Proposition 187 Still Sways California Hispanic Vote
By Angel Guerrero
Agencia EFE, October 29, 2002SACRAMENTO (EFE) -- A controversial 1994 proposition that targeted immigrants is still influencing the Hispanic vote in California and could cost Republican gubernatorial challenger Bill Simon the election.
Shaun Bowler, professor of political science at the University of California at Riverside, said Simon made a strategic mistake by asking former Gov. Pete Wilson, a proponent of the anti-immigrant Proposition 187 eight years ago, to join his campaign a few days prior to the Nov. 5 elections. Proposition 187, an initiative that would have denied health and education services to illegal immigrants and encouraged state employees to report undocumented aliens to the authorities, was approved by voters, but subsequently overturned by state courts.
The proposition served to rally Hispanics in 1994 to vote against the initiative and, according to Bowler, may help Gov. Gray Davis win a second term next week, since Hispanics still associate Wilson with the anti-immigrant Proposition 187.
Shaun said Simon's decision to ask Wilson to publicly endorse him could drive Hispanics - who traditionally vote Democrat anyway - to vote against him.
Wilson had not made a public appearance in California's political arena since leaving office in 1998, and according to Simon, the former governor's endorsement will not compromise the Hispanic vote.
"The former governor is a very good friend and a great public servant," said Simon, stressing the Hispanic community understands that if elected, he will be governor to all of California.
Simon has denied having ever supported Proposition 187, a subject that he prefers to avoid while addressing California's Hispanic community.
Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, challenged Simon to prove he did not support the 1994 initiative, which drove a large portion of Hispanic voters to cast their ballots for Davis in 1998.
But Simon has compromised his credibility with Hispanic voters by including Wilson and Ward Connerly - proponent for the initiative that dismantled Affirmative Action in California - in his campaign just days prior to the election.
During his last public appearance in Sacramento, a group of Hispanics booed Simon after he introduced Wilson to speak.
Wilson responded to the heckling by saying, "I felt inclined to stop and tell them that this wasn't the unemployment line."
Similar incidents took place in San Diego, where Wilson served as mayor for more than a decade and Simon is the frontrunner in the polls. Statewide, Davis leads Simon by 10 percentage points.
According to Bowler, if California voters are ill-motivated to vote next week, and Hispanic voters rally to vote against Simon, the Republican challenger's decision to have Wilson join his campaign will cost him the election.