Washington Post (Maryland)
By Arelis R. Hernandez
July 28, 2015
Leaders
from Prince George’s Hispanic political and faith communities on
Tuesday announced their support for Glenn F. Ivey, the best-funded
candidate so far in a crowded
Democratic primary field for a open Congressional seat.
Ivey
was the first to declare his candidacy to represent the 4th
congressional district, but was soon followed by former lieutenant
governor Anthony G. Brown and several
state and county lawmakers, including Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk
(D-Prince George’s).
“We
know that Glenn Ivey will do the right thing when the cameras aren’t on
him,” said state Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince George’s), calling the
former state’s attorney
the “most honest person I’ve ever met.”
Peña-Melnyk,
who is Dominican American, has deep and developed relationships within
the Latino community and has joined with Ramirez and other legislators
in Annapolis
to push for immigrant-friendly laws.
Although
Ivey has a comfortable $130,000 cash lead over Peña-Melnyk, she could
prove to be a formidable rival for him because of the boundaries of the
congressional district.
The
4th includes a large swath of southern and central Prince George’s and
extends into a sizable portion of Anne Arundel. While most of the
candidates emerged from Prince
George’s and are working to build name recognition there, Peña-Melnyk
already represents a part of Anne Arundel that overlaps with the
congressional district.
A few local leaders there have backed her candidacy, including County Councilman Andrew Pruski (D-Gambrills).
Peña-Melnyk
has also tapped into national Hispanic political action committees
explicitly devoted to helping elect Latinos to federal office.
Collectively, these groups
made two of the largest second-quarter donations to the delegate’s
campaign, according to federal financial reports, totaling $7,000.
Peña-Melnyk
has netted endorsements from fellow state legislators both Latino and
non-Latino, as well as Gustavo Torres, executive director of Casa of
Maryland, an immigrant
rights organization.
“I give my body and soul to the entire community,” Peña-Melnyk said. “My record with the Latino community speaks for itself.”
Ivey
said the endorsements he received Tuesday represent years of
cultivating relationships and working on behalf of Latino communities in
Prince George’s as a prosecutor,
when he hired the county’s first Hispanic deputy state’s attorney.
As
a congressman, Ivey said, he would support legislation that carves out a
path to citizenship for the country’s undocumented workers and closes
achievement gaps for
Hispanic youth.
“When
I grew up in North Carolina, I lived there during the Jim Crow era. I
knew what it was like to be a second-class citizen,” said Ivey, who is
African American. “So
when I was elected state’s attorney . . . one of the things I did was
make a commitment to make sure that nobody in this community would ever
be treated like that.”
State
Del. Will Campos (D-Prince George’s) said he worked with Ivey to helped
block legislation that would have given local law enforcement authority
to act as federal
immigration officers: “That is why I am standing here supporting
Glenn,” he said.
Prince
George’s Council member Deni Taveras (D-Adelphi), who shares a heritage
with Peña-Melnyk and considers her a political mentor, said she has
known Ivey for more
than a decade and felt bound to support him.
“It
would be disloyal to turn my back on Ivey,” Taveras said. “It’s about
the relationship. This can’t be about ethnic politics; it’s about
bringing together a broad coalition.”
The
other five candidates in the race — Brown, state Del. Dereck E. Davis
(D-Prince George’s), former County Council member Ingrid Turner, Warren
Christopher and Lisa
Ransom — have not announced any endorsements yet, and downplayed the
influence such support has on winning votes.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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