(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Chicanos Por La Causa)
By Angela Cordoba Perez| Arizona Republic
Chicanos Por La Causa, one of the largest Latino nonprofit organizations in the nation, will invest $10 million in a campaign that aims to increase Latino voting in Arizona.
On Thursday, the organization officially announced and launched the Get Out The Vote nonpartisan campaign in a news conference held at Santa Rita Hall in Phoenix. Community leaders and activists such as Petra Falcon, Promise Arizona executive director, and Carolina Rodriguez-Greer, Mi Familia Vota state director, participated in the news conference.
The church hall where the initiative was launched is a Phoenix Historic Property Register site where civil rights leader Cesar E. Chavez fasted for 24 days to protest against social injustice in 1972.
“Just as he understood the power of protest and the power of education, Cesar Chavez understood the power of the vote,” Joseph Garcia, vice president of public policy at CPLC and executive director of the CPLC Action Fund, said.
“And so it’s not by accident that we are here today to announce the launch of an unprecedented commitment by Chicanos Por La Causa and its sister advocacy nonprofit organization CPLC Action Fund,” he said.
David Adame, president and CEO of CPLC, said the $10 million initiative — which was approved unanimously by the organization’s board — will be a nonpartisan effort to make sure Latinos use their right to vote as U.S. citizens. Voting is the most powerful tool for the Latino community to have important issues addressed, he said.
“Yes, immigration is an important issue and something I’m very passionate about. But we care about health care, we care about safe neighborhoods, we care about education,” Adame said. “And every one of these elected officials from a school board member to the president of the United States. They are going to be held accountable with our community.”
