Volume 1, Edition 8 — May 2007

Assemblymember Anna Caballero:
“Advocate for Youth and Families”

For nearly three decades, Anna Caballero has worked to improve the lives of working families.  Born to a family of copper miners, Anna M. Caballero moved to the Salinas Valley 25 years ago to work for California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA). As an attorney, she represented striking farm workers and fought side by side with unions to prevent plant closures.

Seeing the need for legal representation at a price working families could afford, Anna and two colleagues founded a law firm, Caballero, Matcham & McCarthy, in 1982. The business received many awards, and Anna was personally recognized with the Athena award for entrepreneurial excellence.

In 1998, she ran for mayor and was elected in a citywide vote. She served as Mayor of Salinas until 2006, when she was elected to represent the 28^th Assembly District in Sacramento . 

Youth violence prevention has been Anna’s top priority.  Since 2001, Anna served as the Executive Director of Partners for Peace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the community together to prevent gang violence. The organization has identified and developed effective violence prevention strategies that focus on literacy, early childhood education, and providing services to families. 

In the State Assembly, Anna has continued to focus on violence prevention.  She’s authoring several bills that seek to create a violence prevention tool-kit that cities and counties can use to address the growing problem of youth violence. 

Anna is also a wife and mother. Her husband, Juan Uranga, is the Director of the Center for Community Advocacy in Salinas and has worked to improve the lives of farm workers for over 25 years. 

California Latino Legislative Caucus Newsletter — May 2007

The Latino Caucus has secured a grant from the Hewlett Foundation to have research conducted on its behalf through the California Policy Research Center (CPRC).  We are seeking to fill the position of Technical Assistance Director by June 1, 2007 .  The director will be responsible for ensuring researchers develop direct relationships with legislators, identify specific topics of research, and develop project goals, timelines, and benchmarks.  The Technical Assistance Director is a high level administrative position, requiring significant independent decision-making ability.  Interested individuals should contact Mike Welch at (916) 319-2023 or via email at Arlan.Welch@asm.ca.gov .

Qualifications:

·     Baccalaureate Degree  

·      Significant knowledge of  the political, legislative, regulatory, and research processes

·      Experience working with California legislative processes

·      High level of administrative and management experience

One of the greatest responsibilities, and challenges, of our state government is to guarantee that our courts treat every Californian fairly.  Whether settling racial discrimination claims, or prosecuting common misdemeanors and felonies we rely on our courts to properly balance the scales of justice, to ensure that everyone may have his or her day in court, and that everyone is truly “innocent until proven guilty,” without regard to their race, gender, or economic status.  One key ingredient is that our judges reflect the diversity of California , as well as, the persons individuals who find themselves in court.  Unfortunately, this element is sorely lacking in our state’s courtrooms.

Out of the almost 1,500 Superior Court judges in California , only 6% are Latino.  By comparison, roughly 1/3 of Californians are Latino.  These numbers are even more disturbing when you take into consideration the number of Latinos who find themselves in front of judges, either accused of crimes, or seeking to resolve legal disputes.  In many heavily Latino counties, there are only a handful of Latino judges.  For example, in Yolo County , there is a large farm worker community, but no Latino judges. According to a recent survey, even heavily Latino populated Los Angeles County only has Latino judicial rate of 8% .

understanding their contributions as attorneys. For example, many Latinos go into sole practice because it gives them a better opportunity to directly help the Latino community.  The Governor needs to recognize this cultural phenomenon and not punish those types of applicants,” added Coto. Since taking office the Governor has made 155 judicial appointments; only 9 are Latino.  “At this rate, we may never close the diversity gap,” Coto commented.

The Latino Caucus is also working to increase the appointment of other racial/ethnic groups, as well as, women judges.    According to a recent study, there are several counties in California whose judges are 100% male.  And there are only two Native American judges in the entire state of California .  In a recent editorial, the Los Angeles Times summarized the dangers of a non-diverse judiciary:  In a society based on the rule of law, it is crucial that judges, lawyers, litigants and criminal defendants have faith that courts can mete out justice impartially. That faith can be undermined by a court system in which successive generations of judges are disproportionately members of one ethnic group and litigants and defendants are overwhelmingly members of another.

The Capitol was filled with excitement recently as the California Legislature celebrated the 6^th Annual Latino Spirit Awards. Honorees were greeted by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, Assembly Member Joe Coto, Chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus, and Senator Gil Cedillo, Vice-Chair of the Latino Caucus.

joyous onlookers.

The afternoon festivities resumed once again on the historic grounds of the Leland Stanford Mansion as the Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation hosted a reception for the honorees. As members from the legislative and the executive branch mingled to the sounds of Gardenia Azul, foreign dignitaries and honored guests enjoyed a light spring breeze against the backdrop of an abundance of fresh flowers.

Legislative Tri-Caucus Addresses Diabetes and Obesity Crisis

Last legislative session, the Tri-Caucus (African American, Asian Pacific Islander and Latino Caucuses) sponsored ACR 114, a measure that established a Legislative Task Force on Diabetes and Obesity.  Alarmed by the high rates of diabetes and obesity in African-Americans, Asian Pacific Islanders, Latinos and Native Americans, they decided to join force to address this epidemic.  The task force is charged with studying the factors contributing to the high rates of diabetes and obesity and preparing a report containing recommendations to reduce the incidence of those debilitating conditions.  According to a research brief released in Dec. 2005 by UCLA, American Indians and African Americans have the highest prevalence of diabetes in California . When diabetes prevalence is age adjusted, Latinos in California have the highest prevalence within each age group. In addition, the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) reported that Asians in California are 1.5 times more likely to have diagnosed diabetes as Whites.

The recommended members of the task force include: Assemblymembers Coto, Dymally, Hayashi, Hernandez, Salas; Senators Maldonado, Oropeza, Ridley-Thomas and Padilla; representatives from

the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, as well as 6 professors from University of California schools throughout the state and 4 committed and experienced public members. Many of the members have served on national advisory boards and commissions, made presentations around the world and their work has been published.

For example, Dr. Diana Echeverrey-Franck, serves as a researcher in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine at Charles Drew University .  Dr. Francine Ratner Kaufman, representing the American Diabetes Association is the Director of the Comprehensive Childhood Diabetes Center , and head of the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  She has published more than 30 books.  The credentials of the other recommended members are just as impressive.

The membership of the task force should be finalized in June. Meetings will be initiated to capitalize on the brain power and experiences of these experts to develop substantive legislation to address the epidemic facing our communities.

Assemblymember Anna Caballero, chaired the hearing of the Select Committee on Youth Violence Prevention at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas May 18.  “Finding ways to prevent gang violence has been a passion of mine for many years,” Caballero said.  Gang violence is a growing problem throughout the state, in rural areas and suburban areas as well as cities of all sizes. 

The agenda included three panels of speakers.  The first focused on prevention strategies, including after-school programs, literacy and Healthy Start.  The second panel included intervention strategies, including probation, career technical education and mental health programs.  The final panel centered on community building, including programs to help families.

Of particular significance in the Hearing was a report concerning gang violence in Los Angeles .  The city, the nation’s second largest, has had a violence crisis for over 20 years.  In fact, Los Angeles was referred to as the ‘gang capital of the world’.  Although only a small percentage of the City’s 700 gangs and estimated 40,000 gang members engages in routine violence, the petri dish of Los Angeles’ high crime neighborhoods has spawned ‘a violent gang culture unlike any other. . .’.  The violence from this subset is at epidemic levels; almost 75 percent of youth gang homicides in the state of California have occurred in Long Angeles County . Los Angeles

County includes 25% of California ’s 37 million people. 

The Los Angeles county long-term gang violence epidemic appears generally immune to general declines in crime.  Gang violence is spreading to formerly safe middle class neighborhoods.  Law enforcement officials warn that they are arriving at the end of their ability to contain it to poor minority and immigrant hot zones. 

After a quarter century of multi-billion dollar war on gangs, there are six times as many gangs and at least double the number of gang members in the region.  Law enforcement officials now agree that they cannot arrest their way out of the gang violence crisis and that their crime suppression efforts must be linked to competent prevention, intervention, and community-stabilizing investment strategies. 

The City’s small and isolated gang prevention programs cannot reverse an entrenched epidemic.  Comprehensive, neighborhood-based, school centered strategies for effective prevention intervention, and community development will be needed to order to substantially reduce gang activity and violence in high crime areas, keep ‘tipping point’ areas from tipping into routine violence, pull ‘sliding communities’ with emerging violence back to safety, and keep safe areas safe.

To read the full report, visit www.advancedproj.org