Voting in Favor of the American Dream

I was raised in Camarillo, a town named after Juan Camarillo, a native of Mexico City. In the late 1940s Camarillo was a small town of a few thousand people, many of whom were of Mexican descent. I have many fond memories of riding my bicycle to visit school friends whose families lived or worked on the Camarillo Ranch. It was always exciting to get a glimpse of Adolfo Camarillo as he rode his beautiful horse on the ranch.

Growing up in a small town certainly had its advantages. People not only knew their immediate neighbors but most of the other townspeople. This extended to other parts of the county too. My mother, Sally, was born in Piru and my father, Pete Luna, in Moorpark, so we had many relatives and friends throughout Ventura County. My upbringing was not too different from that of my many Latino and Anglo friends from that era.

I’d like to think that my activism, both in the Latino community and in the community as a whole, had its base in the example set at home by my parents. Imitation, or example, is the best teacher. I grew up in a household where my parents considered voting to be not only a right but a duty.

On Aug. 25, 1967, I turned 21. That same day I went to the local fire station and registered to vote. (The voting age would not be lowered to 18 until several years later.) We were in the midst of the Vietnam War and I very much wanted to have a voice, through the voting booth, in our nation’s policies.

My first experience in a political campaign came in 1972. I stuffed envelopes in a local Assembly race. I felt that by volunteering my time to a candidate who shared my political philosophy I might in some small way help those whose voices were not listened to in our political process and were not always represented. In the early 1970s there were few Latinos serving in elective office in Ventura County--or in all of California for that matter.

In the ‘60s and ‘70s there came an awareness in the Latino community that through education and involvement in the electoral process we could effect change. Our so-called “radical agenda” was:

* Good schools

* Good jobs

* Safe neighborhoods

* And to be able to achieve our highest potential as Americans.

Today, many Latinos are achieving the highest educational and professional goals throughout the country. Latinos are making contributions to every industry and profession in American life.

Here in Ventura County we have proven that we can govern as well as be governed. We have Latinos elected to many political offices--from water districts, harbor commissions, school boards and city councils to the elected mayor of the county’s largest city, Oxnard. There is no radical agenda, only a sense of responsibility and the desire to be a contributing part of the American Dream of representative government. Political awareness and education result in political empowerment.

The pride we have in our heritage does not negate that we are Americans first and foremost.

Recent census statistics reported in The Times show that Latinos now make up one-third of the population of Ventura County. It makes sense that our elected officials should mirror those numbers.

The Latino political experience in the past was minimal. Now it is much more representative, and it will be more so in the future as we continue to increase our electoral participation.

More and more, the public in general is learning that core values of the Latino community reflect the highest aspirations embodied in the American dream: devotion to family, entrepreneurial spirit, faith, a powerful work ethic and patriotism.

I strongly agree with Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, when he says “We contribute a unique voice as Americans. Not quasi-Americans, not second-class Americans, but simply Americans.”

Irma J. Lopez is a longtime community leader and wife of Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez.