Many members of New Jersey's Latino community are extremely concerned about persistent rumors that there could be a leadership shakeup coming in the state Legislature next year, including the removal of Assemblyman Vincent Prieto as speaker of the New Jersey Assembly.
Legislature is better when leadership reflects state's diversity | Opinion
By Chris Estevez and William Colon
Many members of New Jersey's Latino community are extremely concerned about persistent rumors that there could be a leadership shakeup coming in the state Legislature next year, including the removal of Assemblyman Vincent Prieto as speaker of the New Jersey Assembly.
Losing his proven, progressive leadership would be a tragedy, not just for Latinos but for everyone else in the state as well.
Almost nowhere are America's evolving racial and ethnic demographics more evident than in New Jersey. A 2015 report found that New Jersey was one of six states that will soon join California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Texas as places where minority groups form the predominant percentage of the population. At current growth rates, by 2025 New Jersey will be "majority-minority."
New Jersey's rich diversity is one of our greatest assets, both socially and economically. Minority groups in the U.S. have always been enthusiastic entrepreneurs, with the motivation and work ethic that fuel economic growth. The Latino community is an especially powerful economic force in New Jersey. New Jersey Latinos (the seventh largest Hispanic population of all U.S. states) own 116,000 businesses that annually contribute more than $20 billion to the state economy.
Unfortunately, the makeup of the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly don't accurately reflect the state's population.
A recent Stockton University study found that, with the exception of African Americans, who are represented at a percentage level about the same as that of the general state population, New Jersey legislators are more likely to be white (and male) than the rest of us. Hispanics, who at that time made up 18 percent of the general population, held only eight percent of Senate and Assembly seats.
That's a job for voters and political parties to tackle. Making sure minority communities exercise their right to vote, encouraging qualified minority candidates to run for office, and educating everyone about the importance of a racially and ethnically balanced legislative body will make sure all New Jerseyans are fairly and equally represented in Trenton.
But sitting legislators have work to do too. Senate and Assembly leadership also needs to be ethnically and racially balanced, with minority-group legislators elected to fill positions of power, right alongside non-minority members.
There are many issues that are especially important to minority communities in New Jersey. Policies regarding education, language, employment, immigration, and law enforcement often have ramifications for minorities that are not the same as those affecting non-minority residents. Putting minority legislators in leadership positions will help make sure the rights and needs of all New Jerseyans receive the attention they deserve.
In his three and a half years as Assembly speaker, Prieto has consistently fought for progressive values and ideals that benefit Latino and other New Jersey communities. Among other accomplishments, he has helped increase the minimum wage, strengthen transportation funding, and institute fairer treatment of nonviolent offenders.
Prieto has been a crucial voice in bringing awareness to important issues impacting New Jersey Latinos and other frequently underrepresented minorities. There is little question that Prieto has done an excellent job and deserves to continue as the leader of the Assembly.
We're all in this together. Just as it is good for New Jersey neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces to be diverse, our legislature will function better if it is diverse - bottom to top - as well.
Chris Estevez is president of Latino Action Network.
William Colon is president and CEO of The Latino Institute Inc.
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