Is College of Western Idaho’s election a harbinger for diversity in Idaho politics?

Although the term “melting pot” was once used to describe the assimilation of immigrants into an indivisible America, it was later questioned by sociologists whose research showed that ethnicity and race did not disappear overnight but continued to play a role in the life of many of our large cities.

That’s certainly the way I saw it growing up in my old neighborhood, a polyglot of Italian, Polish, German, Greek and Irish surnames. Everyone knew where their parents and grandparents came from, and that often steered voters to names on the ballot that sounded and looked like theirs.

I would learn about this firsthand in Chicago when I was tapped by the candidate for governor to join him on the ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor. The last question in the interview process to judge my qualifications was a simple one. “Is that last name of yours Polish?” When I told him it was, the future governor reminded me there were more Poles living in Chicago and its suburbs than in Warsaw, and he asked if I was willing to visit Chicago’s Polish enclaves to campaign for the ticket.

I was reminded of those days when I saw the results of the College of Western Idaho election where three women of color won seats on CWI’s governing board, two of whom ousted white Idahoans with deep roots in the state.

For years, Idaho has welcomed immigrants from Mexico and people of other Hispanic origins who came to do the work most Idahoans would not do. They have served as the backbone of a workforce on which Idaho’s agricultural sector depends and their children and grandchildren are taking advantage of workforce and educational opportunities to climb the socio-economic ladder previous immigrant groups successfully managed.

As these immigrants and their offspring have grown in numbers in the Treasure Valley, the Magic Valley and other parts of Idaho, they have not garnered the political power at the polls commensurate with their numbers in the general populace.

The political power that results from ethnic groups actively engaged in elections becomes critical in so many aspects of their working lives. For example, when pesticide spraying endangers the lives of Latinx workers on the ground, there is not enough representation in state government to advocate for tough laws and regulations protecting workers no matter their ethnic origins.

The same goes for the educational sector. With 25% of Canyon County’s population of Hispanic origin and the Hispanic and Latino population growing faster than the state’s population, the College of Western Idaho will be an educational haven for increasing numbers of Hispanic students seeking a college education. It is fitting that its newest board members — one Hispanic, one Filipina and one African-American — can bring their life experiences as women of color and former students to the task of governing CWI.

Samantha Guerrero, from Caldwell, is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, a graduate of the College of Idaho and a bilingual community organizer for the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils. She defeated Skip Smyser, a prominent member of the Republican Party.

April Baylon-Mendoza, a Filipina from Kuna, is a CWI graduate and a supervisor with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She defeated Mary Niland, a founding trustee of CWI.

The new trustees are committed to increasing CWI’s academic programming in the district, especially during these COVID days. Just as important, they trailblaze for candidates of color who can give voice to their underrepresented neighbors and bring diversity to governance in Idaho.

Guerrero and Baylon-Mendoza will join another new member of the board who has considerable experience in speaking for those whose voices are seldom heard in the Idaho state Legislature. Outgoing state Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb will join this chorus of voices dedicated to improving access to students who do not see themselves as “going on” from high school to college.

For those of us frustrated by our vanilla state Legislature that seems to grow more conservative with each election, this CWI election offers hope for more electoral victories for candidates of color.

It will not happen overnight and it will take the hard work of community organizing to register voters and get them to the polls. One needs to look no farther than Arizona to find a Western state that has flipped and will be sending two Democratic senators to Washington, a feat that has not happened since 1953.

From Biden’s narrow lead over Trump to the election of Democrat Mark Kelly over incumbent Senator Martha McSally, Arizonans sent a message to Republicans that the state’s residents are more moderate than recent Republican officeholders and the party platform they uphold.

There are many reasons for Arizona’s election results, but the growth of its Latinx voting population is credited with moderating a traditionally conservative electorate. Community organizations working to register voters and getting them to the polls increased the turnout in 2018 and made the difference this year in Arizona’s totals for president and the U.S. Senate race. Nevada witnessed the same demographic impact on its elections.

Idaho’s percentage of Latinos is half that of Arizona’s, thus the reason for not expecting any overnight success. But with the election of the all-woman CWI Board and board members with diverse backgrounds like those of increasing numbers of voters in the Treasure Valley, we should see more candidates of color running for office.

The challenge for the Latinx community is to bring more of its members into community organizations where they can wield the power of their numbers in government and politics.

For the rest of us, the mission is a simple one. Open our hearts and minds to the next generation of leadership here in the Valley and provide support to those trying to make a difference for all Idahoans.

This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 4:00 AM.