Latino Leadership in City Hall by Emily Farris B.A., Furman University
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Latino Leadership in City Hall By Emily Farris B.A., Furman University, 2006 A.M., Brown University, 2007 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science at Brown University Providence, Rhode Island May 2014 © Copyright 2014 by Emily Farris. This dissertation by Emily Farris is accepted in its present form by the Department of Political Science as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date_____________ _________________________________ Marion Orr, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date_____________ _________________________________ James Morone, Reader Date_____________ _________________________________ Kenneth Wong, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date_____________ _________________________________ Peter Weber, Dean of the Graduate School iii VITAE Emily Farris was born in Birmingham, Alabama on May 10, 1984. She completed her B.A. in Political Science and Urban Studies at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Emily was awarded an A.M. in Political Science from Brown University in 2007. As a graduate student, Emily presented her work at regional and national conferences, funded in part by competitive travel grants from the American Political Science Association (APSA), APSA’s Fund for Latino Scholarship and Southern Political Science Association. Based on her academic achievements, she also received a number of fellowships and awards to support her dissertation research, including Brown University’s Belfer Family Graduate Fellowship in Public Policy. She is also a recipient of the Stone Scholar Award and the Byran Jackson Dissertation in Ethnic and Racial Politics Research Support Award from APSA’s Urban Politics section. In addition to her doctoral work, she has other collaborative research projects on topics related to race/ethnicity, gender, political behavior, public policy, education policy, and urban politics. In the fall of 2013, she will join the Department of Political Science at Texas Christian University as an Assistant Professor. iv PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the help of many people in so many ways. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for their support and assistance. I would like to thank my chair and advisor, Marion Orr, for his wisdom and guidance, not only in the writing of this dissertation but also throughout my graduate career. I am also indebted to my other committee members, James Morone and Kenneth Wong, for their thoughtful comments and instruction. My committee’s insight and direction has served me well, and I am most grateful to have benefited from their supervision. I would not have started this project if it were not for the encouragement of Glen Halva- Neubauer and Elizabeth Smith to pursue (and continue) a graduate education. Their unwavering support and kindness buoyed me through undergraduate and graduate school and into my career. Although she did not serve as an official member of my dissertation committee, Mirya Holman was burdened with answering many of the questions I had along the way. Thanks to her generous assistance, I have learned to be a better scholar. I am incredibly fortunate to consider Mirya a mentor, collaborator, and friend. To those elected officials and community leaders who participated in my research, thank you for opening up your political lives and sharing your opinions with me. I greatly appreciate your interest, enthusiasm, and time. I owe a tremendous debt to all my friends at Brown and beyond. I am grateful to have shared my graduate school experience from day one with Heather Silber Mohamed, Andrea Owens-Jones, and Huss Banai. A special thanks is owed in particular to Kaitlin Sidorsky, who was liberal with her time, insights, and warmth as a friend, Domingo Morel, who shared his knowledge and was a valuable partner in different collaborative projects, and Suzanne Brough, who helped conquer both the small and large details necessary to complete this project. To my other friends, thank you for tolerating my dissertation and providing camaraderie. Though he can't possibly know how much help he has been, I'd like to thank Oliver. Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without the unconditional love, patience, advice, and editing assistance of my family. I would like to thank my parents, Wayne and Tricia Farris, for always believing in me. Their support has made all the difference. This project is dedicated to them. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 .......................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 .....................................................................................................................22 CHAPTER 3 .....................................................................................................................69 CHAPTER 4 ...................................................................................................................127 CHAPTER 5 ...................................................................................................................175 CHAPTER 6 ...................................................................................................................214 CHAPTER 7 ...................................................................................................................249 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................276 APPENDIX ….................................................................................................................302 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Latino Population by National Origin 2000-2010 Table 2.2 Latino Population in Largest Latino States Table 2.3 Top Ten Metropolitan Areas for Latino Table 2.4 Study Variables Table 2.5 Latino Elected Officials, 2010 NALEO Directory Table 2.6 United States’ Cities Latino Population Table 2.7 City Population Size Table 2.8 U.S. States Table 2.9 U.S. Regions Table 2.10 Number of Elected Officials Table 2.11 Number of Latino Local Elected Officials Table 2.12 Racial Composition of City Table 2.13 National Origin Composition of City Table 3.1 Expectations for Local Latino Elected Officials’ Linked Fate Table 3.2 Latino Local Elected Officials Linked Fate Table 3.3 Expectations for Latino Campaign Outreach Table 3.4 Predictors of Campaign Outreach in Spanish Table 3.5 Predictors of General Latino Campaign Outreach Table 3.6 Predictors of Level of Latino Campaign Outreach Table 4.1 Foreign-Born Population 1850 – 2010 Table 4.2 Latino Leaders on Local Immigration Policies Table 4.3 Latino Leaders’ Support for Immigrant-Friendly Policies Table 4.4 Latino Leaders’ Opposition to Immigrant-Hostile Policies Table 4.5 Top Three Policy Accomplishments of Latino Local Elected Officials Table 5.1 Top Five Latino National Groups in Providence, 2010 Table 5.2 Latinos in Local Office in Providence Table 5.3 Top Community Issues for Latinos in Providence Table 6.1 Top 5 Latino National Groups in Hartford Table 6.2 Current Latino Elected Officials in Hartford Table 6.3 Top Community Issues for Latinos in Hartford vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Reproduction of 2010 Census Question on Hispanic Origin Figure 2.2 States’ % U.S. Total Latino Population Figure 2.3 Top Ten Metropolitan Areas for Latinos by National Origin Figure 2.4 Multiplicity of Identities Among Latinos Figure 2.5 Racial Composition of Latino Population, 1980 – 2010 Figure 3.1 National Origin Backgrounds Figure 3.2 Nativity Figure 3.3 Spanish Fluency Figure 3.4 Prior Levels of Activity in Politics Figure 3.5 Prior Levels of Activity in Employment-related Organizations Figure 3.6 Prior Levels of Activity in Religious and Community Groups Figure 3.7 Prior Levels of Activity in Ethnic Organizations Figure 3.8 Term in Office Figure 3.9 Partisan Identification by National Origin Figure 3.10 Linked Fate Figure 3.11 Latino Campaign Outreach Figure 3.12 High Level of Latino Campaign Outreach by National Origin Group Figure 4.1 Support of Immigrant-Friendly Policies Figure 4.2 Support of Immigrant-Hostile Policies viii CHAPTER ONE Introduction In January 2011, Sabina Matos began her term as the first-ever Latino City Councilmember for Providence, Rhode Island’s Ward 15.1 Matos and her family emigrated from the Dominican Republic in 1994, and she became a citizen in 2005. After running unsuccessfully for the city council in 2006, Matos defeated opponent, Josephine DiRuzzo, a 28-year incumbent and white woman, in 2010. When asked why she was motivated to run for office, Matos explained that there was “not a connection between the person representing the ward and the people living in my neighborhood.” Matos’s ward, located on the western edge of Providence, is diverse, transitioning from a traditionally immigrant neighborhood of Italian-Americans to a growing community of Latinos. Even among Latinos the ward is diverse – with Matos estimating the Latino population being of roughly 40% Dominican, 30% Guatemalan, 20% Puerto Rican, and 10% Mexican and other origins. Providence’s Ward 15 represents one of many areas nationwide with a growing, diverse Latino population and new Latino leadership. The evolution and maturation of Latino communities creates new questions for urban politics in America. What role will ethnicity play in the leadership behavior of Latino city councilors, like Councilwoman