Gay and Hispanic - Changing Faces of Desert Hot Springs

Online, April 7, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The city has become less white and more gay. The US census shows a nearly 10 point decrease in Caucasians over the last ten years. Yet it takes an astute "gaydar" to recognize the increase in the gay population, since they are not specifically counted in the census.

Possibly for the first time, these two groups will play a significant role in the city's November election for three city council positions. The gay population is generally more inclined to vote and recruitment of first-time Hispanic voters is already underway.

In the last decade economic development has been challenged to keep pace with the city's growing Hispanic population. Typically the parking lot of El Rancho Market on Palm Drive is jam packed. That store did not exist a decade ago. Retailers are paying attention. Hispanic dollars are motivating the city's K-Mart to divide the building in half in order to construct a second Hispanic supermarket to meet demand.

One local watering hole is capitalizing on the uptick of gay residents. Starting last year Playoffs Sports Bar located downtown began sporting Rainbow Night on Wednesdays on a monthly schedule and is packing 'em in.

Voting Trends

Precinct workers now registering voters in anticipation of the November election indicate that many of the city's Mexican American population are registering as Democrats.

In the last election, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans for the first time and the city's shifting population continues adding to that change.

A large percentage of the gay population are also registered as Democrats. Although the city council race is non-partisan, many of the issues are familiar ones. One divide among these Democrats remains the issue of gay marriage which many Catholic Democrats oppose. Although the Hispanic population is more inclined to be Catholic, younger generations of the Hispanic population are less inclined to be opposed to gay marriage.

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