Delaware Hosts Its First Ever Gubernatorial Debate on Latino and Hispanic Issues – And Young Hispanics Are the First to Take Notice
This Wednesday, Delaware witnessed the first gubernatorial debate in the state’s history to focus solely on Latino and Hispanic issues. Governor hopefuls Lieutenant Governor John Carney, State Treasurer Jack Markell, and Hockessin pilot Mike Protack met at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino to address the concerns of the Delaware latino community – including immigration, discrimination, and all-important education. Although the debate was held in a casino – the real prize was meeting the young gems of the latino community.
After the debate, a statuesque brunette next to me eyed my emerald satin shirt. “That's a beautiful blouse. Where did you get it?”
“Thanks! I bought it at the beach, at Tiger Lili boutique.”
The woman looked pleased. Right answer. “That’s my store.”
I misinterpreted her to mean that she shopped at the same boutique, as in, ‘Oh girl, that is my STORE!’ I replied, “Oh I know. I love the clothes there too.”
“No,” she smiled. “I’m Lili. I own the store.”
Lili Kohr is the face behind Tiger Lili, a successful women’s retail store with four locations in Delaware. According to the 2002 Census, nearly 355 Hispanic-owned private businesses operate in Delaware – and that number is ever growing. Lili is just one of the many Hispanic Delawareans who are putting a new face on the Latino community – and shattering misconceptions about this vital voting group. For many within the Latino community in Delaware, this unprecedented focus on Hispanic issues is a perfect opportunity to correct stereotypes about Hispanic voters – and get voces suyos heard.
Mike Protack, one of the candidates in the Republican gubernatorial primary, stressed that Hispanic voices must be heard in Delaware – and that they should be just as loud as anyone else’s. “What I want to do, is for you to look at me, me look at you, and say we’re equal. That’s the goal of the next governor…This [debate] is critical. This is Delaware’s future. You’re an important group, you’re citizens of this state, you deserve to be heard, and you deserve to hear what we have to say.”
Maria Marquez, a 17-year-old volunteer with Voices Without Borders, feels it’s high time the higher-ups listened to what Latino Delawareans have to say. “This is a historical event because people don’t tend to focus on Latino issues as much. But now Latinos are getting together and putting their arguments together and they want the candidates for governor to know that we are listening. They need to focus on what we are going to say and what we’re going to do…because we want to be a part of it. We’re going to vote, and we’re going to form our own decisions.”
However, Maria makes it clear that the Hispanic community does not only have one voice to share – but many. “You can’t stereotype us. We have many different political parties within the Latino community, and don’t just focus on the Democratic Party. We focus on the Republican Party too, and have many independents. In the end, we focus more on the issues that matter to us the most, such as crime and violence and immigration.”
Indeed, it seems that many people in Delaware share Maria’s sentiment, as a large portion of the debate was devoted to discussing immigration. The gubernatorial candidates were asked how they would moderate illegal immigration – and govern those without proper documentation.
Lieutenant Governor John Carney, a candidate for governor in the Democratic primary, reminded the crowd that immigration reform must be implemented nationally to solve our local problems. “We need to get an immigration law at the federal level that works…some kind of guest worker program, some kind of better pathway to citizenship.” Carney emphasized that the new immigrants today came here for the same reason as our predecessors – to follow the American Dream. “Delaware and the United States are a nation of immigrants. We may have come here on different boats, but we’re all in the same boat together. We need [an immigration] policy that works.”
One policy that many in the Hispanic community would like to see passed is the issuing of driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants – so that they may be able to drive to work, school, and ride the path to citizenship. However, all three candidates negated the idea, arguing that the federal Real ID Act prevents undocumented citizens from receiving legal documents like driver’s licenses – under all circumstances. “A driver’s license is a legal document – the key word here being ‘document’ – which an undocumented immigrant cannot receive,” Protack argued. “We have to comply with the Real ID Act – this is not optional.”
“Driver’s licenses are a big issue for the Hispanic community. They offer us education, they offer us jobs, they offer us so many things, but without a driver’s license, how are we going to get to those places?” Maria for one was disappointed in the candidates’ dismissal of the driver’s license proposal – and wished that they would be more open-minded. “They can’t just shut us down and say, ‘I don’t want to be a part of it.’ It’s one thing to say no, but I thought at least they would do something about it.”
Unfortunately, not all of the problems associated with immigration can be solved by policy. Hispanics have been targeted in towns like Elsmere, where some residents blame the immigrant population for economic and social problems in our state. At the debate, the candidates were asked how they as governor would eradicate xenophobia – and protect the latino community from a financially frustrated, vocal minority looking for a scapegoat.
“Four years ago, the immigration issue was hardly even on the national radar screen, politically….as disenchantment with President Bush’s War in Iraq grew, Republicans in Washington turned immigrants into political whipping boys, as they did with African-Americans on welfare in the 1980s.” Jack Markell, Delaware’s State Treasurer and a candidate in the Democratic primary for governor, has no tolerance for intolerance of foreign immigrants – and says he will speak up in communities like Elsmere where that kind of “ugliness” exists. “It is ugly to see people say that because you look different from us, you are the cause of all of our problems. This is a country built on immigration; all of us. Immigrant bashing is wrong, I won’t do it, and I won’t provide that kind of leadership from the governor’s office.”
But like so many other issues – immigration is far from an isolated problem, and may be the cause behind other strains in the Latino community. “There are college scholarships available to Latino students in Delaware, but [if they are undocumented] how are they going to get to school if they can’t drive?” Maria Marquez illustrates how an undocumented status can have a snowball effect on a young Latino’s future. “If they chose to drive to school anyway, they will get stopped by police. They talk about distrust among Latinos of the policemen. Well, what did you expect?”
Relations between the Hispanic community and the Delaware state police have traditionally been fragile at best. Many Latino crime victims are hesitant to call the police, either out of a fear of deportation for illegal aliens – or a distrust of the force in general. Two weeks prior to the debate, the New Castle County Police Department and the Latin American Community Center held the first annual bilingual Public Safety Day at Sparrow Run Park in Bear. The event was created by the Delaware state troopers to foster a greater trust within the Latino community. But one gubernatorial candidate believes that the road to better relations between Hispanic Delawareans and state police is twofold – and only with the help of the latino community can we see safer streets in Delaware.
“The key to developing a more positive relationship between law enforcement and the community is not a new concept: community policing.” Carney believes Delaware’s law enforcement can be more effective working with the Latino community to solve problems – especially in the face of tragedy. “We had a horrific murder in Bridgeville a couple weeks ago of an innocent Hispanic woman. That should not happen in any community here in the state of Delaware. In order to be better able to face that kind of violence, the community is going to have to trust the police. The only way to do that is to have police officers …working with communities, and developing relationships.”
Markell believes the key to fostering officer-citizen relations is the same for any successful relationship: communication. “Communication is at the root of so many of our problems. If we communicate, we can understand the perspective of those who don’t trust the police…A couple of years ago I did a ride-along in Georgetown with two state troopers. We picked up two people during the night, and I ended up having to do the translations, because there were one or two Spanish-speaking officers in Georgetown, and they were off-duty. We need more Spanish-speaking officers.”
However, there remains a deeper obstacle to communication between Latino Delawareans and the rest of the state – and it isn’t the language barrier. Although Delaware is a relatively progressive state, racism still exists within its borders. What concerned Latino Delawareans want to know is – how will the future governor work to push it out?
“We need to lead a movement of vast social change, where we look at discrimination as something in the dictionary and the history books, not in the Delaware streets.” Protack proclaimed his desire to push discrimination out of Delaware – and emphasized that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. “Who you are is important, not what you are. I can’t make it more simple than that.”
“In order to serve a community, a full community, you need to understand the dreams, hopes and aspirations of that community. One way to do that is to have representatives from communities all across the state.” Carney believes a diverse cabinet and more Latino Delawareans in leadership positions will not only strengthen the state – but help alleviate discrimination against the Hispanic community. “I believe this gives us great strength, and it enables us to serve the public better.”
“[Discrimination] is something we have to live every day. I am making a commitment on day one to give members of the Hispanic and Latino communities positions of real leadership.” However, Markell doesn’t think “this is enough.” He reminded the crowd that creating diversity in state leadership positions is fruitless – if not enough Hispanic Delawareans are able to get the education to qualify them for those positions in the first place. “Allowing a high school dropout rate for Hispanic kids, which is so low, is absolutely unacceptable. We could have a cabinet full of only people from the Hispanic community, and if we have not improved the high school graduation rate in the Hispanic community, we have done nothing.”
Although there are many issues that need to be addressed in the Hispanic community, the candidates echoed what our second grade reading teachers always said – education is the key to success. Whether it is unemployment, home foreclosure, immigration issues, or discrimination – the candidates believe education is at the root of all problems. Like the saying goes, “Es la educación, estúpido!”
When asked how he would boost a stagnant economy – John Carney maintained that it’s not all about dollars and cents – but building sense in Delaware schools. “The key to success…is providing more ESL (English as a Second Language) programs in elementary schools and so forth in our education, so that Hispanic students are able to succeed. We need to provide more teachers in middle schools, elementary schools, high schools, so that we can ensure that every student is able to graduate.”
Although much improvement is still needed in Spanish-speaking students’ education – the First State is first in the country for Hispanic education. According to a report on “Latino Achievement in America” by The Education Trust, Delaware outpaces the nation in reading gains among both white and Latino students over the last decade, although Hispanic students have made the greatest strides. Between 1998 and 2002, Delaware made a 36% gain in 4th grade Hispanic reading levels, while the United States saw only an 8% increase. However, there is still a world of work to be done. According to a Delaware Department of Education report in 2006, the average dropout rate of Hispanic high school students is 9.8% - well above the statewide average of 5.5%. Concurrently, in 2006 non-black minority students made up only 8.4% of graduating seniors in Delaware public schools.
“It would be a huge understatement to say ‘there’s a lot of work to be done.’” said Melissa Skolnick, Vice President of the University of Delaware chapter of the Campus Alliance de la Raza. “I don’t know why so many minorities drop out. Maybe they don’t have the mentoring, or maybe they have stress from their families. There is so much work that needs to be done with that. I hope they can at least graduate from high school, and either move on to college or take a job in the community.”
Markell also thinks that Hispanic students need to be better educated to compete in the job market. However, he maintains that state institutions like the University of Delaware and Delaware State University need greater funding to ensure students reach their full potential. “The real opportunity for Delaware to be successful in a changing economy is to make sure that everyone has the skills that they need – this is a skills-based society. The universities need the resources that they need to be providing those kinds of skills training.”
“First thing we need to do is realize we’re spending just as much on prisons as on higher education.” Protack agreed that Delaware colleges and universities need a boost – and proposed that boost come from behind bars. “We can direct these funds towards higher education, because education can’t stop with high school anymore. Education is so critical. I came from a family that had no education background. So stop spending money where it’s not productive, and put it where it is – in people.”
But education reform is not just top-down, according to John Carney. Carney believes education does not stop with the classroom – and that it’s up to Latino families to build their children for the future. “What I want to ask of the community and parents is to pull together the schools, work with teachers, work with your children, help them read when they’re young…so that you make sure when they get to school, they stay in school. Students learn in the classroom, and they learn at home – you need to have those both working together. And then to pass along the family values, the tremendous values of work and success that we see in the Hispanic community.”
“I think it’s important that the candidates support education within the Hispanic community.” Antonio Torres, a 38-year-old Hispanic Delawarean and proud father, said the idea of parent-teacher partnerships hits close to home – literally. “One of the candidates said, ‘education does not occur in school, but at home as well.’ I think the most important thing said in the debate tonight was the idea of communication between the parents and the schools. I know that, if parents are sending their children off to school, they want to know that their kids arrive at school and stay in school. The school must also communicate with the parents and let them know if their child is doing well at school.”
Although headphones provided Spanish translations of the debate – it was evident that everyone spoke the same language when it came to helping the Latino community succeed in Delaware. The only question is, which gubernatorial candidate will best address the issues that matter to Hispanic Delawareans – and will things change for the better?
“I will not be satisfied until each Delawarean has the same opportunities as their neighbors,” John Carney proclaimed. “We need to change the way we do business in Delaware to make sure the government is working for all of us. No matter what language is spoken, actions speak louder than words.”
“Every Delawarean, regardless of background or country of origin, deserves a chance to live the American Dream.” Although he spoke of dreams – Jack Markell ended the night on a resolved note. “If we are going to work to make Delaware the First State again, we need to work to make it the First State for everybody here…and everybody it represents. I look forward to working with all of you to making this state everything it can be. Muchas gracias.”
-Stephanie Woods