I happened to catch this article down at Politico.com about the prospects of Judy Chu in Congress and I couldn't help but wonder - is it good or is it bad in regard to racial representation with 2/3 of the population being Hispanic/Latino - or because it has a 20 percent Asian American population does that matter as much? As long as it's a person of color is that all that really matters?
A splintered field of Latino candidates could lead to the election of an Asian-American in Southern California’s majority-Hispanic 32nd District, leaving Hispanics with one less voice in Congress at a time when their share of the population is growing.Check out the full article here.
In the special House election to succeed Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-Calif.), who was recently tapped to become the Obama administration’s labor secretary, former Monterey Park Mayor Judy Chu stands to gain from a potentially crowded field of prominent Latino officeholders that could divide the Hispanic vote and enable her to capture the solidly Democratic, East Los Angeles-based seat.
All the candidates will run on a single ballot in the special primary election. If any one of them wins a majority of votes, that candidate takes the seat outright. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters will square off eight weeks later in a special general election — essentially a runoff.
While the racially diverse district is about two-thirds Hispanic, it also has an unusually large Asian population — roughly 20 percent. As the only prominent Asian candidate in the race — and one who has drawn support from Hispanic voters in the past — Chu could benefit from a concentrated Asian vote to make it into a special general election if the Latino vote is divided among several candidates.
