The Latino Action Network [LAN], a broad, statewide coalition of Latino organizations, today congratulated the Apportionment Commission for choosing a final redistricting map that significantly increases the opportunity for Latino communities in New Jersey to elect candidates of choice. The Democratic map selected by the Commission, which the LAN favored as a member of the New Jersey Legislative Redistricting Coalition on Saturday, provided far stronger opportunities for the Latino community than the alternative Republican map rejected by the Commission.
LAN Supports Selection of New Legislative Map
Months of Negotiations Preceded the Final Result
Months of Negotiations Preceded the Final Result
For Immediate Release: April 5, 2011
Contacts:
Frank Argote-Freyre, President – 908-670-0552
Christian Estevez, Executive Vice President – 973-418-7012
The Latino Action Network [LAN], a broad, statewide coalition of Latino organizations, today congratulated the Apportionment Commission for choosing a final redistricting map that significantly increases the opportunity for Latino communities in New Jersey to elect candidates of choice. The Democratic map selected by the Commission, which the LAN favored as a member of the New Jersey Legislative Redistricting Coalition on Saturday, provided far stronger opportunities for the Latino community than the alternative Republican map rejected by the Commission.
"We congratulate the Commission for choosing the map that better represents the Latino community", said Frank Argote-Freyre, President of the LAN. "This map represents a significant step forward for the Latino community, while the alternative would have 'cracked' and 'packed' Latino communities to reduce representation. Now, the burden is on both parties to listen to the Latino community in the upcoming county endorsement process, and ensure that the opportunities presented by the new map are actually realized."
The LAN’s redistricting efforts were led by Christian Estevez, Executive Vice President of the Network.
Estevez highlighted the following areas in which the chosen map follows the recommendations of the Legislative Redistricting Coalition:
*** Adding Elmwood Park and its growing Latino community to the district of Assemblywoman Nellie Pou, chair of the New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus.
*** Putting the Ironbound and North Ward areas of Newark and the growing Latino population of Belleville together in one district, instead of two as in the current map.
*** Redressing the splitting of the Latino community in Monmouth County in the current map by putting Red Bank, Freehold, Long Branch, and Asbury Park into one district.
*** A fairer division of Bergen County that unites key Latino communities and Asian-American communities, instead of the current map’s separation of those communities.
Estevez noted the LAN’s disappointment that changes recommended in Atlantic and Middlesex Counties — to connect Atlantic City and Vineland and New Brunswick and Perth Amboy — were in neither party’s final proposal. Estevez said that despite these problem areas, overall the map still represented a significant improvement.
In contrast, the Republican proposal rejected by the commission would have:
*** Put Fair Lawn into the district of Assemblywoman Pou, thus pushing sitting State
Senator Bob Gordon into representing a largely Latino district.
*** Split the Ironbound and North Ward areas of Newark and Belleville into three
districts, even more than the two in the current map.
*** Continued the splitting of the Latino community in Monmouth County in the
current map by once again splitting Red Bank, Freehold, Long Branch, and
Asbury Park into two districts.
*** Diluted Latino strength by creating a bizarrely shaped district packing two very
different Latino communities, Passaic and North Bergen, into a single district.
*** Cracked the growing Latino population in Plainfield from other strong Latino
communities in Union County.
"The Republican Commissioners refused to show LAN and other Redistricting Coalition members their final map, and now we see why," Estevez said. "The map would have been a disaster for the Latino community."
The LAN emphasized that maps alone did not guarantee representation, and said it would now turn its efforts to ensuring that both parties ran more candidates of choice of the Latino community.
Argote-Freyre concluded: "Both the Democrats and the Republicans have key opportunities under this map to run more candidates that have a strong base of support in New Jersey’s Latino communities. In order for this map to realize this promise, they need to seize those opportunities — beginning with this year’s legislative elections."
