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Subscribe] FinalCall.com News - Refer This Page National News LOS ANGELES (NNPA) - It has been too easy in the past for candidates to tug at the emotional strings of eligible Black voters; so why should anything be different for gubernatorial candidates seeking votes in the Black community in the Oct. 7 recall election? But from the lukewarm reactions the candidates have received from African Americans who have participated in the few local rallies and community forums targeting them, this election will certainly not be business as usual. The fact that the Black community is growing tired of being side-stepped in the election process was evident during a closed-door breakfast roundtable meeting recently, where elected officials, newspaper publishers and senior editors of California Black newspapers sat down to discuss strategies for encouraging Blacks to vote in the special recall election. Among the players who joined the Black press were Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas, chair of the African-American Voter Registration Education & Participation Project (AAVREP); attorney Cynthia McClain-Hill, AAVREP co-chair; Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Rainbow PUSH; Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.); Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.) participated via conference call. At the meeting’s end, the overwhelming consensus was that the candidates—who often play on events and relationships of the past—were indeed taking Black votes for granted. The resounding question of the day: What have they done for us lately? According to a November 2002 Field Poll report of rapidly changing California, Blacks are now the fourth-largest group; Whites the largest with 69 percent of registered voters, followed by Hispanics with about 17 percent and Asians with about 7 percent. But according to a recent report commissioned by the Los Angeles AAVREP office, "politics in the Black community is healthy and thriving." Evidence, the report cited, was the 2001 Los Angeles mayoral election, in which Black voter participation was higher than the African American percentage in the population. In Los Angeles, the report said, the Black population is 11 percent, but the percentage of Black voters at the polls was 17 percent. Additionally, from the period leading up to the November 2002 elections through the March 2003 polling, the AAVREP reports registering more than 30,000 new voters in the county—85 percent of whom are African American. "Clearly," the report said, "African American voters will continue to play a decisive role in the civic life of Los Angeles." It added, "The continued mobilization of the Black vote is of importance to all." While Blacks reportedly make up only 6 percent of California’s registered voters, that’s still enough in numbers to make a difference in close votes on whether to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, and whom to pick as his successor if he is recalled. "They (the candidates) have not connected with the African American community, because they haven’t reached out, haven’t campaigned, haven’t spoken to issues that really matter to this community," said John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League. "We’re finding ourselves increasingly facing a challenge of too many candidates for elected office not taking the African American vote as seriously as they need to." Echoing Mack’s view is a coalition of local African American groups that has denounced the candidates for repeatedly refusing to discuss crucial political and social issues that impact African Americans in an open forum. The organizations include the National Alliance for Positive Action, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), West National Black Anti-Defamation Association, Concerned Parents of South Central L.A. and the South L.A. Democratic Caucus. In a written statement, the coalition asserted that the candidates—in their hit-and-run campaigns—should be meeting with real people with real concerns, "not just going to a few Black churches or inviting handpicked Blacks to private meetings and calling that a Black community meeting." But some believe that Mr. Davis has made the strongest case that he is interested in earning Black votes. Three weeks ago, he participated in a town hall meeting in the Crenshaw district and shared the pulpit the following week with former president Bill Clinton during a visit to First A.M.E Church. He also met with students and staff at Los Angeles Southwest College and a gathering with former vice president Al Gore at the Los Angeles headquarters of the AAVREP. In a survey conducted by the Sentinel, most African Americans interviewed were adamantly against the recall and wanted to see Mr. Davis stay in office. More than 50 percent of Blacks surveyed said they were inclined to say "no" to the recall and stick it out with Gov. Davis for another term. Candidates vying to unseat him only got lukewarm response from Blacks asked to participate in the survey. After Gov. Davis, the biggest number in the survey belonged to the undecided category. The reason: African Americans are skeptical about the whole election process that is taking place and the carnival atmosphere that seems to be taking precedence over issues that concern them. Many are so disgruntled about the whole thing that they don’t think there is anyone, including Gov. Davis, who will deliver anything of value to the Black community. Meanwhile, leaders of the major political parties insist that the Black vote is important to them. With Californians split evenly on the recall, a large Black turnout could prove decisive.
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