Latinos Looking to Future Leadership : * Activist group plans to come into county to help fill high offices

New census data suggests that Latinos will play an ever-larger role in the cultural, institutional and political life of Orange County. Latinos make up almost 18% of the county’s population, according to the latest figure, a substantial jump in a decade. A look at the schools shows the shape of the future; Latinos in county schools have increased from 22% of the total student population to 31%.

These figures arrive amid speculation that congressional redistricting may produce a heavily Latino district in central Orange County, which would be a new seat, one of seven new seats in the state.

As these developments unfold, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which has earned a national reputation for its legal challenges in the areas of employment, education, immigration and voting rights in Los Angeles, has plans to groom Orange County Latinos for leadership roles on local boards and commissions, and, eventually, for higher positions on corporate boards and elective offices. This effort will begin in April, with the goal of training about 130 people in the first year. It has enormous implications as the political and economic life of the community is transformed. How this effort plays out will say a lot about what the future will look like.