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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Republican Hispanic legislative candidate Alex Segura lacks the support of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly.
In fact, the assembly does not want him in their ranks because of his stand against illegal immigration as head of the Utah Minuteman Project.
"I would say I know people who are white who are more Hispanic at heart than Mr. Segura," said Marco Diaz, assembly chairman. Diaz said the assembly is looking for candidates not for their skin color but for their support of the Hispanic community.
Segura said, "I think it's a disgrace ... to go and tell a native Utahn of Mexican and Spanish descent that he's not Hispanic. You cannot erase my ethnicity because it does not meet your agenda. It's not going to work."
Segura sees his ethnicity as an advantage because "it helps people open up more" when expressing their frustration about immigration.
Segura faces Pete Moesser and Andrew Parker for the Republican nomination in West Valley House District 33. The seat is held by Democratic Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson.
James Evans, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, says Segura is one of two Republican Hispanics running for the Legislature. The other is Christine Hansen, who is running against incumbent Democrat Ralph Becker of Salt Lake City in District 24.
As Utah's population becomes more diverse, officials within the state's Democratic and Republican parties predict that more minority candidates will follow.
Minorities comprise about 16 percent of the state's population.
Becker and Evans are aware of only eight racial and ethnic minority candidates for the Legislature, but leaders of both parties point to increased participation of minorities within the parties and in candidacy for local seats.
In general, the minority candidates for the Legislature say they're proud of their heritage but hope voters will see them for their qualifications, not their ethnicity.
As a black candidate, South Ogden Mayor George Garwood Jr. says he hopes delegates will take Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of judging people by their character to heart when they decide whether he or Jonathan Aubrey will be the Republican candidate for House District 10.
"I'm hoping people will look at me, and what I stand for, what I've done, and look at my record as a City Council member and mayor," said Garwood.
Democratic Senate candidate Mark Flores said he's "very proud of what I am" as a Hispanic, but "my campaign is really about being a Utahn."
Flores and another Hispanic, Rep. Ross Romero, are both among a crowded field of Democrats vying for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Patrice Arent of Murray, who opted not to run for re-election.
Other minority candidates include Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, a Japanese American and the state's only sitting Republican of minority descent; Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray and a Hispanic; and Ron Atencio of Ogden, a Hispanic and the only Democrat running in House District 9.
Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said there are active efforts to recruit more women and minority candidates.
"It's absolutely critical to be reflective of the community that's here," Taylor said. "I think it's important that the issues of race be addressed. They should not be ignored."
Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Utah Republican Party, said his party welcomes minorities, but "our approach is a colorblind approach" based on the party platform.
"If you require the Legislature to be representative in terms of race, you're assuming that a white legislator couldn't represent a minority," he said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
