02/03/2001

By / The Dallas Morning News

There's a comment I hear occasionally from Dallas-area Hispanics: "How do we define our leaders?"

Good question. A new national survey provides a few answers.

The National Community for Latino Leadership Inc. conducted the study, which asked Latinos what they considered to be qualities of leadership. Topping the list were character, competence, compassion and being a community servant. A leader, the survey indicated, should be one que ayuda a la gente, who helps the people, el pueblo.

So do people who exhibit such characteristics qualify as leaders? Not necessarily.

"Leadership is situational," said Alfred R. Ramírez, president of the Washington, D.C.-based group. "You can be a leader in one instance and a follower in another."

True leaders realize that they can be assertive in one situation and concede a bit in another.

"You must look at the sum of the parts," he said. "You may not agree with someone, but overall is he or she really interested in the inclusive greater good?"

Almost 40 percent of those surveyed mentioned a family member as the person they most admire. Heroes are homegrown.

That's probably why Latino leaders are like family, and Latinos tend to treat them as such.

"At fiestas, we hug them, embrace them," Mr. Ramírez said. "We attach ourselves to them, so that when that cord is cut, there is a real sense of loss."

And sometimes that cord is cut when leaders let us down.

"We're harder on our own leaders because we've not had the numbers before nor the influence," Mr. Ramírez said. "Leaders end up carrying the community on their shoulders, whether they believe it or not."

And if they thought getting elected was enough, elected leaders must never forget they are accountable.

In addition to the survey of more than 3,000 Latinos nationwide, the organization also interviewed more than 54 focus groups composed of more than 500 local leaders in six major U.S. cities.

For more information on the survey, check out the organization's Web site at www.latinoleadership.org.

• Looking at a map of electoral district lines and can't figure out what the fuss is about? Joe May can help.

Mr. May, who has spent decades working on redistricting issues, will discuss new redistricting guidelines recently released by the Dallas City Council at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

He'll also discuss Hispanic voting patterns and the concept of "Hispanic cohesiveness" in a district. Mr. May has been having regular meetings at the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 4622 Maple Ave., for several months in anticipation of the coming redistricting battles.

Not many people are as passionate about numbers and lines on a map as Mr. May is.

He has worked on redrawing electoral districts based on new census figures for more than two decades. During that time, he figures he has spent close to $20,000 on maps and materials alone. Not to mention the time spent poring over census data.

It's a passion that grew out of his work four decades ago, he said.

"I was involved in civil rights in the '60s, and from there I moved on to voting rights," he said.

Now he's working to educate as many people as possible on the intricacies of redrawing districts based on court rulings, census data and communities of interest.

All training sessions are free and open to the public.

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