How a Local Advocate is Using Her Voice to Sway Latino Voters

(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) — When Martha Angelica Howard lost the 2018 election for the City Council of District 5 of Temecula, California, she said it was devastating. Howard was the only Latina candidate and woman in the race. Her plan focused on affordable housing and favored underprivileged communities. For years, Howard has been an activist fighting for Latino immigrant rights. Every month, she attends Temecula’s City Council meetings, where she lobbies for immigrant reforms like the California Values ​​Act, a resolution intended to provide immigrants with fundamental rights like education and health care.

“I want the Latino community to engage in policy making because when they know the way the wind blows, they’ll make smart choices,” said Howard. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Howard is 67 years old. She is a grandmother, a military wife, a retired psychologist, a salsa music lover, a politician, and an activist. Diagnosed with polio at the age of six months, she walks with the aid of a cane. Her voice is calm and soft, and she often wears embroidered Mexican blouses. 

Ten years ago, Howard founded the Latina Association Riverside County, a non-profit organization that relies on volunteers to promote Hispanic culture and advocate for Latino immigrants’ rights and duties. Howard’s social media is flooded with comments of gratitude from the people she and her volunteers assist with free citizenship workshops, public policy, and voting plans. “There’s a significant amount of Latinos that have forgotten their history, and they are lost in their identity,” she said, implying that in recent years, a vast number of Latinos have embraced political ideals rooted in xenophobia and hatred towards immigrants. 

Despite Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policy, the Latino vote continues to reflect a marked division that favors the Republican candidate. In a July 2024 survey conducted by Axios, of 157 adults identified as Latino voters, 86 said they would vote for the Republican party, while the remaining 71 said they would vote Democrat. For decades, over 60% of Latinos have supported the Democratic Party. 

Howard believes that this division emerged from the conservative religious beliefs Republicans say they stand for. “When Trump and JD Vance start associating religion with their pro-life campaign, they win the sympathy of millions of Latinos,” she said. Howard noted that in Latin countries, abortion is considered sinful. Of the 33 countries composing Latin America, only five have passed bills granting women freedom on reproductive rights.

When Howard moved to the United States in 1975, her views on the Catholic Church changed when she heard the priest from her church delivering sermons condemning LGBTQ+ rights, igniting her conversion to a non-strict Christianity. “The Catholic Church promotes patriarchy, machismo, control of women, and violence, leading to a pervasive division,” said Howard. Her retreat from the Catholic Church left her alienated from family and lifelong friends who disapproved of her decision.

Indeed, Howard has forged a unique path in her advocacy mission. In 1981, as a first-generation college student from Southwestern College, she spoke at a Governing Board meeting on behalf of disabled students. Howard delivered a speech demanding handicap transportation for students with disabilities. The next day, Howard appeared in the local newspaper, making headlines for her advocacy. She keeps the framed article in her office. “I was born an advocate,” she said with laughter.

“Martha is a person of great compassion, she serves underprivileged communities, she is a Latina mother for everyone, a woman with a big heart and integrity,” said Tami Sims, 65, Howard’s longtime friend and member of the Democratic Club in Temecula.

In 2018, endorsed by Antonio Gonzalez, former president of the Riverside Voter Registration Education Project, Howard ran for City Council District 5, but she lost in the polls. Gonzalez often saw Howard taking the microphone at government meetings to speak on behalf of immigrants, which sparked his interest in her. “Antonio said that Latinos needed me in the office, but I lost the election. So I went back from politics to advocacy,” said Howard, who holds monthly meet-and-greets to discuss local government elections and which candidates care more about Latino welfare. 

In the 2020 presidential elections, the Latina Association conducted dozens of voter registrations by knocking on doors and holding events outside Mexican restaurants and stores. “There is no diversity among our local leaders in Riverside County,” said Howard. Riverside is a county with a population of 2,418,185, and 1,202,295 identify as Latino. Although Latinos are the largest demographic ethnic group across Riverside County, all the members on the panel of City Councils of Temecula are white. “That’s why promoting and enhancing the right to vote is our most important mission at Latina Association,” said Howard.

When asked about what she takes away from her work, Howard nodded with a smirk and emphasized that Latinos need to be sympathetic to each other. “I just want our politicians to care more about immigrants and immigrants to learn that their fate is in the hands of our government,” said Howard with tearful eyes.

She will continue her activism because she longs to see more immigrant reforms in her community like making Temecula a sanctuary city and making housing affordable for immigrant households. Howard also expressed her desire to run again for Temecula City Council. “She has been a longstanding, tireless fighter for Latino rights. Martha is a true leader,” said Steven Schwartz, 77, a retired teacher and school board trustee.

“If Trump wins, it would be detrimental for all the Latinos: separation of families will happen again, DACA will be jeopardized, and conquest doctrines imposed on women will certainly happen,” said Howard, who is a registered Democrat and hopeful for the election on November the 5th. “Kamala Harris is the only one choice we have to preserve our democracy, and she will win this election,” she said while she reached for her cane and rose from her chair.