National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, Martin O'Malley to Talk Latino Advancement
Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley's Latino outreach continues in Washington, D.C., as the former Maryland governor will meet the executive board of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA).
The NHLA, a coalition of 40 leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations, introduced policy recommendations for all presidential candidates to bridge the divide between Latinos and the rest of the population. O'Malley has confirmed his support of all eight recommendations, which includes advancing a fair federal budget that will economically empower Latinos, ensuring a fair increasing the minimum wage, reforming immigration laws, continuing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), protecting voting rights and increasing Latino representation in the federal workforce.
Previously speaking one-on-one with Latin Post, O'Malley has called for improved wages, defended the ACA, better access to education and reforming immigration laws. O'Malley also said he would issue an executive order, if elected, on his first day in the White House to provide undocumented immigrants immediate relief from deportation and work authorization to eligible individuals who would have been covered in the Senate's 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill (S. 744) "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act."
According to a statement from O'Malley's campaign, the former Maryland governor will meet with the NHLA executive board early Wednesday afternoon. The NHLA executive board members include Latinos from several diverse organizations such as the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) and the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA).
For Latin Post's Turnout series in July, NHLA chairman Hector Sanchez, who also serves as the LCLAA executive director, said the coalition was assembling the priorities of the Latino community and will meet with each presidential candidate to discuss their stance on the community's top concerns. Sanchez said a candidate's response will provide a better assessment guide and tool for the Latino electorate.
O'Malley is also the first candidate to confirm his participation at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Presidential Candidates Forum, also scheduled for Wednesday. The CHCI Presidential Candidates Forum will further expand O'Malley's Latino voter outreach, as the forum will allow candidates to share their vision for the country and discuss issues impacting the Latino community.
His trip to Washington, D.C. comes after campaigning in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this week. In addition to speaking to Spanish-language media, ranging from MundoMax, Telemundo and Univision, O'Malley attended a "Hispanics in Politics Breakfast" and met with Las Vegas workers to discuss health care and wages.
O'Malley will return to Nevada for the first Democratic presidential primary debate on Oct. 13. The debate will be the first of six for the Democratic presidential hopefuls; however, the former Maryland governor has called on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to add more debates.
O'Malley has said the limited six-debate format is an "unprecedented" move and does not promote the Democratic Party's ideas. Fellow Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have since indicated their support for more debates.
Nevada is home to a growing Latino population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos represent 27.8 percent of the state's overall population, 10-percentage points higher than the national average.
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
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