Senator Ricardo Lara, California's First Openly Gay Senator of Color in State History, Re-elected as Latino Caucus Chair

December 03, 2012

SACRAMENTO - Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) was unanimously re-elected as the Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. Assemblymember V. Manuel Perez was elected as Vice-Chair. He released the statement below following the vote:

“I am honored to be re-elected by my colleagues in both the Senate and Assembly as the Chair of the Latino Caucus. I will work tirelessly to ensure that the trust and faith in my leadership will reflect in a united and strong Caucus representing the working families and Latino communities throughout the State.

This year with the help of my colleagues, we were able to grow the Caucus to a membership of 26 making us the biggest Caucus in the legislature. This is no coincidence. The fact is that the Latino Caucus growth represents the demographic changes in our nation and state. With these developments we are committed to working hard to ensure that the needs of our communities are met.

One of the first things I will do as Senator is work on creating an Office of New Americans to coordinate efforts and facilitate programs and services that result in the successful integration of California’s new American Immigrants through the introduction of SB 23. It is in the best interest of the State to support the ability of all its residents, including immigrants, to be economically self-sufficient, participate in our state and national political process, and develop a sense of responsibility for their community.”

For more information please visit this link:http://www.senate.ca.gov/lara
Contact: Lizette Mata (916) 651-4033

###