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News & ArtsFriday, August 10, 2012
2012 The Real Lesson from the Gonzalez Race: We Need the "Washington Voting Rights Act"
Posted by David A. Perez on Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 1:16 PM
Recently there’s been a lot of talk about the State Supreme Court race between Steven González and Bruce Danielson.
On the face of it, this election didn't seem like one González should have to worry about very much. González was a decorated prosecutor, having successfully tried Ahmed Ressam, the Millennium Bomber, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He was also a well-known judge, having spent ten years on the King County Superior Court, earning a reputation as the hardest working and most intellectual judge on the bench. Based on this stellar resume, Governor Gregoire appointed González to fill a vacancy on the State Supreme Court. (Full disclosure: I helped coordinate González’s appointment campaign and worked on his election campaign.)
As González was gearing up to run for retainment, it did not seem like anyone would challenge him. But then, at the very last minute—literally, the final hour before the filing deadline—Bruce Danielson threw his hat into the ring. Now we had a race. Danielson, a relatively unknown and unaccomplished lawyer would square off against a sitting State Supreme Court Justice. González raised a record amount of money for a primary race, secured endorsements from both parties (including Rob McKenna, Jay Inslee, Reagan Dunn, and Bob Ferguson), and zipped across the state campaigning. González had every possible advantage over Danielson, who didn’t campaign or even raise a dime.
Well, he had every advantage except one. His last name.
Which brings me to a larger issue that Danielson's unfortunately strong showing in this contest raises: racially polarized voting in Central Washington.
Government by consent of the governed is the essential promise of democracy. It's a promise that through democracy, we can produce government of the people, by the people, and for the people. These aren’t just clever words or empty phrases on ancient parchment. These are our ideals. And for centuries Americans have died to protect and to defend these ideals.
But here in Washington State, outdated electoral systems have eroded our democratic principles by failing to keep pace with our state’s rapidly changing demographics. As a result, large segments of our state’s population—particularly African Americans, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and Latinos—have been virtually shut out of the political process.
Sometimes numbers don’t lie. This is one of those times. For example, in nine counties across Central Washington (Adams, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Okanogan, Walla Walla, and Yakima), Latinos constitute over 33% of the total population, yet hold less than 4% of the local elected offices. Combined, these ten counties elect 69 port commissioners, 66 county officers, 51 judges, and 30 county commissioners.
Not a single one is Latino.
Rarely has our state been faced with a challenge—not to its fiscal health or its economic growth—but to the values that form the basis for our democracy.
So what’s to blame? Election data shows that the main culprit is the combination of at-large elections and “racially polarized voting.”
In an at-large election, there are no neighborhood or local districts—and therefore no electoral contests in which only voters in a neighborhood or local district may vote for a candidate to represent that particular district. All the candidates must run citywide or countywide. At-large elections that exhibit racially polarized voting allow voting blocs with slim majorities to dominate local elections. In fact, in the 9 counties listed above, 99% of all local elections are at-large.
For example, each Yakima City councilmember is elected at-large—that is, each candidate must run citywide. But because white voters in Yakima tend to vote for white candidates and the Latino voters tend to vote for Latino candidates (what sociologists call “racially polarized voting”), the white candidates always win. As a result, three of the seven Yakima council members live the same neighborhood, and all seven are white. Although Latinos constitute 41% of the city’s population, a Latino has never been elected to the city council. Not even once. Many have run—but they just keep losing.
The importance of these local races cannot be overstated. It is in these local races—for city council, for school board, or for fire district—that new candidates first enter the leadership “pipeline.” Once they’ve gained local experience, they might later try for some higher office. But the pipeline’s closed off to racial minorities because nearly all of these local elections are conducted at-large.
For those of us who have been aware of this phenomenon—that is, racially polarized voting in Central Washington—the González race wasn’t a surprise. If anything, it was a surprise that González did as well as he did in Central Washington. That González lost each of these counties by a large margin is entirely consistent with the pattern of racially polarized voting that’s been occurring throughout Central Washington for over thirty years. (And you can’t blame it on partisanship because even Inslee got more votes than González in most of these counties.)
While the final result in a statewide race is different because large Western Washington counties went heavily for González, in Eastern and Central Washington, Latino candidates running for local elected office run into the exact same problem without the benefit of having King, Snohomish and Pierce County to bail them out. (The good news here is that the election also proves that racially polarized voting is not occurring in King County, where voters have a long history of voting for minority candidates such as Ron Sims, Larry Gossett, and, most recently, Steve González, who received 75% of the vote here.)
And trust me, it’s no secret. The cynics who benefit from this system—a system that effectively silences 49% of Central Washington—wink at this reality, knowing what it means for minority populations, and knowingly breaking the American promise that no matter who you are or what your last name may be, you have a right to political representation.
Fortunately, there’s a way out: it’s called the Washington Voting Rights Act. Lawmakers in Olympia considered the bill last year, but it never got to a vote. This landmark bill would allow voters to challenge those at-large voting systems that, combined with racially polarized voting, function as an obstacle to minority representation in local government. If successful, the challenges would result in new district-based election systems.
This idea has worked in the past. After encountering similar problems in their state, California legislators adopted the California Voting Rights Act of 2002. The Washington Voting Rights Act is modeled after the California version.
Some say that the legislature ought to leave it to the local governments to decide for themselves how to conduct their elections. But these advocates of “local control” are missing the point. A system that gives 49.2% of one county’s population less than 3% of its elected offices is not local control (see: Franklin County). A system that silences 41% of Yakima City is not local control. Using at-large elections to circumvent our democratic principles is not local control.
True local control would empower the people by making sure local government represents local constituencies. Under the Washington Voting Rights Act, local control would flourish once again.
The González race is a sobering reminder that our country’s first principle—that all persons are created equal—may be self-evident, but it certainly isn’t self-enforcing. We have yet to reconcile the values of the American Republic with the hopes of the American people.
And that’s why the steady erosion of our State’s democracy is not a Latino problem. Nor is it a Black problem, an Asian American problem, or a Native American problem. It is a Washington State problem. With this Act we can finally overcome this new barrier to representative democracy.
And make no mistake, we shall overcome.
David A. Perez is an attorney with Perkins Coie LLP. Prior to joining Perkins, he served as the Assistant Director of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law & Equality, where he helped author the Washington Voting Rights Act.
1
One of the most cogent arguments I've heard for district elections. And the same holds for Seattle, if not for racial matters, then for cultural issues.
2
Fabulous. One million internets to you for this (minus a couple points for "we shall overcome"). Thank you SO MUCH for your help getting Gonzalez past this horrible, horrible election.
3
Yeah, the "we shall overcome" is a bit much.
However, there must be a more general problem of Latinos just not voting...and there's really no excuse for that considering (especially) the demographics in Adams County. That 55% Latino population should mean a solid 'blue' county in Eastern Washington.
However, there must be a more general problem of Latinos just not voting...and there's really no excuse for that considering (especially) the demographics in Adams County. That 55% Latino population should mean a solid 'blue' county in Eastern Washington.
4
As long as "local" is defined as "the entire city" or "the entire county", local control is a fiction. On the other hand, drilling down to "neighborhood" would result in a too-large, too-fragmented governing body. The sweet spot falls somewhere in between.
Still, I bet it would be relatively straighforward to come up with reasonable districts in almost all jurisdictions. Start with such dividers as streams ("north of the creek") and major highways ("east of I-5"), and tweak it from there.
That would even work as a first draft of districts in Seattle -- split at the Ship Canal and at I-5, maybe adding 520 and I-90 as additional separators.
Still, I bet it would be relatively straighforward to come up with reasonable districts in almost all jurisdictions. Start with such dividers as streams ("north of the creek") and major highways ("east of I-5"), and tweak it from there.
That would even work as a first draft of districts in Seattle -- split at the Ship Canal and at I-5, maybe adding 520 and I-90 as additional separators.
5
"It's not racist to vote your politics and it's those Latino people's fault if they don't vote, STOP ASKING WHY THINGS ARE THE WAY THEY ARE IT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE HURR BLURRR."
Oh yeah, also "Why are you such sore winners, guys, geeze, your guy won, why does it matter, I live in the suburbs and literally do not understand how anything outside my WASPy neighborhood works in the slightest way whatsoever so I don't really even comprehend what you're saying but I heard once that 'racist' is a bad thing so stop saying it."
Anyway, fine piece. Definitely agree. Thank you for writing out such a cogent explanation of why this is so fucked up.
Also agree that "we shall overcome" is a little hackneyed.
Oh yeah, also "Why are you such sore winners, guys, geeze, your guy won, why does it matter, I live in the suburbs and literally do not understand how anything outside my WASPy neighborhood works in the slightest way whatsoever so I don't really even comprehend what you're saying but I heard once that 'racist' is a bad thing so stop saying it."
Anyway, fine piece. Definitely agree. Thank you for writing out such a cogent explanation of why this is so fucked up.
Also agree that "we shall overcome" is a little hackneyed.
6
I keep looking at that map and keep thinking we should split Washington state up into two states based somewhat on that split.
7
Racism is part of the problem here. And it's not surprising, looking at the map and seeing where the majorities that turned out for Danielson came from. Eastern Washington and Mason county, being largely agricultural, have alot of migrant farm workers. Migrant farm workers are modern-day slaves. They make next to nothing, are physically abused, have no rights and no hope of escape. The majority of migrant farm workers are from Latin America-some farms refuse to even hire non-Hispanic workers anymore. This is partly because you can abuse a non-citizen more than you can a citizen. Nobody here without papers is going to sue you when you force them to work 18 hour days in a field of plants covered in toxic pesticides and then tell them to sleep out in the rough without even so much as a roof over their head,. and then pay them a quarter for every basket of apples they pick. You can bet your ass doing that to a citizen will result in prison time, though.
So people who live near migrant farm workers/slaves will see anyone like a mfw/s as being degenerate-how else do you morally excuse yourself from behaving so inhumanely to your fellow man, other than to declare that they are less than human?
And what does Gonzales have in common with these migrant farm workers/slaves?
No lo sé...........
So people who live near migrant farm workers/slaves will see anyone like a mfw/s as being degenerate-how else do you morally excuse yourself from behaving so inhumanely to your fellow man, other than to declare that they are less than human?
And what does Gonzales have in common with these migrant farm workers/slaves?
No lo sé...........
9
Honestly, I'd expect better from a Perkins lawyer; this hyperbolic, overheated rhetoric is a bit much, and it's pretty lousy writing. There's a way to make this point without the histrionic claims. I'm not sure this qualifies as a deprivation of representative democracy--there are plenty of Caucasian politicians that are perfectly willing to stand up for the rights of Hispanics, African-Americans, etc. A lack of racially proportionate elected officials doesn't mean that a person is being deprived of representation ("no matter who you are or what your last name may be, you have a right to political representation"). I agree with Perez that this discrepancy is problematic, but not because I think that the state's Hispanic population is being stripped of its rights, which is an argument that I think is pretty silly.
"a system that effectively silences 49% of Central Washington"
Oh, for God's sake. That's how elections work--the 49% loses. If you don't like outcomes in which voters are "silenced," then I don't know what to tell you.
"a system that effectively silences 49% of Central Washington"
Oh, for God's sake. That's how elections work--the 49% loses. If you don't like outcomes in which voters are "silenced," then I don't know what to tell you.
10
Congratulations Mr Perez.
You are a World-Class whiney bitch pussy.
Politics ain't for babies......
You are a World-Class whiney bitch pussy.
Politics ain't for babies......
11
It isn't just a partisan thing either. Just ask ex-Texas Supreme Court Justices David Medina and Xavier Rodriguez. Both Republicans, both incumbent Justices, both challenged in a Republican Primary by unknown and unqualified white men with English last names. Both defeated. Medina's challenger admitted to two fellow Republican attorneys that he was challenging Medina because he could win against someone with "Mexican sounding last name". True story:
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-poli…
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-poli…
12
It isn't just a partisan thing either. Just ask ex-Texas Supreme Court Justices David Medina and Xavier Rodriguez. Both Republicans, both incumbent Justices, both challenged in a Republican Primary by unknown and unqualified white men with English last names. Both defeated. Medina's challenger admitted to two fellow Republican attorneys that he was challenging Medina because he could win against someone with "Mexican sounding last name". True story:
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-poli…
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-poli…
13
In five of the nine counties in your table, Gonzales received a higher percentage of the votes than the percentage of Hispanics in the county population, even more than twice as much. And I'm assuming that Caucasians voted in higher proportions than Hispanics. I don't think that supports your argument. Now, Adams County, that's amazing, but the others, not so much.
Yes, the demographics of local elected leaders does not reflect the local population. This has been a longstanding question: How come there aren't any Hispanics in local office, even though half the people are Hispanics? I'd propose that two factors are poverty and lack of education, combined with a resignation for the way things are. Cronyism probably plays a role, too. Political involvement may just not be part of the local Hispanic culture. There may be a lot of potential here for voter outreach.
Yes, the demographics of local elected leaders does not reflect the local population. This has been a longstanding question: How come there aren't any Hispanics in local office, even though half the people are Hispanics? I'd propose that two factors are poverty and lack of education, combined with a resignation for the way things are. Cronyism probably plays a role, too. Political involvement may just not be part of the local Hispanic culture. There may be a lot of potential here for voter outreach.
14
Mr. Perez,
My main question is: Do we need the Legislature to intervene?
Why not spend that energy to get Latinos to vote? To get those young second and third generations to get politically active? The Latino population will only keep growing. Those young kids will have their own kids and so forth. (I agree the first and older generations are harder to mobilize and yes, these are people of low means..)
It almost seems like the progressive on the West Side are taking the easy route and trying to lobby for a bill in Olympia.
In the newly minted minority-majority district, Steve Gonzalez lost. The lone challenger to the Republican incumbent is a college Latino student. And of course, he got beaten hands down. Where was an effort to recruit a viable candidate for the state's first Latino district?
Where is the support from the West Side progressive to get a grassroots movement going in Yakima? Where are the rallies, the door-to-door get-out-the-votes?
It's time to start preparing the second and third generations, which I believe would have the numbers to skew local elections, and not cop out in Olympia.
As a Latino, I don't want these hand me down attempts at fixing. In sheer numbers, Latinos will have the potential to influence politics. But it has to come from within.
My main question is: Do we need the Legislature to intervene?
Why not spend that energy to get Latinos to vote? To get those young second and third generations to get politically active? The Latino population will only keep growing. Those young kids will have their own kids and so forth. (I agree the first and older generations are harder to mobilize and yes, these are people of low means..)
It almost seems like the progressive on the West Side are taking the easy route and trying to lobby for a bill in Olympia.
In the newly minted minority-majority district, Steve Gonzalez lost. The lone challenger to the Republican incumbent is a college Latino student. And of course, he got beaten hands down. Where was an effort to recruit a viable candidate for the state's first Latino district?
Where is the support from the West Side progressive to get a grassroots movement going in Yakima? Where are the rallies, the door-to-door get-out-the-votes?
It's time to start preparing the second and third generations, which I believe would have the numbers to skew local elections, and not cop out in Olympia.
As a Latino, I don't want these hand me down attempts at fixing. In sheer numbers, Latinos will have the potential to influence politics. But it has to come from within.
15
Total B.S. top to bottom, inside and out - and that thundering sound I hear is guilt-tripped fellow white Seattle liberals falling hook line and sinker for this like the Viaduct in an earthquake. The WA Latino population by and large does not turn out and vote, plus the map for Gregoire's 2008 election looks pretty much the same as the one above -
Washington Gubernatorial 2008
Washington Gubernatorial 2008
17
@14: You say: "Where is the support from the West Side progressive to get a grassroots movement going in Yakima? "
And then you say "As a Latino, I don't want these hand me down attempts at fixing...it has to come from within."
So which do you mean?
And then you say "As a Latino, I don't want these hand me down attempts at fixing...it has to come from within."
So which do you mean?
18
@17: Both. Progressive activism on the West Side is well established, better funded and plenty of other advantages than on the Eastside. So I say, instead of lobbying in Olympia, use that energy and resources to help spark activism on the Eastside _ not just for one election or another, but a fundamental change in which the young generations of Latinos know that they can and should be politically active.
19
Voters Rights act yes, but what this election showed was how important a state wide voters pamphlet is. This is the wrong place to cut when our democratic system is rooted in the broadest participation by well informed voters.
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