A push to reflect a changing Plainfield
Published December 24th, 2006 in Star ledgerBy: ALEXI FRIEDMAN
Teresa Lopez Gonzalez wept during a press conference at the Plainfield police department as she asked for the public's help in finding those responsible for her teenage daughter's killing. Gonzalez does not speak English, so her plaintive words that Monday afternoon were translated by Flor Gonzalez, a leader in Plainfield's Latino community, whose advice and comfort the distraught mother had sought a day after the Saturday night shooting.
Flor Gonzalez -- who is not related to Teresa -- helped arrange the wake and funeral service for the slain 16-year-old, as well as the travel documents for the father to accompany the body home to Mexico. The family does not have legal status in the United States, and the father does not intend to return.
Gonzalez's public prominence that day was one indication of the expanding role Latino leaders have begun playing in the city. The change is noticeable, whether it is setting up a campaign office for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's successful election bid, protesting against a proposed redevelopment along North Avenue or giving voice to a family that may have otherwise avoided the spotlight.
The number of Latinos in Plainfield has steadily risen over the last three decades, and it is believed to be significantly higher than 25 percent of the 47,000 city residents recorded in the last official census. But because only about 1,500 Latinos are registered to vote in Plainfield, they have been unable to amass a substantial voting bloc, bring their grievances to the forefront on key issues or field candidates for local government.
That has slowly begun to change, spurred in part by the death of city council President Ray Blanco -- a native of Cuba -- over the summer. After several Hispanic candidates vying for his at-large council seat were passed over by the city's Democratic Committee, a disgruntled group of leaders formed the Hispanic Political Empowering Organization to promote their own.
The organization, begun in early September by Flor Gonzalez, now has 128 members and meets monthly. "Our goal is to get Latinos active in political life, in schools and in government," she said Tuesday. "We talk about the issues: housing, education, business."
Shortly after the group formed -- and with its help -- an otherwise disparate band of Latino business owners along the North Avenue commercial district rallied to oppose the city's planned redevelopment there.
Neighborhood Latino business owners, many who speak little English, were worried they would be forced out of their stores, and to an unknown location. While plans for the entertainment plaza and residential development there are moving ahead, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs said her administration has met with business owners and listened to their concerns. She is awaiting a proposal for what those business owners want, she said. Gonzalez isn't sure what will happen, but contends that had her group organized earlier, it might have been able to shape the outcome in its favor.
It is that kind of influence Gonzalez hopes the group and the Latino population in Plainfield can exert in the future. "What happened in North Avenue should not happen," she said. "The Latinos that are in that area, they shouldn't have to roll over on the development. We're not against development. It's a beautiful idea. Why don't you give opportunities to businesses that are there already?"
Gonzalez isn't the only rising voice among Latinos in Plainfield. Christian Estevez, 32, and president of the Organization for Latino Advancement, made an aborted run for council after Blanco's death.
He was among the four names put up by Gonzalez's Latin American Coalition in early August. The coalition's letter to Assemblyman Jerry Green, who leads the city's Democratic Committee -- and wields substantial influence -- was unequivocal in its request. "It is imperative to the integrity, credibility and viability of the governance of the City of Plainfield that you appoint a Hispanic person to continue Ray's work representing the city's growing population and nurturing its emerging role in the diverse economic, social educational and cultural life of Plainfield," it read.
Green offered a stiff rebuke, saying at the time he would not be bullied by candidates who didn't have enough experience to receive the committee's endorsement. Besides Estevez, one of those candidates was Sonny Correa, who is now president of the Hispanic Political Empowering Organization.
Eventually, Harold Gibson, Union County public safety director, was selected to temporarily fill the post and then elected by voters in November.
Estevez has moved on from that experience, and was instrumental in organizing the Menendez campaign office on North Avenue. He is not a member of Gonzalez's new political group.
Leading up to the election, there was a surge in Latinos registering to vote, he said. That momentum must be maintained, Estevez said. "We'll see in the new year how we can take this growth and translate it into action." When Blanco was elected to the council in 2004, "people started getting a taste of how we could have access into City Hall. All of a sudden we lost that. Latino citizens want that back. We're hearing the message loud and clear."
Sitting council members say they are fully aware of the rising number of Latinos in Plainfield -- which is predominantly African-American -- and the need for representation. "We're still looking to include everybody in the process," said council President Rayland Van Blake. "If candidates are able to propel themselves into that arena, they're more than welcome."
Councilman Rashid Burney said Blanco's death served as an impetus for more Latinos to dive into the public debate, but, he said, "it was there, it was building. There's a big population that is not being represented. That was a part of the reason for choosing Blanco, which was to say, 'hey, we need inclusion in all elements in society,'" he said.
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