COLUMN | If he’s not white as he claims, then what is Buddy Mendes? Latino?

Wanna hear a whopper?

This comes courtesy of Buddy Mendes, a white board member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, tied for being the whitest board of supervisors with all eight San Joaquín Valley counties.

That’s right. From Kern to San Joaquín, county boards of supervisors are all white with the exception of one Latino representative each at a time when Latinos are the majority in six of those counties and a plurality in the other two.

But, let’s get back to Buddy.

All of a sudden, after blistering criticism over several weeks from community members who complained that four white men have wielded power for decades over a Latino-majority county in efforts to get more diversity on the board, Mendes proclaims he is not white.

“And what really irks me was when people come here and they say, ‘Well, I’m not represented; there’s five white guys or four white guys up here,’” said Mendes following 2½ hours of public comment on Tuesday.

“Well, guess what? I’m not a white guy. I just can pass for one. And that’s very annoying to me. Very annoying. But people want to prejudge everybody.”

Careful Buddy, or your district could be redrawn to remove you from the board.

Buddy ‘I’m Not a White Guy’ Mendes is of Portuguese descent. He’s not Hispanic. He’s not Latino. He’s not Chicano. Heck, he’s not Latinx.

He is white.

The U.S. Census Bureau, which gathered the data that Mendes and his colleagues used for determining how to redistrict the supervisorial districts, does not classify Portuguese as Hispanic.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencias, including the Census Bureau, to employ a minimum of two ethnicities in collecting and reporting data: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino.

The federal government identifies Hispanic or Latino “as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.”

Mendes may love tacos, hang around with a Latina mayor, speak Spanish (I’m not sure if he does), or be a lifelong fan of Vicente Fernández, but that doesn’t make him Hispanic.

He could be, however, a Valley version of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who identified herself as a Native American before apologizing and reiterating she is a “white woman.”

Mendes’ statement reminds me of Rep. Dennis Cardoza, a Democrat who represented a Merced-centered district (2003-12) and self-identified as Hispanic in a 2002 campaign ad.

“As a Hispanic candidate, Dennis Cardoza will bring an important perspective to Washington, D.C.,” read the campaign ad.

“The reality is that Portuguese culture and Latino culture are very similar,” said Cardoza, who was a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

A quick check with a Census official proved Cardoza wrong.

Buddy ‘I Am Not White’ Mendes, in a 2014 meeting with The Fresno Bee Editorial Board, indicated he would be a favorite for the newspaper because of comments he would make.

He has lived up to his word. Just another tontería (foolish saying).

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 17 de noviembre de 2021, 6:04 p. m..