Hispanic media professionals host Mayoral presentation

Houston mayoral candidates talk Latino issues, and Locke has plans for transportation
HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Sept. 25, 2009

“In a city where the group comprising 42 percent of the population has an outrageous dropout rate, the lowest rate of higher education and the highest uninsured and unemployment rates, what would you do to fix this as mayor?”

That question kicked-off the mayoral debate yesterday at Rice University about Latinos and for Latinos. The forum was organized by the Houston Association of Hispanic Media Professionals.

It's all about creating economic opportunities and getting it right in the education front, said Annise Parker: “When we have a dropout rate that approaches 50 percent we are clearly doing something wrong.”

That was pretty much the assessment of Peter Brown, whose effort to speak in Spanish was moving but gave him a slow start in a time-controlled answer format.

In front of an audience packed with varied representatives of the Latino community, Roy Morales appealed to his roots when he said that Hispanics “need to look at what bring us together,” without elaborating. He also said, “We need to make sure that English is the common language for our children but never, never, never forget the language of our ancestors.”

The key, Gene Locke said, is to create “a leadership in the Hispanic community that would work long-term. Particularly young leadership.”

Aside from a little sparring, such as a back-and-forth between Parker and Brown on her figures for Houston's deficit, the four candidates appeared to have a lot in common in their approaches to general issues, such as public safety, education, job creation, or helping business owners to thrive. By the same token, they barely addressed the most pressing issues affecting highly populated Latino areas, such as low-income schools or access to health care, to name a few.

On the city's participation in the 287g program, they all support it, some with nuances. Morales made an ardent defense of the measure and even suggested that it should be extended to misdemeanors, a heated debate in the Latino community. Locke expressed some reservations and Parker was quick to clarify that she fully supports immigration enforcement in jails, but opposes police officers questioning people about their immigration status in routine traffic stops or on the streets.

— AURORA LOSADA