Yesterday's Big Santa Rosa March with the Greens and Camejo

Santa Rosa Press-Democrat


Green Party candidate joins SR march


Demonstration for driver's license measure draws protesters from San Jose, L.A.

July 29, 2002

By TED APPEL
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Green Party's candidate for governor, Peter Miguel Camejo, marched in Santa Rosa on Sunday with more than 350 Latino and Green Party activists to rally for legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

"This issue, at this moment, is the single most important issue to the Latino community," said Camejo, a first generation Venezuelan-American who is attempting to draw Latino voters into the Green Party and expand its base of support.

The demonstration, organized by the Centro Azteca de Informacion, drew protesters from as far away as Davis, San Jose and Los Angeles. Protesters started at the Department of Motor Vehicles on Corby Avenue and walked up Santa Rosa Avenue to City Hall, chanting as they waved Mexican and American flags, homemade placards and a giant yellow banner that declared "Stop attacks on immigrants."

Under current law, applicants for driver's licenses must present proof of legal residency and a Social Security number. Supporters of the law say it is designed to deter illegal immigration and discourage undocumented immigrants from driving.

Critics, however, say the law has created a public safety problem. Without a driver's license, undocumented immigrants cannot obtain automobile insurance and many do not bother to learn the state's driving laws, critics say.

Ramon Martinez, a Rohnert Park maintenance worker who immigrated to the United States in 1984 and became a U.S. citizen, said the roads would be safer if all drivers were licensed. To obtain his driver's license, Martinez studied California's motor vehicle laws and tested on his knowledge of the rules. But many undocumented workers do not study the driver's handbook because they cannot obtain a license, he said.

"Many people don't know the rules, but they drive because they have to go to work," Martinez said. "It is dangerous."

A bill by Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses if they are seeking legal residency and have a taxpayer identification number. Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a similar bill in 2000, contending it would encourage fraud and leave California with weaker standards than other states that border Mexico.

The Republican Party's nominee for governor, Bill Simon, sent a delegate to address Sunday's rally at City Hall. Simon supports "most" of the Cedillo bill but prefers a proposal by Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Roseville, said Grace Trujillo Daniel, Simon's assistant campaign manager for Latino initiatives.

Reaching out to Latino voters and ethnic minorities is a key element of Camejo's strategy to broaden the Green Party, which won just 1.2 percent of the statewide vote in the 1998 governor's race.

A private poll conducted by the California Teachers Association showed Camejo had picked up support from 5 percent of voters, Camejo said. Despite trailin far behind Davis and Simons, the 62-year-old Walnut Creek investment adviser said he believes he has a realistic chance of actually winning the election if he is allowed to participate in televised debates with Davis and Simons.

"I believe if we had three televised debates and I could be in them, like Jesse Ventura, I could win," said Camejo, referring to the outspoken pro wrestler who was elected governor in Minnesota in 1998.

"The wrestler gets in and he gets elected. Why couldn't I win?"

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