Democrats Seek to Boost Ranks of Black Voters

Led by gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Brown and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Democratic leaders on Sunday caravaned through parts of Los Angeles to launch a statewide campaign to boost the number of blacks voting in November.

The drive--which kicked off with a concert, speeches and a motorcade to several state Assembly district offices in Southwest and South-Central Los Angeles--is aimed especially at the approximately 170,000 blacks in California who vote only occasionally in state elections.

“We can no longer afford to be non-participants in this democracy,” Jackson declared. “We must get involved and cast our votes to change our future.”

Former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley--in his second political appearance in less than a week--described voter turnout as critical to addressing social problems and influencing the political complexion of California.

“The people who fail to go to the polls can make a difference in an election,” Bradley said. “I know that from experience.”

(Bradley failed in two bids for governor, in 1982 and 1986. The first loss was by a narrow margin, and in the 1986 election the voter turnout among African Americans here was lower than it was in 1982.)

“This year is a really crucial year for African American voters,” especially with anti-crime legislation and cuts in state services that are seen as most threatening to low-income residents, said Darolyn Davis, a spokeswoman for the African American Vote Plan and press secretary to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

“(But) for one reason or another, apathy has really set in to the minority community.”

Bradley evidently agreed with that assessment, telling the rally, “What this campaign needs at this point is more enthusiasm. That’s going to be our route to victory.”

Organized by the state’s Legislative Black Caucus, the African American press and religious leaders, the Vote Plan is a response to a continued decline in voter participation among blacks, said the plan’s campaign manager, Sam Walton.

The effort is being directed exclusively at registered and potential Democratic voters who form a majority in most black communities.

The Vote Plan expects to stage more rallies and send mailers to encourage voter registration among black Democrats, especially among those who have voted perhaps only once or twice in the past five years, Walton said.

State Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), who rode in one of the lead cars, said she is especially concerned about the impact that the “three strikes” crime bill will have in neighborhoods where blacks already feel alienated from the political system.

“So many people feel out of it,” Watson said. “So often our people feel disenfranchised. We’ve got to bring these issues that are bread-and-butter issues home to them.”