Voces de la Frontera Action, our advocacy and electoral arm, is endorsing democratic candidate Sandy Pasch for State Senate in district 8 for the August 9th recall election. Pasch, a former nurse and current state assembly representative has been a principled supporter of working families and Latino and immigrant civil rights.

Her republican opponent, Alberta Darling, a former teacher and current state senator, shamefully passed a state budget that has made severe cuts to public education, including bilingual education and Head Start, and eliminated instate tuition equity for undocumented immigrants who aspire to a better future.

In fact, Darling is running ads attacking Pasch for supporting immigrant rights, in an attempt to misdirect people’s anger away from herself and passage of a state budget that eliminated workplace rights, and takes away money and critical services like health care from working families and the poor in order to give millions of tax breaks to big business and the rich.

Voces de la Frontera Action, is also endorsing democratic State Senator Wirch in district 22 for the August 16th recall election in Kenosha. Wirch is being attacked because he was one of the fourteen senators that left the state to defend workers’ right to collectively negotiate in the workplace. He comes from a working class family and is a former trade unionist. In 2009 he supported passage of the state budget that included in-state tuition equity for immigrant youth in Wisconsin, a major civil rights victory in education. He also voted against the current state budget that makes severe cuts in education, health care, transportation, and is resulting in layoffs for many public employees, such as teachers and bus drivers.

In the wake of the 2010 elections, we are witnessing an unprecedented attack on working class families and the poor. Like a river that’s overrun its banks, it is threatening to bring down even more destruction, when the state legislature reconvenes in mid-September.

In fact, one of the bills waiting to be taken up is the Arizona copy cat bill, AB173, which would undermine good community-police relations, promote racial profiling, and destroy an already weak economy. In states or cities where these bills have passed, it has resulted in costly litigation, business closings, foreclosures, a decline in tax contributions as Latinos and immigrants leave the state, and the growth of an underground cash economy, undermining conditions for all workers.

To stop this threat from moving forward in the state legislature when it reconvenes in September, it is important that Latinos who live in these key senate districts participate in these recall elections.

Voces de la Frontera Action is doing a membership drive to join our advocacy and political arm and mobilizing the Latino Vote in Kenosha on Saturday, August 9, 2011 and Saturday, August 13, 2011 from 9am-1pm at our new Kenosha office, at 1213 55th Street , followed by a picnic. And, of course, on Election Day: August 16 when volunteer members will provide information and transportation. For more information or to get involved, call Juan Ruiz at 1-414-218-7115.