When it comes to politics, it’s not surprising for a member of a minority party to feel ignored or dismissed.
But a couple of months into the new legislative session, some Republican state legislators from Southern California have already made their frustrations known — and they’re finding workarounds to make their voices heard.
Sen. Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, and Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, recently launched an informal Hispanic caucus because Republicans are barred from joining the California Latino Legislative Caucus, a group that’s officially recognized by the legislature and whose members determine priorities that set the caucus’ legislative agenda. The caucus describes itself as “one of the most influential organizations within the State Legislature.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta, who says he’s been excluded from planning special session bills related to the recent Los Angeles fires despite having 35 years of experience as a firefighter, is planning his own roundtable discussions with experts.
“If people want to join me, I’m all for it,” Seyarto said. “I can’t wait around forever … I’ll just start doing it.”
Valladares, who served in the Assembly from 2020 to 2022 before being elected to the Senate last year, said it was clear early on that the Latino caucus was reserved for Democrats.
“There is this sentiment up there that Latino Republicans are not supposed to speak for the Latino community,” Valladares said. But, she added, “this last election was a very clear mandate that Californians and Latino voices want to be heard.”
Sanchez, in a separate interview, noted that people of different political stripes live in the districts she and Valladares represent and said they were “elected to represent both Democrats and Republicans.”
“Though it’s very clear the Democrat Latino caucus would not like us to join, it doesn’t mean we should silence the voices of both Republicans and Democrats in our district,” Sanchez said. “So we decided to form our own caucus, and we are championing policies that reflect the needs of Latinos and Hispanics in California.”
Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, who chairs the Latino Legislative Caucus, was not available for an interview, her office said. But she recently told a KCRA reporter that the Latino caucus has historically been made up of Democrats only and criticized Republicans for not speaking out against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and his calls for mass deportations.
“It’s a Democratic caucus — just as I wouldn’t ask as a Democrat, even though I’m Latina, to be a part of the Republican caucus. We don’t share values in some regards,” Gonzalez said.
Valladares and Sanchez, meanwhile, say the California Hispanic Legislative Caucus they’ve launched is open to lawmakers from all parties, though everyone who’s joined so far is a Republican.
“Our priorities are not partisan,” Valladares said. “This is really about the key issues that the Latino community so desperately need us to work on.”
Those issues, according to Valladares and Sanchez, include California’s affordability crisis, public safety and education, among others.
“Let’s refocus on the kitchen table issues,” Sanchez said. “As you saw this last election cycle, and the historic gains the Republican Party made in heavily blue districts, there is a need to talk about the issues that matter most to Californians.”
Seyarto said most issues legislators deal with in Sacramento aren’t about party politics — they affect all Californians.
“But that seems to be what everybody wants to make everything about … Democrat and Republican and scoring points for each side,” he said. “And the fire issue, in particular, sticks in my craw because what’s happening now has been a long time coming. It didn’t happen overnight.”
Seyarto said the state hasn’t adequately addressed major issues like vegetation management, difficulties obtaining affordable insurance policies and environmental regulations after previous wildfires. In his view, the state’s response after a wildfire has been scattered, with only patchwork solutions over the years.
“It seems every time we have a major fire, we reinvent the wheel,” he said. “And to that end, with my experience and watching this evolve over 35 years, I think that that’s something that we should value. People should value that kind of experience and include that when you’re crafting legislation, but that’s not what happens.”
As for the Hispanic Legislative Caucus, Valladares and Sanchez said they’ve asked legislative leaders for funding, similar to funds the Latino Legislative Caucus receives to pay its staff. It’s unclear if the new group will be approved for legislative funding, or if it will be recognized as an official legislative caucus. For now, it plans to operate as a nonprofit.
Roger Salazar, an advisor to the California Latino Legislative Caucus, said legislators are free to start their own groups when asked about the newly formed Hispanic Legislative Caucus. At the same time, he credited the more established, Democrat-only caucus for advancing the interests of Latinos.
According to the guiding principles listed on its website, the Latino Legislative Caucus works to encourage more Latinos to get involved in the political process, increase diversity in state government and serve as a hub to collect and disseminate information about or impacting the Latino community.
In addition, the caucus promotes policies meaningful to “Latinos from all walks of life” and advocates for social justice, including fair wages, safe working conditions, good schools, a clean environment, access to health care and equal treatment for all.
There are 35 members in the Latino Legislative Caucus — nearly a third of the entire state legislature. (In comparison, the newly formed Hispanic Legislative Caucus has seven members, all Republicans, as of Friday, Feb. 14.)
“The Latino Legislative Caucus has done a tremendous amount of work in its 52-year history,” Salazar said. “There’s been incredible gains and progress made for Latinos in California.”
He added that the Latino Legislative Caucus has worked with Republicans in the past on areas of mutual interest — something he expects will continue.
Like the Latino Legislative Caucus, the Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus in Sacramento is made up entirely of Democrats. Although there was some form of a joint caucus in the past, a spokesperson for Assemblymember Mike Fong confirmed that the AAPI Legislative Caucus is only open to Democrats.
“However, when it comes to celebrating AAPI heritage and culture, the caucus tries to include its Republican counterparts, where possible,” said Isabelle Grassel, Fong’s spokesperson.
Rep. Young Kim, a Republican who represents Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Congress, recalled wanting to join the AAPI Legislative Caucus when she served in the Assembly from 2014 to 2016 but faced pushback because of her party affiliation. Although she eventually joined the bipartisan caucus, Kim said she wasn’t very active since most of its members were Democrats, and she disagreed with much of the legislation they endorsed.
Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant and expert on Latino voters, said he had advocated for GOP legislators to be included in the Latino Legislative Caucus for several years. But he no longer believes that’s the way to go.
“To somehow believe that Latinos are going to work in a bipartisan fashion more than any other ethnicity is silly,” he said.
There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging there are differences between parties, said Madrid, who now feels there should either be two caucuses — one for Democrats and one for Republicans — or, for a truly ethnic-based, Latino caucus to work, all members who join should not be affiliated with either political party.
The Latino electorate has matured over the decades, and as more Latinos stop viewing themselves as a “minority” group, there will be less partisan affiliation among Latinos, he said.
“Latinos are moving away from race and ethnicity and toward economic pocketbook issues,” Madrid said. “As a result, their politics is changing. But that argues for an issues-based caucus. Neither party has a monopoly on Latino voters.”
Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.