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Endorsement Process and Policy ¿Oíste? a C4 organization is the first and only statewide Latino Political organization in Massachusetts. Our mission is to advance the social, political and economic standing of Latinos and Latinas in the state. We will endorse candidates who have demonstrated commitment to our mission. We will prioritize races in which Latinos are running for office and/or the Latino constituency of the district is more than 15%. As our endorsement process is issue-based, we will not attempt to endorse a candidate in every contested race nor will we automatically endorse a candidate because he/she is Latino/a. We seek to ensure that our endorsement process is as fair, transparent and inclusive as possible. Process Our endorsement process is as follows: Research will be done to identify contested races in the state. The board decides which races to evaluate for possible endorsements. - A questionnaire will be sent out to each candidate for the selected race (see Selected Races section below). Copies of the questionnaire will be sent to Committee members (see Committee composition below).
- The c4 board will convene an advisory committee to review the questionnaires and will give the c4 board its evaluation, recommendation and/or reservations (See Advisory Committee composition section below)
- At the discretion of the c4 Board, selected candidates or races may be selected for an interview process with the c4 board.
- The c4 board will take into consideration the evaluation, recommendations and/or reservations of the advisory committee. Endorsements will be made based on answers given to a questionnaire, past record of service to the Latino community, and support for key issues that affect the Latino community in Massachusetts.
Incumbent Endorsements ¿Oíste? may, from time to time, make a “friendly endorsement” of an incumbent in an uncontested race. In keeping with our mission, the endorsement will be based on an exemplary record of leadership on Latino issues. A friendly endorsement will also depend on the resources of ¿Oíste? and will take into consideration other races in which it has endorsed candidates. The lack of a “friendly endorsement” does not necessarily imply any dissatisfaction with that particular candidate. Advisory Committee Composition We are in the process of fine tuning the committee selection process. For the special election of the 3rd Suffolk District, the c4 board will act as the selection committee. In general, we seek the maximum participation of Latinos in the district, especially our members, volunteers and/or program participants. In an effort to create an environment where committee members can express opinions openly, specific information about individual members of the endorsement committee will be maintained in strict confidence if requested by a committee member. Each member must comply with the following requirements: - A minimum of three members
- Must live within the district where the endorsement in taking place
- Must have been active with the local Latino community and ¿Oíste? in one or all of the following areas in the past year:
- participated in an ¿Oíste? program
- volunteered at an ¿Oíste? event
- participated in voter registration/mobilization
- At least 90% of the committee must be Latino/a.
- A minimum of one c4 board member must be a part of each endorsement consideration.
Selection of Races ¿Oíste? reseves the right to select the races in which the organization will or will not participate. However ¿Oíste? will always strongly consider races where Latino candidates are running or in districts where there are high percentages of Latino residents. ¿Oíste? endorsements are not based on the ethnicity of the candidate and are not limited to Latinos candidates. ¿Oiste?’s endorsement process is based on the candidate’s involvement and support to the Latino community and his/her position on the issues that affect the Latino community. · |
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¿Oíste? is proud to announce that the DLA Piper will be offering legal services to our organization on a pro bono basis. Many thanks to Attorney Nathaniel Stinnett and DLA Piper for this new partnership!  With more than 3,400 lawyers in 64 cities in 25 countries, DLA Piper helps clients around the world succeed by meeting their legal needs wherever they do business. In the US, DLA Piper's core practices are: corporate and finance; intellectual property; litigation; government affairs; real estate; and tax. DLA Piper takes a long-term view and investing in relationships as well as in our people, processes, and services. DLA Piper clients include local, national, and global companies across a wide range of sectors, ranging from not-for-profit entities and emerging businesses to some of the leading national and multinational companies.
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