This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Latinos — a hot commodity or an integral part of our community? That question was posed as the Legislature drew to a close when Democrats and Republicans squared off by hosting competing events at the Utah Capitol ("Utah Democrats, GOP have dueling events for minorities," Tribune, Feb. 27 ).
Republicans hosted Latino Appreciation Day, a partisan event with the goal of attracting Latinos to their party. The following day, Utah Democrats hosted Diversity Day, a non-partisan community event aimed at encouraging youth from all the diverse ethnic groups to stay in school and graduate.
At Latino Appreciation Day, Republican Party leaders, including former state Sen. Stephen Sandstrom, repeated an invitation for Latinos to join their party. At Diversity Day, leaders honored adults and students from various ethnic groups excelling in the field of education.
Fifty people attended Latino Day; 500 attended Diversity Day. Makes you wonder which party really appreciates diversity in Utah.
Josie Valdez
Murray