{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/murphy-other-ct-democrats-working-to-empower-states-latinos", "Murphy, other CT Democrats, working to empower states Latinos", "2016-12-28", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Murphy, other CT Democrats, working to empower state\u2019s Latinos\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n            \r\n\r\n                \r\n                \r\n\r\n                    \r\n                    CT Mirror\r\n                    \r\n                    \r\n                \r\n            Wednesday, December 28, 2016\r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            The growth in political clout of Connecticut\u2019s Latino community is not keeping up with its population growth, so U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and members of the Hispanic Democratic Caucus in the Connecticut legislature are trying to do something about it.\r\nThey established the Latino Leadership Academy last summer to introduce promising Hispanic community leaders to the rigors of politics and a network of people who can serve as mentors.\r\n\u201cThe idea was simple,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cConnecticut Latinos are growing in both numbers and power, but sometimes it\u2019s hard for community activists to make the leap to political activism.\u201d\r\nConnecticut\u2019s population is 15 percent Hispanic, the 11th- largest proportion among all states. But only about six percent of the members of the state\u2019s General Assembly are Hispanic. No member of the Connecticut congressional delegation is Hispanic \u2013 or black.\r\nMurphy says only \u201ca handful\u201d of the 18 individuals who graduated from the leadership academy this year \u2013 the ceremony was in November \u2013 will run for political office.\r\n\u201cBut they will know how to speak up to right a wrong,\u201d he said.\r\nMembers of the first class at the academy, who come from every congressional district in the state, were addressed by various Latino leaders \u2013 and by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen.\r\nJorge Cruz, who moved as a child with his mother and siblings from Puerto Rico, was among the first to apply for the academy.\r\n\u201cI signed up and was happy that I was chosen,\u201d he said.\r\nA recovering heroin addict who lives in Bridgeport, Cruz now does outreach to other addicts and works largely with the homeless. He ran for city council last year and lost by 23 votes. He said he plans to run again next year.\r\nThe academy helped him \u201cget acclimated\u201d to politics, which he says is foreign territory to many Latinos.\r\n\u201cPolitics is a culture,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need thick skin. You need to have commitment, focus and vision.\u201d\r\nCruz said Latinos are disillusioned with politics and don\u2019t take their right to vote seriously. \u201cThey don\u2019t understand that they need to be involved,\u201d he said.\r\nStatistics bear this out.\r\nAccording to the Pew Research Center, there are 280,000 Hispanic eligible voters in Connecticut. (California ranks first with 6.9 million.)\r\nBut that represents only 52 percent of Connecticut\u2019s Hispanics. Some don\u2019t have\u00a0 U.S. citizenship or are disqualified for other reasons.\r\nBy contrast about 8 in 10, or 79 percent, of the state\u2019s white population is eligible to vote.\r\nBesides lower eligibility, there is evidence Latinos who can vote often don\u2019t.\r\nAccording to Pew, 48 percent of Hispanic eligible voters turned out to vote in 2012. By comparison, the 2012 voter turnout rate among blacks was 66.6 percent and among whites was 64.1 percent.\r\nMurphy used money from his leadership PAC, to bring all 18 graduates of the first class of the Latino Leadership Academy to Washington, D.C., for two days in early December.\r\nFor some it was their first trip to Washington, and for most it was the first time they\u2019d spent any time in the U.S. Capitol, getting a first-hand look at how Congress works.\r\nGraduates of the Hispanic Leadership Academy with HUD Secretary Julian Castro, center, and members of the Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus.\r\nEnid Vasquez, who drives a school bus in Trumbull, had never been to the nation\u2019s capital. She said she attended the Leadership Academy because she is thinking about working as a liaison between the police and the Hispanic community.\r\n\u201cI want to break the stereotype that Latinos are always in trouble with the police,\u201d she said.\r\nLeo Navarro, who has worked on a local political campaign, said the academy and the trip to Washington \u2013 which included a meeting with Julian Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development \u2013 was a chance to hone his skills for a future career.\r\n\u201cI see myself eventually running for office,\u201d he said.\r\nLocking Latinos out of the system\r\nNorma Rodriguez-Reyes, the head of the Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus, and Yolanda Castillo, a longtime activist, helped Murphy establish the academy.\r\n\u201cOur numbers are growing, and we need to be part of the political process,\u201d Castillo said.\r\nFrank Alvarado of North Haven, who is on the executive committee of the Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus, said it\u2019s always been a struggle for Latinos to break into certain professions, including politics. But things change, he said.\r\n\u201cYou had to fight for everything, he said. \u201cI was a Vietnam vet, and when I came home, I couldn\u2019t be a cop. They always lock Latinos out of the system.\u201d\r\nFor Connecticut Democrats, creating a farm team of future Latino political leaders \u2013 who will presumably be Democrats \u2013 is a smart idea.\r\nConnecticut has become more Democratic as its Latino population has grown because Hispanics lean Democratic. The academy will help cement that relationship.\r\nBut to Murphy, the academy is a way to make sure Latinos are at the political table, something he says has concerned him for some time.\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve had this idea rattling around in my head for a couple of years,\u201d Murphy said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/murphy-other-ct-democrats-working-to-empower-states-latinos"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8742221873253584, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}