Pasadena Elections Provide Test For Growing Latino Voting Bloc

Early voting is now underway across Texas for the May 4 Joint Election. One of the most significant contests in the Houston area is in Pasadena.

It's been just two years since the City of Pasadena lost a lawsuit for deliberately discriminating against Latino voters. This year, virtually every incumbent on the Pasadena City Council faces a contest, and many of the challengers are Hispanic.

"Usually, there's a dearth of Latinos that are running for public office, both locally and statewide, so we are encouraged to see that in almost all of the races there is a Latino that is running," said Andy Canales, co-chair of the Latino Texas PAC.

Hispanic voters now make up a much larger proportion of Pasadena's electorate than two years ago.

"What's happened is over the course of all of this fighting is that the base of older, white conservative voters has declined and declined very quickly," said Bob Stein, professor of political science at Rice University.

Stein said the real test will be whether Latino voters show up in numbers similar to last year, when they helped Adrian Garcia oust then-County Commissioner Jack Morman.