Democracy Is Choosing, Not Back-Room Consensus : Latinos: The large field of candidates for supervisor indicates the community’s new political strength.

The race is on. The date set for the election in the newly drawn 1st Supervisorial District in Los Angeles County is Jan. 22. Latinos make up 71% of the residents in the new district and represent 51% of its registered voters. The political experts believe that those kinds of figures will elect the first Latino supervisor.

But during the last three decades, Latinos were not so optimistic. Latinos in Los Angeles County had concluded that if they were going to elect one of their own, they had to agree on one candidate. Two Latino candidates meant a loss.

All Chicano activists believed this, thus there were community endorsement conventions or private meetings between political candidates and their supporters to decide who was to be “the candidate.” It was a community’s response to discrimination in an effort to participate in the political process.

The efforts didn’t always bring about unity. After all, ambition in a brown body is the same as in any other human being. Nevertheless, the strategy’s premise was that because Latinos did not have a majority, the only chance of winning was to get behind one Latino and hope to garner enough non-Latino votes to win. The cards were always stacked too high against victory for a Latino running for county supervisor.

Initially, Reps. Matthew Martinez (D-Monterey Park) Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles) and Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente), Los Angeles City Council members Richard Alatorre and Gloria Molina, and Sara Flores, former deputy to Supervisor Pete Schabarum, all indicated interest in running for the seat in the new 1st Supervisorial District.

Taking a page from the past, Alatorre, Molina, Torres and Roybal met in an effort to avoid a “blood bath” and to explore the possibility of a consensus candidate. Molina emerged smiling with the support of Torres and Roybal. Alatorre first said, “I have no intention right now of backing anyone else but me.” A few days later, he announced that he would not be a candidate.

Flores made it clear that she was in to stay. State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) declared his candidacy, and his announcement was quickly followed by that of state Sen. Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier). Martinez also says that he’s running. And a few others may come forward. Some activists lament that if there is more than one candidate, Latinos will blow it again.

I don’t think so; these are new times. The Latino candidates have political bases and experience in political fund-raising; there are well-heeled Latinos accustomed to donating to political campaigns; there are knowledgeable and experienced Latino political strategists who have run campaigns in areas within the new district; non-Latino contributors are now also accustomed to giving money to Latino candidates, knowing they can win, and there are also non-Latino constituents who voted for Latino elected officials.

None of these factors were present 20 or 30 years ago when the activists tried to unite behind a single candidate.

The lid placed over the bubbling ambitions of talented Latino candidates for the last three decades has finally been removed, and so should the strategy that went with it.

The outcome of past supervisorial elections was always predetermined by five white males in a closed room. I don’t believe the court intended that they be replaced with five brown bodies. It intended to give the Latino community choices.

The community had eight capable elected officials to pick from: three members of Congress, two state senators, two City Council members and one supervisorial staff deputy. It now appears that the constituents will get a choice between one congressman, two state senators, one City Council member and one supervisorial staff deputy. That’s a better choice than a consensus candidate.