Is Colorado typical of Latino political empowerment?

As Latino activists who pay any attention to Colorado government see it, there were three chances in recent weeks to put a Latino in a position of authority, and all three chances were passed upon.

It’s like three strikes. Colorado officials are out, in the political game of electoral influence for the growing Latino population.

ON THE ONE hand, the state’s Latino population got a boost when their incumbent senator, Ken Salazar, was chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to be Secretary of the Interior. So Colorado political people will be able to see “one of their own” Latinos rise to a position of national influence.

And he is one of two Latinos to get a post in an Obama cabinet (Secretary of Labor-designate Hilda Solis is the other).

But Latino activists in Colorado were kind of hoping that Latino Salazar (his family has been in what is now the state of Colorado back to the days when the land was part of the Arizona territory controlled by Mexico) would be replaced by another Latino.

He wasn’t.

THE HEAD OF Denver’s public school system, an Anglo guy, got the Senate appointment.

Well, what about replacing the school boss with a Latino. Activists point out to the Denver Post newspaper that the public schools in Colorado’s largest city have an enrollment of 55 percent Latino.

Yet city officials went ahead and picked another Anglo guy for that post.

Then, there was the post of Colorado secretary of state, which a member of the Denver city council who is Latina was pushing for. Instead, three Anglo guys were chosen as finalists, with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter getting the final say on who gets the post – one of whose duties is to oversee elections in that state.

ALL THOSE ANGLO guys being chosen over Latinos (or a Latina) have the potential to outrage the growing Latino population, which is generally credited in Colorado for shifting that state from the GOP to the Dem column in presidential elections.

Colorado was solidly behind the 2000 and 2004 election bids of George W. Bush, but gave its Electoral College support to Obama in last year’s general elections.

Evidence is solid that the trend is continuing. Colorado will be yet another one of those southwestern states that were once a part of Mexico (and New Spain, before that) where the Latino population will hold influence – despite the attempts of conservative Anglos in the past century to turn the land into something it never truly was.

An extension of Dixie.

THAT IS WHAT former legislator Paul Sandoval meant when he told the Denver Post, “this will have legs down the road. I swear to God it will.”

The continued slights and attempts to prevent the change in Colorado’s demographics from being reflected in the state’s political representation will result in the future electoral backlash.

How far down the road will it be? Who’s to say? But it could very well take place within a decade. It will be curious to see how the U.S. Census Bureau study for 2010 shows Latino growth in Colorado.

The most recent figures for Latino population (which are nine years old) showed 19.6 percent for the state and 34.2 percent for its largest city in Denver. It can only go up.

DESPITE THIS DIATRIBE, note that I’m not claiming Latinos should have received all three positions. I have no doubt that the people who were picked have some qualifications for the appointments they received.

They may even do a competent job.

But managing to pass up a Latino on every opportunity in a place where the Latino population is on the rise (it’s not like this is Mississippi or Maine) gives the perception that someone in a position of authority just doesn’t recognize Latinos when it comes to rooting out government talent.

And in the process, they are passing up on officials who could make a worthy contribution toward doing “the people’s business.”

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EDITOR’S NOTES: For the time being, Latino activists and low-level public officials (http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_11420966?source=commented-news) are resorting (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/09/hispanic-leaders-protest-choice-boasbarg-dps-chief/?partner=RSS) to signing letters of protest to show their displeasure with recent political appointments.

It’s difficult to say with a straight face that the lack of Latinos in positions of political power (http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/colorados-hispanic-voters-flex-their-muscles) is due to a lack of Latinos turning out at the polling place on Election Day.