Kings County Supervisor Richard Valle was elected as chairman of the Latino Caucus of California Counties at the 120th annual meeting of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) which was held last month.
CSAC is the voice of California’s counties at the state level and represents county government before the California Legislature, administrative agencies and the federal government. The Latino Caucus was formed when a group of Latino county supervisors came together to champion the needs of the Latino population and encourage the participation of Latino county officials in the policy making process. The caucus became an affiliate of CSAC in 2012.
“Supervisor Valle has shown that Latino and Central Valley issues are the concerns of all Californians. He has demonstrated true leadership in his tenure as a Kings County supervisor and I’m confident he will do the same as chairman of the caucus. I look forward to working with him in his new role and I’m excited about what the future brings for all of us,” said Fresno County Supervisor Henry R. Perea.
Kings County Supervisor Valle represents residents in District 2 which includes Corcoran, Avenal, Kettleman City, and the small community of Home Garden. A veteran of the US Marine corps, Valle was first elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.
“I’m honored to have been elected by my county peers throughout the state. I’m humbled by their support and will strive to focus our work on the pressing issues facing our community. Latinos are becoming a powerful political force in California and I will channel our energy on the pressing policy issues affecting our state,” Supervisors Valle said.
Even as the Latino population inches towards 40 percent of the population in California, they hold only a small percentage of county supervisor seats. Supervisor Valle says the group would like to improve this statistic, develop strong Latino leaders and continue to encourage full participation of Latinos in the policy setting process.
