ASU students who recently started an organization for Latino Republicans helped host an event to showcase local politicians Saturday.
There, three conservative Latino politicians chatted with constituents over a barbeque at Kiwanis Park.
The Arizona Latino Republican Association, which sponsored the event, was founded two years ago to foster the principles of the Republican Party and showcase qualified conservative Latino politicians, said Jose Esparza, vice chairman of the association.
"The Latino community -- our cultural values mirror that of the Republican Party," he said.
Journalism senior Ryan Boots founded the ASU arm of ALRA in early April.
Boots, who has no Latino heritage, said he started the group as an outreach effort to campus Latinos.
ALRA will give Latinos a broader perspective of political views and provide a "vehicle for discussion," he said.
Jesse Hernandez, ALRA's executive director, is running against Sen. Harry Mitchell for a Tempe District 17 state Senate seat.
Hernandez said he would like to take an "active and aggressive approach" to working with ASU.
Alberto Gutier, former director of the Arizona Office of Highway Safety, is running for a state representative seat in north Phoenix's District 11.
While most ASU students do not live in Gutier's district, he said he recognizes that the University "fosters great ideas."
"If I'm lucky enough to be elected, I'm going to be a big supporter of ASU," he said.
Maricopa County Attorney candidate Andrew Pacheco, who has worked as a prosecutor in both the Maricopa County and U.S. Attorney's Office, said he would like to focus on individualizing prosecution to fit offenders.
"While there are certainly some people who maybe need a special program ... there are others who are just a cancer in our neighborhoods," Pacheco said.
ALRA also will work with its new campus organization on grassroots efforts in the coming months, Esparza said.
"The 18-year-olds who are aspiring to run for office, we need to show them that there are some qualified Latinos in office," he said.
Reach the reporter at amanda.keim@asu.edu.
