Dear Editor, The Senate Rules Committee’s defeat of the
appointment of Reed Hastings to the state Board of Education had
nothing to do with the education of our youth.
Dear Editor,
The Senate Rules Committee’s defeat of the appointment of Reed Hastings to the state Board of Education had nothing to do with the education of our youth.
It had nothing to do with what is best for the state.
And it had nothing to do with Latino interests.
Rather, it had everything to do with politics. Not the textbook politics we teach our kids in school, but the back-room deals we hide from them.
It is a shining example of how outlandish our state Legislature has become and why we need to change the way our representatives are elected. Unfortunately, politicians looking out for their interests defeated the open-primary initiative last year. Yet I maintain hope that a new type of redistricting system can rescue our state and bring us back in line with everyday Californians and back to the center.
Hastings, a moderate Democrat who had a broad range of support from his own party, had committed the unforgivable sin of crossing the “Latino Caucus” and its out-of-touch position on bilingual education. As a result, someone who has been a committed advocate of our children’s education has now been forced from office because he is not empathetic enough for the Latino Caucus.
As a Hispanic Californian senator who is bilingual, I take offense to that. I know how important it is for our children to learn English. I also know how important it is for our children to learn the language of their parents and their grandparents whether that language is Spanish, Chinese or Italian.
I will never forget what my father taught me as boy. “Son, to achieve the American Dream you need to first learn to speak, write and read English.”
He understood this then, as do the countless immigrants who come to the United States from around the world today.
Furthermore, the concept that the Latino Caucus has a monopoly on Latino issues and sensitivities in the state is false.
It is apparent not only from the 2004 election, where President Bush received 40 percent of the Latino vote, but also from increasing amounts of polling data.
Latinos no longer vote in a Democratic bloc. We are a diverse group who feel passionate about the issues that affect our community and support those who stand up for our interests and have shown so at the ballot box.
I have not forgotten how hard it is working in the fields. I know the risks that people take so their children can have a better life. Latinos want their children to learn English so they can go to school, get an education and make a living with their minds and not with their backs. That is the same dream every parent has regardless of ethnic background.
They want their child to have it better than they did. In America, the road to success is labeled in English. As representatives of the people, it is our duty to teach them to read the signs.
State Sen. Abel Maldonado,
R-15th District, Santa Maria
Editor’s note: Maldonado’s district includes Morgan Hill and San Martin.
