Iowa Latinos launch network for aspiring officeholders

CEDAR RAPIDS - Latinos are just 5.5 percent of Iowa's population, but on average are 16 years younger than the state's overall population.

'So we're going to be here awhile,” said Rob Barron, the first Latino elected to the Des Moines School Board and co-founder of the Latino Political Network. He cites State Data Center numbers showing Iowa Latinos have a median age of 22 compared with 38 for the state as a whole.

'Elected officials are making tremendously important decisions about our future, so we will better served by having Latinos at the table,” he said.

There are 168,806 Latinos in Iowa, making them the state's largest ethnic minority. Between 2000 and 2013, the Latino population in Iowa increased by 105 percent, according to the State Data Center. But Barron said there are fewer than 20 Latinos serving in the more than 7,000 elected offices in the state.

Barron and Omar Padilla founded the Latino Political Network to help Latinos interested in public service learn.

They are kicking off an initiative to help elect more Latinos with an all-day workshop from 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Simpson College, 1450 S.W. Vintage Parkway, Suite 220, Ankeny.

The class will include information on building and running a campaign, an overview of elected offices in Iowa and a discussion with current Latino officeholders.

'We want to put Latino elected officials in a room with aspiring Latinos and build out that network, to pair them with elected officials who can answer questions,” Barron said.

Jose Zacarias, 60, a member of the West Liberty City Council and School Board, will be one of those elected officials. His advice will be to 'make an inventory of what you have in mind.”

'I wanted fair political representation for the now-majority,” he said about West Liberty, where the Latino population is in the majority.

He will tell aspiring officeholders to learn how local government works and get involved in local organizations.

'In Iowa, volunteering is very much appreciated,” Zacarias said. 'And once you get elected, make the most of it for the community as a whole.”

The goal of the Latino Political Network will be to train, connect and empower Latinos to run for office, Padilla said.

'LPN graduates will help shape the legislation and government of the near future, and make Iowa an even better place to call home,” he said.

The program is something he and Padilla have talked about for about a year, Barron said. They've worked with 'Ready to Run,” a program offered by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics at Iowa State University to prepare women to run for office.

'It is clear to me that politics can no longer be an optional item for the Latino community,” said Padilla, a California native who grew up in Mexico and Guatemala before moving to Des Moines as a high school freshman. 'We have to become involved.”

For more information, visit lpniowa.com.