Great win for the Latino community! The Board of Elections approved the continued use of a bilingual ballot, electoral bilingual staff, a bilingual coordinator, and other measures that promote and facilitate voting for voters with limited English proficiency. A professional sector and several representatives of the Latino community activists attended the Board of Elections meeting, March 6, 2014, in support of the measure. The agreement defines the requirements for written materials in English and Spanish and also incorporates bilingual staff, which is one of the most important provisions. In addition, this agreement led to the creation of an advisory council of the Spanish Language, namely, the Spanish Language Advisory Board.
It is ironic that the biggest opponent of such renewal was Eben O. ( Sandy) McNair , the representative from the Democratic Party. For decades it has been known that the Democratic Party fight for the interests of minorities, in this case Latinos. The argument against that measured, by Eben O. (Sandy) McNair, is an alleged inconformity and confusion by the residents of Cuyahoga County. It seems that the tables turned around since Rob Frost, Chairman of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County, supported this measure for Latinos. Could this be a political battle generated by “Sandy” from the democratic political party? Are the interests of Latinos “nothing” for the Democrat “Sandy,” who uses them for his ideological benefit? “The members of the Board of Elections Eben O. ” Sandy ” McNair IV and Robert Frost were the voices of the Board of Elections on this issue. Among some of the concerns, in reference to the availability of bilingual ballots for the entire County, was the cost and the perception of an unfavorable view of bilingual ballots by Cuyahoga County residents,” stated Chris Martinez, a current member of Spanish Language Advisory Board and President of the Spanish American Committee. “Due to the differences of opinion, the Board of Elections decided to conduct a survey intended to assess and confirm the advice of the Spanish Language Advisory Board and the Hispanic community.” Chris ended. “It was a moving experience to see the Latino community united in order to support such a project,” said Maria Anderson, Co-Chair of Spanish Language Advisory Board.
Finally it was reported that the real reason that Sandy opposed some of the measures and the continuation of the Spanish Language Advisory Board was due to Jose Feliciano, President of the Roundtable, involvement. According to Sandy, Feliciano controls various sectors and structures of the Latino community and therefore speculated that Feliciano has control of the bilingual staff, the Spanish Language Advisory Board and the initiatives of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
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