This weekend I participated in the DNC's Hispanic Summit. It was a conference like many others I've previously attended-- distinguished and accomplished people, sharing their vision of what is happening in our nation. Good meetings, great people, a nice hotel in a beautiful city and conversations that truly inspired me.
But I found myself leaving the summit, asking myself, "Is this it?"... Was this weekend only an opportunity to catch up with old friends and hear the inspiring words of great leaders or will we see concrete actions follow? Will there be any follow up with us, the Latino community, by the Democratic Party?
In all fairness, part of the Summit was spent asking us, the participants, what we think the DNC should do to better represent the Hispanic community.
I, of course, shared my opinion, which I will also share here.
As a Latina, I have yet to see a concrete plan that says:
"Look, these are our goals to better represent the Hispanic community and here's how you can help."
In my opinion, in the ideal world:
- This plan would exist.
- There would be resources allocated to support this plan: both human resources and financial resources to help to make it happen
- There would be direct support for this plan among the leaders of the DNC
- And there would be frequent, purposeful communication with our community as it relates to the Party's progress against this plan, some kind of monthly report, if you will, with a feedback loop.
The leaders at this Summit did tell us that they'll be taking our feedback back to the DNC and will be working on developing such a plan.
I pray that we see quick follow up on this action because the Democrats have a ways to go to win the trust and vote of many Latinos, and clearly the Latino community's vote is not guaranteed to any person or party.
I like Governor Dean and was very impressed that he chose to spend as much time as he did with us during the Summit. It was a great statement of his commitment to our community. And I am thrilled that he has decided to employ Latinos in key positions at the DNC. That is critical and truly great to see. The DNC needs to reflect the true face of our nation.
But, that is not enough.
Having Hispanics in key positions does not guarantee that there will be a specific strategy to reach out to the Latino community with measurable goals, nor that it will be implemented, nor that there will be the resources to make such a proposal happen. Having these leaders in these positions means that they need to focus on their specific jobs.
This strategic plan will only be meaningful if there is a clear mandate for it to happen from the top and if this mandate is supported by an investment in both the people and the budget necessary to execute the plan.
If this doesn't happen, Democrats are never going to have the kind of impact that they want in our community. In order to see the pay off, the DNC needs to make the investment. And until they do, other Latinos like me will remain frustrated with the party in general.
So, I hope that based on our feedback, someone in the DNC will reach out to the community and create a strategy and a plan, with clearly defined goals.
I hope that they will allocate the resources so that that plan succeeds: people, money and the support of all DNC leaders, because if that doesn't happen then it doesn't really matter that you have a plan.
Finally, I hope that the DNC makes sure that Hispanics/Latinos who want to be a part of the solution and contribute to these efforts have an opportunity to do so, even if they are not a part of the party or do not belong to the insider's group- I hope that there will be a place where the grassroots can contribute.
And if this doesn't happen, then I guess we just got together this weekend to connect and I'm not saying that I have problem with that, or that I don't see that there is a need for that to happen, but I do think that the opportunity that we have here is much greater than that and that then this will be another missed opportunity for the DNC.
Well, those are just my thoughts. What do you think?
(For Spanish versión of this story: www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/10/21043/1890)