On this episode, Izaak has Bob Nuñez on as his featured guest. Bob Nuñez is the Chairman of the Santa Clara County Republican Party, Trustee for Milpitas Unified School Board,Executive Committee Member of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Republican Party and Executive Member of San Jose La Raza Roundtable.  Bob mentions early on that he is from Orange County and has been a life long Republican.

Bob is very involved in the social justice community in the Santa Clara County. Bob believes that social justice isn’t an exclusive issue for Democrats. Social justice is for effective government  and effective services.

Izaak and Bob start talking about their experience as being Latino Republicans. Izaak talks about that he would get surprised responses when people discovered he was a staunch Latino Republican. Bob recalls his tenure as East Side Union High School District Superintendent. That position made him very active and involved in the community, which led him to discover that many people, especially, in the Latino community, share the same conservative values.

Izaak and Bob start a discussion on hurdles and opportunities with the Republican Party engaging the Latino Community.

Regarding hurdles, Bob says there are two of them. First, is talking about there is “room in our tent” and “if the Latino community understood what we stood for” are roadblocks for the GOP. Bob feels that instead of us inviting them to our “tent”, we as a party need to go into the different communities and find out what their values and issues are. Second, Republicans need to get involved in different community groups and organizations. It’s a hurdle when Republican do not try to get involved with becoming members or leadership of different community organizations. There is no growth if you only stick to GOP organizations.

Izaak says that a hurdle in his opinion is thinking that Latino only issue is immigration. Izaak and Bob both share the sentiment that immigration is an important issue, but business environment and education are as important to Latino as to anyone else.

Regarding opportunities, the GOP can help Latino and any member of the community start business and take business mentorship to the next level. We preach that we are the pro-business party, but let us show it by helping our neighbors succeed. Also, the Republican Party needs to look into social justice issues. We can’t just be about pro-business and ignore social justice issues. Whether it be by efficient public programs or private investment, GOP needs to take the lead in addressing these issues in our community.

To connect with Bob, visit www.svgop.com or you can email him at [email protected]. Bob also encourages you to visit sanjosenaacp.org and larazaroundtable.org to see his other organizations that he is involved in.

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