Daley's choice of del Valle is just the ticket
Daley's choice of del Valle is just the ticket
BY GERY CHICO
October 11, 2006
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
City Clerk Miguel del Valle. A great choice. Mayor Daley chose wisely in appointing state Sen. del Valle city clerk to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of James Laski. Truth be told, the city clerk doesn't have a broad function, but it is symbolically important. Hispanics need to know they count, and del Valle has been on the front lines advocating with independent judgment on behalf of Hispanic causes for decades. This is just what the Hispanic community needs right now.
Oh yeah, there will be complaining by Mexicans about a Puerto Rican being appointed, but I don't live that way; we're all Hispanics, we're all human beings and we need the best and brightest people in government possible, so we shouldn't care about petty differences. One thing the Hispanic community needs is to get over this intra-ethnic arguing, and instead become unified.
Del Valle is a person the Hispanic community can and should rally around. He represents the best in independent Hispanic thinkers who push the agenda of the issues that matter most to the Latino community -- education, housing, health care, employment and a host of other important issues, and backs his views with logic and then legislation. Just as important, del Valle has led a political life built on grass-roots support and showed that if you speak your mind or have a different opinion from others in power you can survive, and indeed thrive, in politics and government.
What del Valle and many others need to continue to work on is building the mind-set in the Hispanic community that we must vote. Voting is not an option. If you don't vote, you don't have a voice or a seat at the table. Our work is cut out for those of us who see this as the single most important pursuit in this community, along with a devotion to education.
Worrisome is that del Valle will not be in the state Senate any longer. He and Rep. Edward Acevedo did a very good job co-chairing the Latino Legislative Caucus, passing bills important to the Hispanics, and using their leverage to make state government work better for Latino constituencies. Let's hope a credible successor emerges to succeed del Valle in the Senate.
Back in Chicago, there's no more Hispanic Democratic Organization, and we can't allow a void to develop. I'd always hoped and worked for a Hispanic movement to come about based on reasonable, independent thought and judgment and the ability to work with others to achieve an agenda important to Latino people. In fact, I spoke with del Valle about that very thing shortly after the demise of the Latino Institute, n Hispanic think tank. Daley's appointment of del Valle as clerk is a key piece in building that movement.
There will be those cynics who think the mayor did this to help himself. So what? In fact, the mayor may not be able to count on del Valle the way he might count on others, but it doesn't matter. City Clerk Miguel del Valle may be complicated at times for Daley, but truth be told, Daley has shown time and time again a penchant for taking on complicated matters and working successfully through them -- public education, public housing, the big-box legislation and so forth.
In the end, the appointment of del Valle works for Daley, but it also works for Hispanics and everyone else, too.
BY GERY CHICO
October 11, 2006
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
City Clerk Miguel del Valle. A great choice. Mayor Daley chose wisely in appointing state Sen. del Valle city clerk to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of James Laski. Truth be told, the city clerk doesn't have a broad function, but it is symbolically important. Hispanics need to know they count, and del Valle has been on the front lines advocating with independent judgment on behalf of Hispanic causes for decades. This is just what the Hispanic community needs right now.
Oh yeah, there will be complaining by Mexicans about a Puerto Rican being appointed, but I don't live that way; we're all Hispanics, we're all human beings and we need the best and brightest people in government possible, so we shouldn't care about petty differences. One thing the Hispanic community needs is to get over this intra-ethnic arguing, and instead become unified.
Del Valle is a person the Hispanic community can and should rally around. He represents the best in independent Hispanic thinkers who push the agenda of the issues that matter most to the Latino community -- education, housing, health care, employment and a host of other important issues, and backs his views with logic and then legislation. Just as important, del Valle has led a political life built on grass-roots support and showed that if you speak your mind or have a different opinion from others in power you can survive, and indeed thrive, in politics and government.
What del Valle and many others need to continue to work on is building the mind-set in the Hispanic community that we must vote. Voting is not an option. If you don't vote, you don't have a voice or a seat at the table. Our work is cut out for those of us who see this as the single most important pursuit in this community, along with a devotion to education.
Worrisome is that del Valle will not be in the state Senate any longer. He and Rep. Edward Acevedo did a very good job co-chairing the Latino Legislative Caucus, passing bills important to the Hispanics, and using their leverage to make state government work better for Latino constituencies. Let's hope a credible successor emerges to succeed del Valle in the Senate.
Back in Chicago, there's no more Hispanic Democratic Organization, and we can't allow a void to develop. I'd always hoped and worked for a Hispanic movement to come about based on reasonable, independent thought and judgment and the ability to work with others to achieve an agenda important to Latino people. In fact, I spoke with del Valle about that very thing shortly after the demise of the Latino Institute, n Hispanic think tank. Daley's appointment of del Valle as clerk is a key piece in building that movement.
There will be those cynics who think the mayor did this to help himself. So what? In fact, the mayor may not be able to count on del Valle the way he might count on others, but it doesn't matter. City Clerk Miguel del Valle may be complicated at times for Daley, but truth be told, Daley has shown time and time again a penchant for taking on complicated matters and working successfully through them -- public education, public housing, the big-box legislation and so forth.
In the end, the appointment of del Valle works for Daley, but it also works for Hispanics and everyone else, too.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 6:58 AM
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