Latin Chamber elects Sanchez new president

Thursday, Dec. 20, 2001 | 10 a.m.

Tony Sanchez, a 35-year-old attorney who describes himself as having a broad notion of business, was elected president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

Sanchez will lead the growing organization into its 26th year as the most visible voice of Southern Nevada's Hispanic community, which now counts 302,000 people, or 22 percent of the total population.

"My idea of business and what the Latin Chamber of Commerce should be doing includes education and politics," Sanchez said.

Sanchez, who is also a lobbyist at the state Legislature, said education falls under the mission of the organization because students are the Las Vegas Valley's future workforce.

And public policy issues such as tax reform and redistricting have a direct impact on economic development, he said.

At the same time, Sanchez said he will carefully evaluate the organization's traditional neutrality in political campaigns, and try to avoid what he described as the pitfalls of offering financial contributions to campaigns and endorsements of candidates.

"Still, if the board of directors thinks the issue of entering campaigns is an important one, I'm also not an autocratic leader and will listen to what they have to say," Sanchez said.

He said that even with an all-time high of nearly 1,000 members, the Latin Chamber of Commerce may need to put its financial resources behind more immediate needs related to the financial stability of the organization -- such as financing its new headquarters, set to open in January at 13th Street and Stewart Avenue.

The chamber also elected 18 members to its 25-member board of directors. The president and the board will chart the chamber's course in the coming year during their annual January retreat.