On Tuesday, September 9, Juan Diego “JD” Mazuera Arias, A young man of Colombian origin and naturalized citizen, he could make history by becoming Charlotte's first Latino Democratic councilman.
A few days before finishing the early primary elections On September 6, Mazuera Arias decided to move his campaign to the Independence Public Library on Tuesday, September 2, to recruit voters and cast their ballots.
“I’ve been here all day, introducing myself and talking to people who are arriving to vote. There’s not much time left, and a lot of work has been done to reach voters in my district,” Mazuera Arias told Enlace Latino NC .
Low voter turnout
Mazuera Arias has lived her entire life in District 5, located east of Charlotte and home to a diverse immigrant community of nearly 125,000 residents and approximately 79,000 voters. However, the challenge for candidates in winning over voters is significant.
"In the municipal primary elections, only nearly 3,600 voters turned out to vote; turnout is very low," he noted.
As of Friday, September 2, 3,554 voters had gone to the polls at the various primary voting locations, only 98 of whom were Hispanic.
A voting update as of Friday, September 5, conducted by Lennin Caro, director of the Camino Research Institute, indicates that a total of 8,844 voters had cast ballots, 185 of them Hispanic.
What have you done to reach people in your district?
The candidate explained how he has been reaching out to communities to present his proposals and learn about the needs of residents in his district.
"We've visited them in their units, supermarkets, their offices, their businesses, everywhere, not by asking people to come to us, but by going to meet them, writing messages, sending emails, doing everything, regardless of whether they agree with me or not," he said.
District 5 is one of the most vibrant and representative areas of the city's immigrant communities in the Queen City.
It is crossed by roads such as Central Avenue, Albemarle Road, Independence Boulevard, Monroe Road, and WT Harris, where hundreds of Hispanic businesses have flourished.
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They see it as a hope for immigrants
The young candidate, 27 years old, who was also a dreamer, was accompanied by his parents, his sister, friends and members of the Latino community who support him and see him as a hope for the immigrant community since he launched his candidacy at the end of April.
“It’s a good idea to explain our vote. Now, more than ever, living as an immigrant in America requires courage and bravery. Juan Diego has it. It’s not easy to be part of a society that is actively embracing the silence of tyranny,” he said in his speech. Instagram account Activist and entrepreneur Manolo Betancur, who lives and runs his business, Manolo's Bakery, in District 5.
JD has also received the endorsement of Jordan Lopez, the Afro-Latino state representative who, like him, grew up east of Charlotte and who showed up Tuesday to join him.
Mazuera Arias has also advocated for the cleaning workers Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents them, therefore endorsed Mazuera Arias.
The workers, several of them Latino, have pressured the Charlotte City Council to improve their working conditions, but in a voting in June They decided not to study in committee the proposed CASE ordinance, which sought to establish minimum wage standards, benefits, and training for workers.
Current councilwoman Marjorie Molina, who is seeking reelection, supported the 6-5 vote against studying the proposal, leaving them in limbo.
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Tight competition
Mazuera Arias will face Molina on September 9. Molina, though not Latina, speaks Spanish and shares her ex-husband's Honduran surname.
Her supporters credit her with reviving the development of the former Eastland Mall site, which had been dormant for years following its closure in 2010 and demolition in 2013.
The winner of the Democratic primary finals will win the seat, as there is no Republican challenger in the November 4 general election.
The race between the two candidates is tight, and it has sparked mixed feelings among the Latino voting community, with some supporting Molina while others criticize her for not "speaking out" for the immigrant community.
“Representatives should be champions of hope in a sea of indifference. Why Juan Diego is brave enough to stand up as an immigrant voice during one of the darkest times in American history for immigrants,” Betancur said.
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