Latino Policy Coalition

1121 “L” St., Suite 908 l Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 449-6190 Fax (916) 449-6199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Bustamante

April 4, 2007 916.425.0839

RISING GAS, UTILITY PRICES A CONCERN

FOR LATINO VOTERS

Strongly Favor Renewable Energy Development for Creating Jobs at Home

SACRAMENTO, CA – Energy is on the minds of Latino voters, particularly when it comes to the increased cost of gasoline

and utility prices, according to a new non-partisan survey of Latino voters conducted by Lake Research Partners for the Latino

Policy Coalition, a national non-partisan consortium of leading Latino research organizations and scholars. At the same time, respondents trust Democrats in Congress to fix the problem over President Bush and House Republicans.

“When it comes to the energy issue, it is a significant pocketbook issue for Latino voters,” said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, who conducted the non-partisan poll for the Latino Policy Coalition. “Latinos not only look at it from a

person point of view, in terms of rising out of pockets expenses, but also in the context of creating jobs here at home.”

According to the national survey, nearly a third (31%) of Latino registered voters believe we should develop renewable energy

sources to promote job growth. When asked which issue concerned Latinos more when it comes to the energy situation in

America, nearly half (46%) cited rising gas and utility prices as their primary concern, followed by more than a quarter (27%)

who believed dependence on Middle East oil and foreign countries, followed by twenty percent (20%) who view the impact on

climate change and the environment as their most pressing concern.

“Latino voters, like the rest of the country, see their hard earned dollars being spent on rising gas and utility prices and are not

the least bit happy about it,” said Jim Gonzalez, Chair of the Latino Policy Coalition. "In fact, they are increasing looking to

local government officials to help find solutions to grapple with global warming and climate change, and environmental issues

overall."

Indeed, when asked who they trusted better to handle the issue of climate change, state government came up twenty percent

(20%) of the time. There is no doubt, however, that when it comes to the energy issue Latino voters overwhelmingly trust

Democrats in Congress (43%) to their Republican counterparts (5%) or President Bush (7%) to handle the problem.

"Like many Americans, Latino voters are very concerned about the rising costs of gasoline and energy in general. These are fundamental pocket book issues to these voters," concluded said Luis Ricardo Fraga, Associate Professor of Political Science

at Stanford University.

Methodology

Lake Research Partners designed and administered this survey which was conducted by phone using professional interviewers. The survey reached 600 Latino registered and likely voters in the 23 states with the highest Latino population density.

These states include: California, TX, FL, NY, IL, Arizona, NJ, New Mexico, Colorado, GA, NV, NC, WA, MA, VA, PA, CT, MI, OR, MD, IN, OH, and WI. The survey was conducted March 13 and 21, 2007. Telephone numbers for the survey were drawn from files of registered voters. The data were weighted slightly by age and national ancestry. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.1 percentage points.

About the Latino Policy Coalition

The Latino Policy Coalition is a national non-partisan non-profit consortium of the country's leading Latino research organizations and scholars.  These organizations are dedicated to measuring through nationwide polls public policy issues affecting the Latino community.  Chaired by former SF Supervisor Jim Gonzalez, the LPC's mission is to help define Latino community concerns on key contemporary issues in order to stimulate public policy debate among local, state and national elected officials. For more information please visit our website at www.latinopolicycoalition.org

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