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IDENTIFYING AND INCORPORATING LATINO LEADERSHIP
IN THE NEW LATINO DESTINATIONS
THROUGH FORMAL BUREAUCRATIC PROCESSES
Abstract
This paper examines the ways local governments accommodate Latinos in the new Latino destinations, as
identified by Pew Hispanic Center and Brookings Institute, throughout the United States. The paper begins
by examining the context of incorporation research, focusing on some of the broader individual issues such
as the emergence of transnational lifestyles, the importance of social and economic networks and the
impact of immigration on the lives of the children of immigrants. This is followed by a description of the
research methods for collecting information about new Latino community local governments. The data
regarding formal incorporation of Latinos in elected and appointed positions is then presented. The
discussion of findings then centers on the various incorporation approaches embraced by these local
governments. The paper concludes with the recognition that while formal incorporation of Latinos into the
political process is limited, efforts by local governments demonstrate the desire, for the most part, to
accommodate their nuevos residentes (new residents).
Introduction
Changing community demographics present challenges to local governments and public administrators. In
the case of the Latino community in the United States, Mexican-origin Latinos comprise the largest portion
of this growth, followed by Cuban-origin and Puerto Rican-origin Latinos. Others of Latino heritage have
immigrated in increasing numbers from Central and South America as well as the Spanish-speaking
Caribbean. While there are many established American Latino communities, it is in the new Latino
destinations that the rapid influx of persons who are culturally and linguistically different from the
dominant culture that presents both the greatest challenge and greatest opportunity for inclusive
governance. Such differences may confound the transaction of public service delivery and constrain civic
engagement. How public administration responds to this change can lay the groundwork for collaborative
community building or allow the seeds for future unrest to take root.
The new Latino destinations, according to Pew Hispanic Center and the Brookings Institute, are those
communities which had a small Latino population in 1980 and experienced rapid (over 150%) growth by
2000 (Suro and Singer 2002). Latinos in these communities may still comprise a relatively smaller
percentage of the total metropolitan population, but the burgeoning Latino growth in the past two decades
is a harbinger of future trends. Among the new destinations, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, stands out
with over an 1180 percent increase in their Latino community, while other hyper-growth metropolitan
Convention