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> Home > ***WNMD ONLY*** > News + Media2 > News Releases 2004 > MAR 3004 PEOPLE IN POLITICS
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
LATINOS AND ASIANS INCREASINGLY PROMINENT IN L.A.
DEMOGRAPHIC - CITY'S TRANSFORMATION IS TOPIC OF "POPULATIONS AND
POLITICS IN AMERICA'S BIG CITIES'
April 15 Conference at Loyola Marymount University Includes NY
Mayoral Candidate Fernando Ferrer, LA Mayoral Candidate and
Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, and Former Detroit Mayor Dennis
Archer
March 29, 2004 - The rapid growth of
Los Angeles' first- and second-generation immigrant population,
together with the decline of its Puerto Rican, African American,
and white populations are changing the face of the city.
To explore the significant implications of the profound demographic
transformation now under way in Los Angeles, the conference
"Populations and Politics in America's Big Cities," will be held at
Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles on April 15.
Sponsored by The Center for The Study of Los Angeles at Loyola
Marymount University in Los Angeles, Dr. John Mollenkopf of the
Center for Urban Research at the City University of New York, and
The Drum Major Institute, featured speakers at the one-day
conference will include Antonio Villaragosa, Los Angeles City
Council member and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate; Fernando
Ferrer, president of the Drum Major Institute and former Bronx
Borough President; Dennis Archer, president of the National Bar
Association and former mayor of Detroit; and Pete Hamill, author
and journalist.
The Los Angeles event follows a successful New York conference
exploring the same issues. Both events are based on a study
commissioned by the Drum Major Institute entitled "People and
Politics in America's Big Cities: Challenges to Urban Democracy,"
written by leading demographer Mollenkopf in conjunction with John
Logan, of the Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and
Regional Research. The study explores the patterns and political
implications of racial and ethnic succession in New York and Los
Angeles.
Specific findings include:
- Latinos and Asians are increasingly
prominent in cities where racial diversity used to be understood in
terms of black and white. This is impacting political competition,
governance, service delivery, and, potentially, the image and
economic fortunes of cities.
- Whites hold political office in
both cities at far higher rates than their populations share and
African Americans hold offices at about parity with their
population or a little more. However, Latinos and Asians hold much
less representation than their population share.
- There is a 20-year "representation
gap" for Latinos and Asians in New York and Los Angeles. The
current level of representation of these groups matches their much
smaller population share twenty years ago.
- The increased diversity in the two
cities led by new immigrant groups has complicated the process of
constructing multi-ethnic coalitions seeking minority empowerment
and introduced challenges for white incumbents, who must seek new
ways to construct a political majority.
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The report contends that urban
democracy is at a crossroads. Significant demographic changes have
complicated the electoral landscape. The result is a growing gap
between the racial and ethnic backgrounds of those who govern and
those who are governed by them. Experience has shown that cities
failing to confront the nature of this "representation gap" will
pay a heavy price.
The conference seeks to facilitate a dialogue between elected,
activist, academic and media leaders on the implications of the
report findings and to make a significant contribution to the
dialogue around the future of Los Angeles electoral politics by
identifying the important lessons that can be drawn from the recent
political histories of Los Angeles, New York, and other large
cities.
For more information, contact The Center for The Study of Los
Angeles at 310.338.4565.
About The Center For The Study of Los Angeles
Using Los Angeles as a laboratory for understanding the urban
experience, the Center the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount
University has become an academic leader in developing
multidisciplinary courses, producing highly regarded applied
research, and promoting civic involvement. Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles is the largest Catholic university in
Southern California. With a strong base in the liberal arts, the
university serves more than 5,300 undergraduates and nearly 3,000
graduate students. For more information, visit the LMU website at
www.lmu.edu
About The Drum Major Institute For Public Policy
The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy is a non-partisan,
non-profit organization dedicated to challenging the tired
orthodoxies that impede the achievement of social and economic
justice. Originally called The Drum Major Foundation, DMI was
founded by Harry Wachtel, lawyer and advisor to Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. during the turbulent years of the civil rights
movement. Energized by the nationally recognized leadership of
Fernando Ferrer, the Institute's new president, the Institute is
committed to adding a rigorous progressive voice to compete in the
marketplace of ideas, with a goal to change policy by providing
progressive competition.
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