Campaigns courting local church leader

From his office in Sacramento, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez has become the go-to pastor for presidential candidates seeking the votes of Latino evangelicals.

Republican hopefuls Sen. John McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have sought the support of the president of the 18,000-church National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. An aide to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also put in a call.

The Assemblies of God pastor, who works out of the Christian Worship Center in the Arden Arcade area, has also talked to the Democratic campaigns of Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. Newsweek magazine recently included him in its list of new leaders to watch.

"I'm being courted by a number of candidates, but it's not Samuel Rodriguez they're courting; it's me as a symbol of the growing number of Latino evangelicals," said Rodriguez, who grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to Sacramento in 2000 to found the conference.

Not only are Latinos the fastest-growing share of the electorate, they're the fastest-growing group of evangelicals.

At least 8 million Latinos identify themselves as evangelicals, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The research organization also said that 64 percent of Latino evangelical voters supported President Bush in 2004 – up from 33 percent in 2000.

But Rodriguez believes their votes are up for grabs this year because of the hard line GOP lawmakers have taken on immigration policy.

"I want to stop illegal immigration, too," said Rodriguez, who is of Puerto Rican descent.

"But we need a compromise that takes into account people who have been working and raising families in this country for years."

Rodriguez, 38, said his heart broke last summer when Republicans in Congress blocked legislation by McCain and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that would have overhauled the nation's immigration laws.

During the debate, Rodriguez made several trips to Washington.

He also offered advice to McCain, whose legislation angered conservatives by providing a path to citizenship for people who they pointed out broke the law.

Sidney Blumenthal, a former aide to President Bill Clinton, credited Rodriguez's organization in an article in a British newspaper with helping to derail a proposal by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., calling for the deportation of more than 10 million illegal immigrants.

In the aftermath, Rodriguez dedicated himself to lowering what he considers the xenophobic tone of the immigration debate.

He contends the rhetoric has increased discrimination against Latinos who are legal residents.

Churches are precluded from engaging in partisan political campaigns because of their non-profit status.

But the NHCLC has launched a nationwide effort to register voters in member churches.

Rodriguez, whose parents were Democrats, declines to state his party affiliation.

But he maintains that most Latinos evangelicals are quintessential moderates – conservative on issues like abortion and gay marriage and liberal on social issues like poverty and the environment.

The challenge to Republicans who want their vote is to not allow themselves to be hijacked by the party's right wing, he said.

"Karl Rove understood this, which is why George Bush was elected," Rodriguez said.

"But Democrats also risk turning Latino evangelicals off by being so secular they're afraid to mention God."

Rodriguez says he may personally endorse a presidential candidate. But his main goal is getting candidates to focus on issues of importance to his churches, he said.

He sees something for Latino evangelicals to admire about several candidates.

McCain, he said, deserves their consideration for his "measured position" on immigration.

The Arizona senator wants to strengthen border security, but allow illegal immigrants who meet certain conditions to apply for legal residency.

Rodriguez also likes Huckabee, who was an evangelical minister before entering politics and as governor supported higher education benefits for children of illegal immigrants.

Romney, a Mormon, has taken a harder line on illegal immigration. But Rodriguez said that while evangelicals consider Mormons a sect – and not a part of their movement – they also believe in religious plurality.

Obama's election, Rodriguez said, would "send a message of hope to all minorities." And he calls Clinton an "intelligent, credible candidate."

Rodriguez, who sits on the executive committee of the National Association of Evangelicals, founded his organization to be its Latino arm.

He said he's built on the accomplishment of Rev. Jesse Miranda, who has been called the godfather of Latino evangelicals.

Miranda, professor emeritus at Vanguard University in Orange County, founded Alianza de Ministerios Evangelicos Nacionales, a multidenominational association of Latino Protestant lay and clergy leaders.

"My generation (of Latino evangelicals) was more insular," Miranda said.

"What Sammy has done is to reach outside the church to work on issues of importance to his churches."

Miranda said the principle of separation of church and state, derived from the U.S. Constitution, does not preclude Latino evangelicals from participating in public life.

"We're citizens, too, and our core values are not just spiritual, but economic and political as well," Miranda said.

"Sammy has done a good job of steering our churches in that direction as well."

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• Call Aurelio Rojas, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5545.