Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board Member Liz Monterrey was elected last year as the board’s first-ever Latino member. She said that evening she hoped to open doors for people with the odds stacked against them — and create opportunity for Latinos and immigrants.
"I dedicate this statement to the 43,000 Hispanic and Latino students in the district," Monterrey said. "I hope my election will create a ripple that becomes a wave of representation throughout the education system."
Monterrey, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell and North Carolina District Court Judge Cecilia Oseguera are the only three Latino elected officials in office in Mecklenburg County.
Monterrey says making sure Latino people’s perspectives are heard is critical, especially in a district where nearly a third of students are Hispanic.
"I ask questions that perhaps another board member wouldn't ask because they are just not Latino, so maybe they're not thinking about it," Monterrey said.
The number of Latinos in the Charlotte region has multiplied over the past three decades.
In 1990, there were nearly 6,700 Hispanics living in Mecklenburg County, about 1% of the total population, according to Census data.
In 2020, there were close to 156,000 Latinos, about 15% of the total population. But no district contains a large enough concentration of Latino voters to make that much of a factor in most elections.
"We're not just binary anymore," Monterrey said. "We're not just black and white. I think we need to look at the entire landscape."
The first Latino to be elected to office in Mecklenburg County was Dan Ramirez in 2002. The Republican served two terms on the Mecklenburg County Commission.
Since then, there have been few to no Latino elected officials in Charlotte - until the election of Democrat Susan Rodriguez-McDowell to the county commission in 2018.
Wendy Mateo-Pascual, the coordinator of the Latino Civic Engagement Committee, believes Latinos have not been established in the county long enough to run for office.
"Most of the people in our community are still trying to get the American dream; to have a home, to have a job, to raise their children and that their children go to college," Mateo-Pascual said.
Her organization has been working in the Charlotte area to boost low voter turnout within the Latino community. Hispanics make up only 6% of all registered voters, according to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections. However, turnout has been about 3-4% of all registered voters in recent elections. The group also provides Latinos with resources to run for office.
"We think that in a couple of years, we'll see more Latinos running because we are being more engaged at the different levels, but also because we will have more people that will have the financial capacity to run a campaign and win," Mateo-Pascual said.
Only two candidates identify as Latino on Mecklenburg County ballots this election.
Rodriguez-McDowell is running for reelection as county commissioner for District 6, and Democrat Jordan Lopez is running unopposed to represent state House District 112, part of east Charlotte. There are no Latinos currently serving in the legislature.
Republican Brian Echevarria is running in a close race to represent part of Cabarrus County in the state house.
Echevarria said he wasn’t available for an interview but wrote in an email to WFAE that he did not encounter “any barriers” running for office.
Hispanic voters are a diverse voting group and both parties are courting their votes. Still, according to WUNC, the parties have only fielded four Latino candidates running for the 170 legislative seats up for grabs this November — two Republicans and two Democrats.
North Carolina Democratic Party Hispanic Caucus Chair Adrian Maldonado says the caucus has to do more work to bring Latinos who may not be politically active into the fold.
"The more elected officials that we have that are Latino that kind of also helps our community in providing those resources for Hispanic individuals," Maldonado said.
Although Rodriguez-McDowell’s campaign didn’t mention her Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage much or at all, she says representing Latinos in Mecklenburg County has been an important endeavor for her.
"I may not speak Spanish and I may not be able to engage with them in that way, but I am always looking for how can we be more inclusive," Rodriguez-McDowell said.
Monterrey is optimistic that Mecklenburg County will have more Latinos run for office.
"The reality is that sometimes you can make a change and you can be that change," Monterrey said. "And I think Charlotte is that's the beauty of Charlotte. Like you, you can come here and get elected and represent."
She says it’s just a matter of time before that happens more often for Latinos.
