Hispanic coalition unveils legislative districts

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

A coalition of Hispanic community members, Latinos for Equal Representation, unveiled their plan for reapportionment Wednesday.

The group's map showed five Assembly and two Senate seats, with Hispanic populations ranging from 45 to 61 percent.

The Legislature has set a May 25 deadline to decide whether to add to the current 42 Assembly and 21 Senate seats. The Hispanic coalition has declined to take a stand on this aspect of the redistricting process.

On Tuesday, an Assembly committee passed the Democrats' reapportionment plan, which now moves on to the full Assembly. However, the Republican-controlled Senate will offer its own proposal, which will likely lead to closed-door negotiations before the Legislature can present a finalized plan.

The Hispanic coalition plan could be considered during these negotiations, but there is no guarantee any portion of it will be used.

Under the coalition's plan, two of the five seats have no incumbent. Neither of the Senate seats included an incumbent, which, theoretically, would give Hispanic candidates a better chance to be elected.

The group two weeks ago released a redistricting plan that included a map with four Assembly districts. The group added a fifth in its final version. It would include neighborhoods near McCarran International Airport and UNLV, as well as an area at Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard.

The main thrust of the coalition's ongoing efforts to influence the redistricting process is "to ensure representation of the Latino community, since we are the fastest-growing population in Clark County," said Luis Valera, a spokesman for the group.

Although Hispanics comprise 22 percent of the population of Clark County, and a growing number statewide, only one of the state's 63 lawmakers has Hispanic roots.

To achieve its goal the group is urging legislators to create districts with a Hispanic population of at least 60 percent.

The news briefing at the Sawyer State Office Building was the first held by the coalition, which for several months has been working on a redistricting proposal.

Districts represented in the coalition's maps have, historically, voted Democrat, though Valera said the group's efforts are non-partisan.

"We have members of the young Republicans and other GOP organizations in our coalition, and they understand that Hispanic majority districts have to be created first, whether Democrat or Republican," he said.

Bud Cranor, director of Gov. Kenny Guinn's Las Vegas office, said, "It doesn't matter if the Hispanics are voting Republican or Democrat in these districts," referring to the coalition's plan.

"They're such a growing population that their needs have to be met. We'd be in trouble if we didn't meet them," he said.

"This is about representation, not partisan politics, and that's how the governor sees it as well."

"We feel pressure from both parties," Valera said. "We'd be worried if we didn't because it would mean we weren't being taken seriously.

"But we're applying our own pressure and giving our own input with this plan," he said. "As the Legislature continues with it own process, we'll see whose plan draws closest to ours."