Now, just weeks after the epic defeat by Brown and new concerns about a shrinking base, the Massachusetts Democratic Party is launching an aggressive effort to attract Latino voters, the state’s fastest-growing population.
On Saturday, the state’s Democrats will hold Spanish-language workshops for Latino activists interested in volunteering in campaigns and raising money for candidates. In addition, party officials hope to network with Latino grass-roots activists who work independently of political parties.
The move, political observers say, is partly a result of the dismal efforts by the Coakley campaign to reach out to Latino voters, an important swing bloc that could have made the race closer. They say Coakley did not campaign much in Latino neighborhoods and did not advertise in Spanish-language media.
“We were completely ignored,’’ said Maria Idali Torres, director of the Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. “It wasn’t until a week before the election that I got a call from her campaign. By that time, the writing was on the wall.’’
Alejandra St. Guillen, program director of ¿Oíste?, a Massachusetts group that promotes the election of Latinos, said some Latino voters feel they are repeatedly taken for granted by candidates. “Often they come to us at the last minute or when they want us to translate something,’’ St. Guillen said. “We complain over and over again, but I don’t think it sinks in.’’
Gloribell Mota, director of training and education for the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said candidates have not been intentionally ignoring Latino voters or their concerns. “I think it’s a sense of not knowing about Latino community,’’ said Mota, who is organizing Saturday’s Grassroot Strategies for Victory session at the Westin Waltham Hotel, an event planned before last month’s election. “We have to do a better job of reaching out.’’
