Latinos are the largest minority group in Pasadena and comprise the
majority of students enrolled in the Pasadena Unified School District.
But Latinos have yet to achieve the political clout equal to their
numbers because more than half of the community either cannot or will
not register to vote. Latinos account for one-third of the city's total
population and yet they represent only 16.4 percent of Pasadena's
registered voters, according to figures used in the city's 2002
redistricting plan. Moreover, only 39 percent of Latinos old enough to
register to vote have done so, the figures show. By comparison, African
Americans make up about 14 percent of the city's population of 133,938
but account for 20.3 percent of the total registered voters. Thus,
African Americans remain a more powerful voting bloc than Latinos, even
though there are fewer than half as many African Americans living in
Pasadena. Local Republicans have exploited this electoral gap and
plan to exploit it again in an effort to keep liberal Latinos out of
local office, according to Martin Truitt, GOP strategist and former
Pasadena Republican Club president. [more]
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