damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today in all-out effort to read on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

damian: and we begin today with voting. that's right, voting and the upcoming primary election. it's never too soon to talk about it. with me is andrés quintero, professor of political science over at the san josé evergreen community college district in san josé. andrés, welcome to the show again. happy new year. andrés quintero: happy new year. thank you very much for having me. damian: thank you for being here. well, here we are. you know, before you know, we're going to hit over the--we're going to get hit over the head with elections. and they're only just a couple of months away. talk about how fast they're approaching. andrés: well, you know, it's early primary. california wanted to be significant, wanted to have the respect of all the candidates to have them show up and be here and be present. and so rather than the june primary that we regularly have had for, you know, many years, we have moved it up to march. and so it's important that voters be aware of that, be ready, be educated to make informed decisions earlier than normal. damian: yeah, and important decisions is correct, andrés. and one thing that i've been embarrassed to report here on

"comunidad del valle" over the last couple of elections is the latino voter turnout. and i've seen 12%, i've seen 15%. just dismal voter turnout in the latino community. what's your perspective on that? andrés: well, unfortunately, it seems that the communities--obviously, there's a variety of issues at play, a lot of stuff coming at people, daily life that just kind of takes over and really kind of--you know, people kind of just disregard the rest. and so given all of the things that we've been facing, it's no surprise that people aren't necessarily focused on things like--you know, things that seem like they're very far away such as washington, dc and other places. and so it's no surprise that's taking place. however, we do have an uptick every once in a while when there are core issues that do rise up. and so we've seen that in different--play out in different places in different times. for example, the response to pete wilson's 187 initiative

historically, that was one of the things that woke up the supposed sleeping giant that still has yet to wake up, but it did. it did in a certain part, and it really switched the electorate from where it was going. one time it was going to grow. and the republican party was steadily growing, and then pete wilson took his action and we had a significant shift. and in any rise in the latino vote, rise in the number of latinos that were registering to vote as well becoming citizens. once again, we saw in response to donald trump's presidency a huge uptick in latino--latinos, they came out and vote. maybe not nationally but in various locations where we saw a huge rise in the number of latinos that had--that were--something draw--drew them out to vote, whether it was trump or other local issues. and so there are things that do pull out the community.

unfortunately, you're right. the numbers are dismal. they have been. and we've talked about it before. and the numbers are incredibly low. we're not voting at the levels that we should be in order to get the attention that the community rightfully deserves. damian: that's it. you hit the nail on the head and said in order to get the attention that the community deserves. and we're not here on this show to tell people who to vote for or what to vote for. we're here to show folks what the ca--who the candidates are, what the measures are that might impact them. one of those big races, but maybe not surprisingly, is the race for anna eshoo's congressional seat where a lot of powerhouse candidates have filed papers to run for that office. andrés: and for those of us who are into politics, it's very exciting to see what these once-in-a-lifetime type of a situation, the once-in-a-generation situations where, you know, we have 11 people, two republicans, the rest are democrats. and there are some heavy hitters that are going to come--go out there and then give it all they got. sam liccardo is raising massive amounts of money, evan low is a

very great fundraiser, and then joe simitian with the massive years and years and years in local scho--from school boards to city council to all levels of government. it's gonna be fascinating to see all these individuals going out there and giving it all they got to be able to get that ticket to go off to dc and represent their district out there. so very, very exciting. damian: can that be reason enough maybe, andrés, for some of latino community to go out and vote because of--like you said, for election or news junkies like us, it's an exciting race. andrés: you know, it's a relatively small population out there. but, you know, given the number of people that are out there, given the number of doors that are going to be knocked, we--the electorate is going to be split and we're going to see joe simitian, sam liccardo sharing some of the same voter base. evan low is going to be able to attract another group of folks. and so it's going to be interesting. nobody's going to leave anybody on the table, given how

important every--each and every vote is going to be and how many people there is. especially those ones that are going to be super, incredibly well-funded, they're going to be able to get out there and figure out how to--you know, how to do the best outreach to even the smallest population to figure out how to bring them out for themselves. and so rest assured that they're going to figure out where they're at and tell them, "i'm the reason--or i'm the person that you have to vote for." things like that. you're going to hear--a lot of doors are going to be knocked on that, probably wouldn't been traditionally knocked on before. damian: yeah, very good point. well, you know, and then this year there's a presidential election in méxico and one in the united states. that's obviously in november, but the primaries are here. again, get involved. there are a couple of websites there, the secretary of state's office in california where you can find out your voter information. and then if you want to take one of andrés' classes, there's the website for the district. we'll be back with andrés quintero here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us.

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"comunidad del valle." he's the professor of political science in the san josé evergreen community college district. anything--what are the things that stand out to you, andrés, in these upcoming elections? again, the primaries here in march and then we have the big presidential elections in november. andrés: in california specific we have a lot of stuff going on. 23 candidates have qualified to run for president in the united states with six different parties. that can be somewhat confusing. we have things like the us senate race that's going for a full term as well as a partial term. and so i just want to make sure that people are aware. that they don't get confused. they don't feel like they have to only vote for one and not the other. they're out--they should be taking action on both of those races, so the full term and the partial term. given the passing of senator feinstein, it created some interesting situations for the secretary of state as well as our elections. and so people will have to vote on both of those.

one of them will be for the full term and one of them is going to be for that partial term where the individual serves from november till january. and so those are things that should be taken into account by the voters. we also have situations at the local level, for example, where here in santa clara county we have a traditional primary that takes place as a result of the presidential primary, and so that's the only one where people are voting for their parties, but we go out and we have primaries for our local offices. now, in places like san francisco and oakland, they have instant runoff voting, and so they tend to have their local offices elected later on in the general, and so they have one election. so they'll vote in the presidential primary and then some state offices, but their local elections won't take place till later on in november. and so those are nuances and differences that people in the bay area should be aware. that way they don't think, "but what's going on? why don't i get to vote for my mayor or

for my local-elected officials?" it's just differences that are in the way in which people are elected and how elections are run. and so those are some of the differences that i think people should be aware of so they can properly be involved in the political process. damian: answer or analyze this statement for me, andrés. if i'm a candidate, why am i going to campaign or why am i going to have a debate in east san josé or in fruitvale community of oakland or in the mission district of san francisco? why am i going to go there if those people don't vote anyway? they're showing up at 12 to 15%. andrés: the unfortunate reality is that the resources, they're going to be spent in areas where the voter turnout is going to be higher. they're going to get their biggest bang for their buck in places where the vote is two to three times higher than let's say in a very working class, heavy minority communities. and so while--i mean, i like it because i'm from san josé.

that's the reality. so i think it's incumbent upon all of us to ensure that people are aware that if they don't get out, they don't exercise their vote, the politicians are going to go turn elsewhere and give their attention and give the resources to those communities in the future. and so it's very important to get out there and vote not just during presidential elections but in each and every election to demonstrate that you are going to be heard and that you are demanding that you be heard and that you will demand those resources for your community as well. damian: and the voters really aren't giving their elected representatives in those communities that don't vote the clout, right, whether it's at city hall or at the state capitol or the us capitol. they're not giving them the clout if they're not showing up in droves to vote. "ah, well, he won, but because only 10% of the people voted, or she won because only 10% voted." andrés: yeah, unfortunately, people, you know, they won't say that out in public, but in certain circles they'll, you know, point out the fact that to the eastern part of this--in

this area then you got 5,000, 10,000 people that are making decisions, whereas in other areas you have 30,000 to 40,000 people that are regularly coming out and voting on a regular basis. and so, you know, people who are looking in a citywide race or a countywide race are focusing on those numbers and they're going to focus their efforts and their resources in those areas where they're getting a higher number of votes. damian: yeah, and you talked about it a little bit. you touched on it. but how excited are you, andrés, that this is coming up here, we're in the final stretch? andrés: you know, like, as i mentioned, it looked like we were going to have a very exciting race out here in the areas that comprise east san josé, parts of south san josé, but it looked like the attention moved over towards congresswoman eshoo's districts, as she announced her retirement. and so it's looking like santa clara county is going to have a

really fun time for those who focus on politics, given the heavy hitters that are all involved in that race. it's going to be pretty exciting to watch it. damian: all right. we have about 15 seconds left. any final thoughts, andrés? andrés: you know, i just really want to underscore the point that it's important for everybody to get out and vote not just during presidential elections, not during gubernatorial, but, you know, sometimes you even have special elections, mail elections. you'll get ballots. and people kind of look at them and say, "what's going on? i haven't heard of anybody running." well, those ballots that have wrecked your household for--many times for taxes, they're going to be charged to you. it's important to open those things up, read them, educate yourselves, and vote. and so please, please get out there and vote. i'm not telling you who to vote for. just get out there and exercise your vote. be informed. be aware. damian: yeah, you can't make it any easier for the voters because it arrives in your mail. you vote at your house, you put it back in the mailbox, and you're done. andrés quintero, thank you very much for your insights here, professor of political science in the san josé evergreen community college district.

all right, well, if you want to take a class from andrés quintero, he is in that district. the website is on your screen. there's also the website for the secretary of state's office. log on. find out more about where you live and what district you belong to and when your ballot will arrive. all of that information is on that website. up next here on "comunidad del valle," silicon valley reads. stay with us. ♪♪♪

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with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. switch today. damian: well, it's time to read again. it's called silicon valley reads. with me is dr. mary ann dewan, the superintendent of public schools in santa clara county. she joins us now here on "comunidad del valle." dr. dewan, welcome back to the show. mary ann dewan: thank you so much for having me back. it's a pleasure to be here. damian: thank you for being here. well, you know, i told myself that during the holiday break, i had a week off, that i was going to do some reading, and i did not. how bad of an idea was that? mary: it's a great idea to take time to read. and really excited that you are considering the possibility of catching up on your reading in the new year.

damian: yeah. no. absolutely. and i will. we're doing--we're promoting something called silicon valley reads. tell us all about that. mary: well, silicon valley reads is our annual santa clara county community reads and community engagement initiative. this is our 21st year of having this initiative for santa clara county residents. and it's sponsored by the santa clara county office of education, the santa clara county library district, and the san josé libraries. damian: and what--the idea and result or the end goal is what for adults and for children? mary: yes, our end goal with silicon valley reads is to engage the community in conversation, to promote literacy and reading, and to bring everyone together around a topic or idea. and this year, our theme is "a greener tomorrow starts today." damian: and that means the theme is the environment. i do have three books that y'all send me that i'm going

to be reading. i started reading some of these. this one's called the "all we can save," this one is "the light pirate," and "one green thing." tell us about the common thread here, dr. dewan. mary: so the common thread through all of our books--and you just mentioned the three adult read books. and we also have four children's books that all have the theme around what we can each do to make more environmentally-friendly choices and create opportunities to learn about and have conversations about sustainability, clean energy, and efforts that we can each take to protect our planet. so the idea is to use the books as a starting point for conversation and learning and then to engage in a number of related activities and events to promote the theme and create ways in which we can all get together and continue the conversation. damian: this will be happening throughout santa clara county.

mary: these events will be happening throughout santa clara county. we do have our kickoff event scheduled for in-person on january 31st. the kickoff event will be at de anza college. it will also be streamed virtually and available online. and we want to say thank you to you for being our moderator for the kickoff event. and then there'll be another 150 events or more scheduled throughout santa clara county, some in person and some virtual, that support the theme and promote community engagement. damian: and at the january 31st event you'll be able to meet some of the--or the three authors who will be mentioned of these books. mary: so at the kickoff event we're delighted to have a number of panelists. two will be the authors, one heather white and lily brooks-dalton. and then from one of the books we'll have a couple of the authors from the chapters or the essays that are in the books,

and that includes alexandria villaseñor and favianna rodriguez. additionally, that night at the kickoff event there's an art show both before and after the program that will feature favianna's art. damian: now, i witnessed adults and how in awe they are when they meet the author of a book they're reading. i've seen children in awe meet the author of a book they're reading. what is it about that fascinates adults and children about meeting authors and the fact that, "wow, this isn't--the person who wrote it is not fictional? that person is real, you know, blood and bones." mary: i think it's really engaging for people to take the words off a page and connect them to the real person who put those words on the page. it's also really inspiring to hear from the authors as to why they wrote the books they did and the process that they used

to get those words onto paper and it's also really encouraging, i think, for many people who want to learn their own techniques for writing or to think about how to express themselves. and i think reading is one of the ways that we connect as people, and getting to meet the authors enhances that connection. damian: how exciting is this for the office of education, for the county library system to be able to put this on annually and see that it's growing in interest? mary: it is--it's really exciting to have silicon valley reads as an annual community engagement event. it's been very inspiring the last few years to see the participation grow. and we have many--hundreds and hundreds of people who participate in our events and many sponsors who care about this event as well. all of our events are free to the public and everyone is welcome.

and that's really exciting to have things available that meet the needs and interest of our diverse santa clara county community and that bring us together in ways to care about our planet this year. damian: and i love the logo. the globe behind you, it speaks volumes about the theme of this year's activities. again, this is happening throughout santa clara county. it's called silicon valley reads. but you can log on to the website for more information from the santa clara county office of education. we'll be back with dr. dewan here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us. ♪♪♪

damian: we're back with dr. mary ann dewan here on "comunidad del valle." she is the superintendent of public schools in santa clara county. dr. dewan, we all know what happened to our children during covid and how far back we've fallen when it comes to learning abilities. talk about the reading aspect of it and how much we need to do to catch up. mary: one of the great opportunities we have with

silicon valley reads is to promote literacy and promoting literacy in ways that really engage readers of all levels and of all ages. and it is really important also for children to see adults and community members not just engage in books but actually talk about what they're reading and applying what they're reading to their real worlds. and that's why it's so exciting to see what silicon valley reads does for the community. it is about the books. it's also about conversation. it's about community engagement and also hundreds of events that children, their families, and community members can engage in. damian: and at that young age, right, to open up a book with your child no matter how old that child might be and start the reading process there and look at their eyes gleam and sparkle when you're reading them that poem or that story. mary: absolutely. and we mentioned earlier there's three really amazing adult-read

books that will be part of the kickoff event, but also through our program we've identified books for children and youth all around the same theme. and so i'll just take a moment to recognize those four titles that can be read to children or that children can read themselves and that cover that whole age range from infant and toddler all the way through high school. the titles include "to change a planet," "the forest man," "two degrees," and "don't call me a hurricane." all really intriguing reads. damian: so--and we're accomplishing two things here. one is obviously the reading aspect, but two, learning about the environment and the impact humans are having on the environment. mary: yes. and also what we can do, like the steps that each of us might choose to take simple things each day, a decision we might make to use less plastic, for example, or to stop ourselves from throwing something away, to learn about clean energy. and also for our young people, something really exciting, we do

a career fair each year associated with the theme. this year's theme will be around green jobs. so helping young people think into a career in their future.e damian: all right. and then there's--you mentioned 150 events spread out throughout the county for this time. mary: many of the events will be at libraries, many will be out in community, some are indoors and outdoors, some are virtual. over 150 events. i'll just highlight a couple. there'll be a special class, for example, on how to become a zero-waste chef. this will be both in person and virtual. and fabmo is going to be hosting tours where you can learn about avoiding textile waste and supporting the arts at the same time. and to find out more about our events, you can visit siliconvalleyreads.org. damian: all right, awesome information. any final thoughts, dr. dewan, before we let you go?

mary: just i hope that everyone participates in some way this year. as i mentioned, all of the events are free. there are many ways to participate, but join a book club through one of the libraries, and maybe if you have your own book club you can adopt one of our books for your read, or join in any of the workshops or special events. so we look forward to seeing you out there. damian: all right. thank you so much, dr. mary ann dewan, the superintendent of public schools in santa clara county. and for more information, again, silicon valley reads, we're going to show you that website to log on and find out all about these 150 events spread out throughout the county. there it is on the screen. well, if you want to get a hold of us here on "comunidad del valle," you can follow me on instagram. my handle is at newsdamiantrujillo. my email address there as well. and we thank you for sharing another part of your sunday with us here on "comunidad del valle." we'll see you back here again next week. we're going to leave you with a little bit of danza. ♪♪♪

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