Thursday, 12 January 2012 14:24
ProEnglish assisted the City Attorney of San Luis, Arizona this week in a controversial English language matter. City Attorney Glenn Gimbut was asked by San Luis Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla to determine the level of English language proficiency that a candidate for elected office in Arizona must have to effectively carry out their duties.
Former San Luis mayor Guillermina Fuentes, who initially raised concerns about city council candidate Alejandrina Cabrera’s English language abilities, told the Los Angeles Times, “I interpreted everything to Alejandrina because in many cases she did not understand what was being said.”
ProEnglish pointed to Arizona’s 2006 law which made English the official language of the state, in addition to the Arizona’s Enabling Act. The Enabling Act, passed by Congress in 1910, allowed Arizona to become a state under certain requirements. The act states, “the ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English languagesufficiently well to conduct the duties of the office without aid of aninterpreter shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature.” (Emphasis added).
The city has filed an action within the Yuma County Superior Court, requesting the candidate be required to prove she has sufficient English language abilities. A hearing is set for this coming Friday, January 13th. ProEnglish will continue to keep you informed as this matter develops.
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On December 19th, ProEnglish Executive Director Robert Vandervoort was a guest on the The Dave Merlino Show on 640 WGST in Atlanta, GA. They spoke at length about how our common language of English is under attack in this country.
Dave discussed ProEnglish's Official English Map which breaks down which states have official English laws on the books and those that do not.
Robert mentioned a few of the federal bills in Congress that would make English our official language; for example: Representative Peter King's H.R. 1164, the National Language Act of 2011, on which ProEnglish is helping to accumulate co-sponsors.
They also discussed the volatile Puerto Rican Statehood issue which carries serious implications for English language unity in the U.S.
Lastly, Dave and Robert talked about the 2012 Presidential race. ProEnglish recently finished grading the candidates on their level of public support for official English and related issues, such as English-on-the-job policies and repealing bilingual ballots. The results might surprise a lot of voters!
You can listen to the entire interview on www.youtube.com by clicking on the microphone above or here.
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