Adding political heft to an organization with an ambitious agenda for the 2016 general election and down-ballot races, the Latino Victory Fund, dedicated to increasing the number of elected Latinos in the United States, named three new Co-Chairs to it organization-Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX), former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. All three new Co-Chairs of the non-partisan Super PAC are part of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Upon his selection, Villaraigosa highlighted the importance of Latinos this election cycle saying in a statement “Latinos have the power to shape our own future; we must own that power and use it wisely – to elect candidates that reflect our values and fight back against those that are looking to scapegoat our communities.”
The PAC plans to use its financial resources to ensure issues important to the Latino community like education, health care and immigration are part of national policy discussions. This September, the PAC aired a TV ad highlighting disparaging comments against Latinos by leading republican presidential candidates and they say they will continue to draw attention to candidates that are unfriendly to Latinos whether at the state or federal level.
The PAC has come number fire recently by republican members of the Hispanic community who doubt the group’s non-partisan affiliations. Ruth Guerra, the Republican National Committee’s Director of Hispanic Media maintains that “Latino Victory Project is a deeply partisan organization that is packing its leadership with Clinton supporters. LVP has no shame and clearly plans to mislead the Latino community this election just like Hillary Clinton.”
However, Cristobal J. Alex, president of the Latino Victory Fund said in response to criticisms that “the RNC has been slow to respond and condemn attacks against our community. Rather than focusing their attention on us, an organization working to empower Latinos and increase Latino representation, they should look in the mirror and deal with the skeletons in their closet.”
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