Como Say What?

So I was watching the news last night and they had a piece about Gandara going after Perez for his command of Spanish. I was not the least bit surprised that this was going to happen because its the lower valley whisper campaign in full effect.

But I almost spit out my food when I heard a quote from Gandara that I couldn't believe. I'll get to it in a minute.

First things first. Saying that Perez doesn't speak Spanish or saying he's not "valley enough" is something that people who live in the valley should find offensive. Think about it, what exactly are people trying to say when they say someone isn't "valley enough"? What does it even mean?

I'll just be blunt. Its basically painting Perez as a white boy. Its an attempt at rejecting what Perez is, educated, successful young Chicano who came from a modest upbringing and avoided being a statistic.

Does "valley enough" mean that he should speak with a thick accent in Spanish and say stuff like "Jeeey Meeestiir, jew got shange fur a dola?" (Hey mister, do you have change for a dollar). Should he put on working boots and a straw hat (get them nice and dusty for good measure) and go knocking on doors and pretend that he's El Hijo del Pueblo like some other people have been known to do?

Should he fit some horrible valley stereotype of dressing like a cholo with a tattoo on his neck of his jaina's name? Or should he swap his boots for some botas picudas, tight white pants, a cowboy hat with the brim folded to look like a taco and wear a loud shirt with the Virgen the Guadalupe on the back and some scorpions on the sleeves and drive around in a huge pick up truck?

Oh wait, Perez actually does drive a big ass pick-up truck.

But you get my point right? Saying that he's not "valley enough" means that he doesn't fit a negative stereotype that is supposed to be prepacked for sale to voters in the valley.

Does he reflect the average voter in the valley? Probably not. He has an advanced degree.

But isn't that what we tell our kids what we want from them? Don't we tell them, Mijo, study hard so that you can get in to a good school and not have to struggle in life or end up working with your hands.

So when you have someone who actually did that, someone who grew up in the barrio and went to Bel Air High, worked his ass off to avoid becoming a statistic, and ends up getting a Master's Degree from Georgetown, we are now going to turn around and say, sorry mijo, you aren't unsuccessful enough for us to consider you for County Commissioner?

Really?

So lets stop and take a look at the scoreboard here for a minute.

Vince Perez                    Willie Gandara
Master's Degree              Master's Degree
Bachelor's Degree           Bachelor's Degree

Looks like both candidates are valley boys that did well for themselves.

The difference is that one candidate doesn't reflect that valley as much as the other. One candidate grew up with every advantage. One candidate comes from wealth and privilege. One candidate is the rich and powerful son of a rich and powerful father. One candidate owns vast land holdings. One candidate comes from a family of politicians.

The other is the son of a cop who started as a patrolman writing traffic tickets and worked his way up to a Lieutenant in the Criminial Investigation Division for the valley. He picked up extra shifts so he could afford to send his son to a good school. He worked as a police officer in the day 7am-4pm, and then a few days a week he would go do security work in the projects from 4pm until 2 in the morning so he could afford to send his kid to a good college.

The thing about saying that Perez isn't "valley enough" is that you are basically attacking the way and the place where the guy was raised. When you do that, you are attacking his family and his neighborhood.

I don't think Commissioner Gandara wants to make family members the major topic of discussion in this race. In fact, I think Commissioner Gandara would rather some of his family members' names not be brought up in this race at all.

At the end of the day, neither candidate is really a reflection of their district. The Gandara name is synonymous with power and money in the valley. Most people that live in the valley wouldn't say they have power and money.

Gandara has several vehicles with a combined value worth more than a lot of homes in the valley. The most-used routes of public transportation (the bus) in town are in the valley.

When Gandara went on TV and said "he's lived it", I almost spit out my food. Lived what?

Their family has been known for wealth and power for a long time. There's nothing wrong with that either. Its the American dream to become powerful and wealthy.

All I'm saying is, don't act like you are El Hijo del Pueblo if you were raised in comfort and had opportunities that other people in the valley didn't have.

Just be grateful and humble about it.

We should be talking about policy and the direction of the district. We should be talking about track records, votes, agendas and ideas.

For Gandara's sake I sure hope he has more in his arsenal than order from the menu at a Mexican restaurant...