The Blowback Begins

This may be a tough year for politicians who don't support tougher enforcement of immigration laws (from The Washington Post):

Herndon voters yesterday unseated the mayor and Town Council members who supported a bitterly debated day-labor center for immigrant workers in a contest that emerged as a mini-referendum on the turbulent national issue of illegal immigration.

Residents replaced the incumbents with a group of challengers who immediately called for significant changes at the center. Some want to bar public funds from being spent on the facility or restrict it to workers residing in the country legally. Others want it moved to an industrial site away from the residential neighborhood where it is located.

The day-labor center thrust the western Fairfax County town into the national spotlight as the issue of illegal immigration became emotional. Even though fewer than 3,000 people voted yesterday, advocates on both sides of the issue looked at the election as a test case of public sentiment. Outside groups such as the Minutemen Project, which favors sharp curbs on illegal immigration, intervened in the town debate. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, is suing the town over establishment of the center.

Steve J. DeBenedittis, 38, a health club operator and political newcomer, defeated Mayor Michael L. O'Reilly with 52 percent of the vote. Council members Carol A. Bruce and Steven D. Mitchell, who voted for the center, were turned out of office. Jorge Rochac, a Salvadoran businessman who supported the center and was seeking to become the town's first Hispanic council member, was also defeated. About one in four town residents is Hispanic.

The incumbents were replaced by William B. Tirrell, Charlie D. Waddell, Connie Haines Hutchinson and David A. Kirby, all opponents of the day-labor center, which is designed to help immigrants find work each day.

Two incumbents were reelected. Dennis D. Husch was one of two council members to vote against the center when it was approved by the panel in August. He received more votes than any of the eight other council candidates. J. Harlon Reece was the lone supporter of the center who was reelected. He received the fewest number of votes among the winners.

The demonstrations of the past couple of months have focused attention on the immigration issue, and have pretty much polarized the voters. Given that the polls show overwhelming support for tougher border enforcement and immigration controls, the politicians who haven't been paying attention to the voters are going to find their jobs in jeopardy.