The State of the State for Washington Latinos

Washington’s giant budget deficit means cutting a lot of programs, and therefore eliminating many services that people have come to rely on. Another option, which my research in Quincy, WA identified specifically with educational programs and civic engagement, is the way that a community-based organization made to fill one purpose can often serve double duty because it is already positioned to provide other programs. This is especially important for minority communities, such Latinos.

This seems like an easy ‘Yes’ choice across the board, because the more liberal thinkers love the wealth of program options it offers, while the more conservative thinkers hone in on the economic efficiency.

What I found in Olympia, though, was interesting. Many people have difficulty seeing the crucial partnership aspect of having community-based organizations either support or take over previously government run services. While legislators are happy to pass the responsibility for these projects to local organizations, they tend to not want to pass even a small portion of the funding already earmarked for those projects, saying that the state really can’t afford to be funding any more programs (it is left unstated how these small programs can expect to finance their newfound responsibilities).

If you can spend half as much to support an organization that provides not just the one, but multiple services, isn’t that actually funding fewer programs while providing more resources?

One thing which stuck strongly with me from the trip to Olympia is how important it is for legislators look not just at cost-cutting changes, but rather at truly cost-saving options when working to tackle the looming budget dilemma.

Many Americans fulfill their civic duties by sending in letters or calling and emailing their state representatives to voice their concerns on particular issues. Few citizens, however, will take the effort to travel three, four, or five hours to talk face to face with their state representatives in order to change their communities for the better. This is exactly what eight-hundred Latinos from cities like Pasco, Yakima, and other eastern Washington towns did on March 13 for the annual Hispanic/Latino Legislative Day.

The eight-hundred Latino youth, adults, and elderly set a record high for the event where they voiced their concerns in Olympia over issues like education, the economy, housing, and immigration. On this day, state representatives, their assistants, and Governor Chris Gregoire herself spoke with the crowd and listened to what these citizens had to say.

This event exemplified the United State’s most valued acts, the practice of democracy, of meeting face to face to deliberate and discuss citizen’s most pressing needs.

Of course, the event didn’t happen by itself, the Hispanic/Latino Legislative Organization organizes this event every year. 

My research showed that community organizations like the Hispanic/Latino Legislative Organization make civic engagement possible among a greater number of people, no matter if they have a lot of experience at the state Capitol or no experience at all. My research also showed that community organizations are some of the most effective vehicles to increase civic participation among Latino communities. And of course, the Hispanic/Latino Legislative Organization’s most recent event further proves this point.

This is why community organizations in general need to be strengthened in Washington. Volunteer with a community organization or donate to their cause; when we have a working democracy where everyone has a say in the big decisions, we have a better community and a better nation.

For more information about my research, click here