1st Election 2012 Latino Political Forum: Hispanics for Political Action

Stockton, CA- Hispanics for Political Action (HPA) hosted a “Meet and Greet” with local candidates, initiating a conversation with the Latino community on Friday, March 16 at the Mexican Heritage Center and Gallery.

“Is important for Latino voters and the community to meet the candidates running in the upcoming elections,” says Michael Villanueva, President of HPA.

(Left to right) Michael Tubbs City Council Candidate, Ricky Gill, US Congress Candidate and Lincoln Unified School District Board candidate Araceli Ayala at the Hispanics for Political Action forum.

“My District is 50% Latino, our issues are very similar, we live in the same neighborhoods, we walk the same streets, go to the same schools, so we form part of the same community,” said Michael Tubbs, running for Stockton City Council, district 6.

“We have a lot of talk that Stockton is being bankrupt, but for District 6, bankruptcy is nothing new, we are bankrupt in terms of leadership. Stockton is being bankrupt in vision,” said Tubbs.

Lodi-native Ricky Gill, running for 9th Congressional District, touched on issues regarding water, the peripheral canal and the effects it will have on local farmers. “We have a water crisis in the state because we have not built the appropriate infrastructure.”

“There are a variety of issues that affect the Latino community, a lot of the times they just don’t know about how it is going to affect them,” said Villanueva.

Lincoln Unified School District Board candidate Araceli

Lincoln Unified School District Board candidate Araceli Ayala highlighted that, “35 % of the students at Lincoln Unified are Latinos.”  She remarked that, “I want to increase parents’ involvement and make sure that all students have the option to pursue a higher education.”

“If we keep spending money the way we are on public schools, we will just continue to get the same results, education is not an issue to which you can just throw money and it will be solved,” said Gill as he answered a question regarding the federal role and education, “we [have] got to put students first.”