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Media Releases
| For Immediate Release |
Contact: Hilda Delgado |
| June 9, 2006 |
Mark Gomez (408) 835-2713 |
VOLUNTEERS EFFORTS BOLSTER LATINO TURNOUT
NEW ORGANIZATION PROPELS WORKING FAMILY CANDIDATES TO VICTORY
Santa Ana, CA
Tuesday's Primary election marked two landmark victories for a newly restructure and proven brand of progressive Latino politics.
Three key beneficiaries were Tony Mendoza who easily won the Democratic Nomination in the 56th Assembly districty, and Kevin De Leon (AD 45) and Jose Solorio (AD69) who overcame huge deficits in the polls to each win handily. In both cases, SOL organizers knocked on more doors and identified more voters than the campaigns themselves and were key to victory.
As independent expenditure campaigns funded by a coalition of labor unions, SOL's unique brand of politics successfully targeted Latino voters with poor to low voter turn out records and successfully increase Latino turn out with voters committed to SOL's candidate.
"We were able to win despite the conventional wisdom," noted SOL Executive Director Javier Gonzalez "because we were people from the neighborhood talking to our neighbors about the issues that mattered to their families, better schools, college opportunity, and affordable healthcare and many more."
SOL's efforts belied analysts expectation of low turnout in the primary election, particularly in lower-income and immigrant communities. SOL's volunteers efforts also belied anti-immigrant activists characterization that recent arrivals do not wish to be part of America's most important institutions.
SOL's volunteers worked in behalf of Kevin de Leon, 45th Assembly District (Los Angeles) who won by 20%, Tony Mendoza 56th Assembly District (Norwalk) won by 17%, and Jose Solorio, 69th Assembly District (Anaheim) won by 19%. Each candidate had trailed in early polling before SOL's volunteers work: de Leon by 20%, Solorio by 23%.
In the month leading up to election day, over 400 SOL campaigners knocked on nearly 9thousands for doors from North LA County to Santa Ana in Orange County. The SOL campaigners were comprised of janitors, homecare workers, many recent immigrants, drawn from a variety of organizations, including Service Employees International Union Local 1877 and Local 434B.
SOL, Strengthening Our Lives thru Action, Participation and Education, is a partnership of progressive labor, faith and community organizations dedicated to increasing the civic participation of California's immigrant communities. SOL was founded by the SEIU, representing property service, health and long-term care, as well as public service workers, and UNITE HERE, representing hotel, laundry as well as garment workers. SOL is a part of the Somos America coalition dedicated to defeating HR 4437 in favor of human and just immigration reform.
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Contact Javier Gonzalez at (714) 564-9974 for more information on SOL's civic participation work in the Golden State.
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