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce not to mention LULAC are powerhouses in the local political arena. The LULAC national convention was just held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. According to the 2000 census, the city of Houston ranks 4th in the nation in Hispanic population at over 700,000 people or 37 percent of our population. Caucasions only represent 31 percent and African Americans 26 percent. They are the largest ethnic group in the city of Houston. I gather from your post that you assume most Hispanic members of our community are here illegally. Is that really what you think??? If it is, you have a LOT to learn about Hispanic people. You should hope that your local GOP doesn't think as you do or they are going to struggle to win elections in the coming years.
An interesting note is that the 2000 census made a concentrated effort to count illegal aliens. You can't possibly be ignoring the rapid rate of illegal immigration. Of course not. I understand and appreciate that there are a HUGE number of Hispanic voters. But if you don't think that there are THOUSANDS of illegals in this city that were counted in the census, then you haven't looked at the INS docket recently. People of ALL ethnic backgrounds must have their needs addressed by our mayor. Our diversity is one of our strengths. But to think that one ethnic group will take the election is not an accurate assessment of the situation. As always I appreciate your insight Jeff. We disagree wildly, but you do present your side of the argument extremely well.
I too thought Berry was a Democrat?! Didn't he win in Chris Bell's(Democrat) district? Or did he change to the GOP side after he won?
Of course I'm not ignoring it but most reputable sources put the percentages of illegals in Houston that are counted among the population at 7 to 12 percent (that from a local political friend of mine). Understand that these guys do EXTENSIVE research to study who can and cannot vote. They don't want to waste their time and money (i.e. flyers, ads, door hangers, etc) on those who either have no interest in voting for their candidate or cannot vote. The key is not just the sheer number of voters but the consistency of their votes. If you KNOW that you can get 70, 80 or 90 percent of a certain block of voters to vote a certain way on an issue or candidate, your only concern is getting them to the polls. The Latino voters in Houston vote almost exclusively as a group and every political expert in Houston from Bob Stein to Richard Murray has said that this will be the KEY voting block over the next 20 years in Houston. Ah, but that isn't true. In close elections and particularly given the closeness in percentage of ethnic groups living in Houston, it means EVERYTHING. Last year, the turnout of African American voters single-handedly got Mayor Brown re-elected. In 1996, it was the Asian community that gave the baseball/football stadium referendum its victory. Sanchez' nearly unanimous support from the Hispanic community got him into the runoff against Brown last year and nearly won the election for him. They call these "swing votes" and they are a BIG deal in politics. Most campaigns are won or lost on swing voters because it is common for those groups to vote as a single voice. It may not seem like a big deal to get 90 percent of African American voters, but if they turn out to the polls and represent 15 percent of the total vote, that is 15 percent you have all to yourself and that is HUGE in any election. The closer the election, the more important it is for a candidate or campaign to land those swing votes. To ignore them is to do so at your own peril. Thanks. This is one subject with which I am intimately familiar especially locally.
I'm not really informed on Houston politics, since I do not live in Harris county. However, I do like Roach for a couple of reasons; my wife went to school with him, and I met him and his wife a number of times. I used to work at the Kroger store on El Dorado where they shopped. His wife would always come and find me when she needed items off the top shelf of the store. She is a very nice and courteous lady.
Refman, Even if some percentage of the increasing Hispanic population is ineligible to vote in the next election, you are overlooking the fact that they are living in housing that was previously occupied by a voter from a different group/block. The population <i>replacement factor</i> will lessen the influence/power/vote block of other groups even if some of the Hispanic population is waiting to attain voting rights. Mango
