Minorities Seek Political Power in North County Coalition : Elections: Yet nameless group brings Latinos, African-Americans, Samoans and Filipinos, together with a voter-registration campaign, in the hope of improving representation.

Citing the near total void of people of color in decision-making positions in North County cities and school districts, members of ethnic and racial minority groups are uniting to push for better representation of their communities.

For the first time in this predominantly Anglo-populated region, Latinos, African-Americans, Samoans and Filipinos have joined together to put people who share their roots and experiences into positions that affect their futures.

The coalition, which as yet has no formal name, kicked off an intensive voter-registration campaign in conjunction with the League of Women Voters last week that its members insist will affect November’s elections and increasingly influence the decisions of local elected officials and government bureaucrats in coming years.

Coalition members are still trying to recruit Asian community leaders to help them in registering Asian voters.

“What we’re going to have is a surprise for them this year,” said the Rev. John Carter, a black coalition member and North County chapter president of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

“What we hope to do is to have a record number (from minority groups) turn out--not just for voter registration but a record number of people turning up at the polls as they have never seen before.”

Gloria Valencia-Cothran, coordinator of the coalition’s registration drive and a founding member of the North County Latinas Assn., said volunteers won’t be looking to sign up voters at the usual places like grocery stores. “We intend to go to churches and festivals and clinics and soccer games--wherever minorities tend to meet, we will be their registering them,” she said.

Carter said he wants to organize block parties to register African-American voters, and again on Nov. 3, election day, to attract them to the polls.

Spreading their enthusiasm for participation in democracy and turning it into long-term dedication, however, poses a far greater challenge than just collecting names on voter roles, coalition members concede.

They also plan to apply the coalition’s efforts to breaking down the cultural, educational and economic barriers that they say restrict their communities from participating in the political system.

“Most ethnic people have not availed themselves to the democratic process,” said Carter, a minister at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Oceanside, because they see government controlled by a white society that doesn’t allow people of color a voice.

“That’s not true,” Carter said, “but it seems that way here in North County because, essentially, what you have is a form of government in all of the little cities where there is hardly any ethnic representation on these councils and in governmental positions . . . . For the most part, they all have Anglo-Saxon Caucasian males and females.”

Communities such as the Latino, Samoan, Filipino and Asian also tend to be infused with immigrants who struggle with the transition from their homeland culture to the Southern California way of life. Consequently, they hesitate to assert themselves outside their often tightly knit support groups that share their backgrounds and ethnicity, coalition leaders say.

“Being in a strange environment and a changed culture, it’s tough, as far as mom and dad go,” said George Malifua, a Samoan member of the coalition who lives in Oceanside. “Samoan culture is slower, it’s like first gear. Coming here is like the turbo lane.”

Valencia-Cothran and Connie Tirona, a Filipino member of the coalition from Carlsbad, said members of their communities have a general distrust for the electoral process, which was often corrupted and manipulated by those in power in their native countries. They also inherited a culture that puts faith in the patron , the person in power, to provide for their needs.

“They’re probably a little weary and leery of politics,” Tirona said of her fellow Filipinos. “We want to show them that this is different. We’re Americans now. We can make a difference.”

Although the voter registration drive will be concentrated only in the North Coastal area, coalition members plan to use it as a springboard for involvement throughout North County, said Valencia-Cothran, a former aide to county Supervisor John MacDonald.

The coalition’s five-year goal, she said, is to have people of color elected to the city councils of Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad and Escondido, and to increase minority representation on school boards, advisory boards, commissions and in governmental management positions.

Coalition members said the Carlsbad Unified School District board is now the only governmental body in the North County with a nonwhite elected member, a Latino, Joe Angel.

“That’s certainly not the American way,” Valencia-Cothran said. “We plan to change that.”

According to the San Diego Assn. of Government’s figures, North County’s population is 71.5% white, 20.5% Latino, 3.7% black, 3.5% Asian and 0.8% other races.

In addition to the coalition’s efforts, Valencia-Cothran said members of the recently formed North County Latinas Assn. also plan to regularly attend school board and city council meetings, monitoring issues of importance to the Latino community.

The organization also has started a mentor program to assist Latino children in their studies.

Malifua, Tirona and Carter said education programs also are needed in their communities, as are professionals who will act as role models for young people.

The coalition members said they believe their timing is perfect for getting their communities involved. Widespread calls for change in government and greater accountability of elected officials is sure to stimulate increased interest in the November election.

“They’ve experienced the economy, they’ve experienced the hard times, so maybe this is the year they will decide to get involved,” said Malifua, who unsuccessfully ran for Oceanside City Council six years ago.

Carter said he is hopeful that this election could result in a first, a black being voted to a seat on the Oceanside City Council. Two African-Americans so far have declared their candidacies, and two others are considering running.

“Most Anglo candidates that run for office, we found, do not even campaign in socially depressed areas or economically depressed areas because there’s no voter registration there, there’s no solicitation of votes there,” Carter said. “And, when they get elected, they don’t even visit those communities, they put no monies into those communities, they don’t care about what happens in those communities. As a result, those communities become a nest of crime and poverty.

“This year is going to be different.”