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U.S. Senate: Republican

Mar 1, 2004

The opportunity to challenge two-term incumbent Barbara Boxer is on the line March 2 when Republican voters nominate a candidate to represent the party in November’s race for the U.S. Senate. When Republicans cast their votes, they should consider Rosario Marin as their best shot for defeating Boxer.

Marin emigrated from Mexico with her family when she was 14. She lived a blue-collar life growing up and worked her way through college at CSU Los Angeles. She recently left national office after serving as the 41st U.S. treasurer, where she was the highest-ranking Latino in the Bush administration.

The face of California — now one-third Latino — is changing, and the state’s leaders in the U.S. Congress and the state legislature have reflected that. Our current senators are two wealthy, liberal white women from the Bay Area: perhaps a change of perspective for the state’s most powerful national office — the U.S. senator — would be fitting.

Marin has many flaws in her policy stances now — no more than any of the other nine Republicans running — but she has shown that she is flexible in her positions based on the experiences she has. A case in point is her once-anti-abortion stance, which she changed after seeing her own maternal challenges (she had a miscarriage) and those of the pregnant women she counseled. Another of Marin’s children was born with Down Syndrome, spurring her to publicly advocate on behalf of disabled people. Her leadership in this arena earned her a position with former Gov. Pete Wilson.

She is against entitlement programs — and drivers licenses for that matter — for illegal immigrants, but advocates providing resources for immigrants legally entering the United States. Marin used her post as U.S. treasurer to call for a financial literacy program through the department, helping immigrants and others confused by business-speak to understand American economics. She also toured the country on a lecture circuit to encourage Latino students to pursue higher education after high school.

If she were to win the nomination, she would tour the state and see that the Bush policies she touts — No Child Left Behind, Clear Skies Initiative, attempted economic stimulus — may not have their intended effects and could offer a new outlook to her campaign. There’s a difference between being soft on an issue because of pressure from special interests and changing sides on an issue because of astute observations. Marin is a believable leader with qualities reflecting the latter.

Marin is a former mayor of Huntington Park, Calif., a 95-percent Latino enclave southeast of Los Angeles with an 80-percent Democratic base. Her success in uniting both parties in the locale and her moderate views on immigration are enticing enough to warrant her a face-off with the incumbent Boxer.

Danney Ball

http://www.beatboxer.com

Toni Casey