Former Yakima Valley migrant student Daniel Garza, right, and his wife meet with his former boss, President George Bush and the first lady.

Attitude of service leads
local migrant from
fields to White House

Garza now trying to create ‘Christian Coalition’ among Hispanic churches

By Editor Ken Harvey

Eighteen years ago Daniel Garza was a Toppenish High School dropout, working in the fields with his family. Three years ago he was asked to become President Bush’s interface with America’s 44 million Hispanics, working in the White House alongside the president’s senior adviser Karl Rove and Chief of Staff Andy Card.

Now Garza is trying to build a “Christian Coalition” among Hispanics to stand up for the Christian and family values Hispanics have long proclaimed.

Garza’s transition from migrant laborer to White House aide was achieved because of his positive attitude in the face of adversity, his strong work ethic and his commitment to service.

But Garza’s rapid rise to political influence was hard even for him and his family to grasp.

Until he was 7, his family still spent most of the year in Mexico and continued to follow the crops to such an extent that he was absent from school half the time and could not graduate with his Toppenish High School class.

He finally chose to drop out after the 10^th grade but secured his GED diploma and started college. His family’s financial problems, however, caused him to drop out and return to the fields.

"The lack of education of my parents, who only reached the fourth grade, kept them from helping me with my homework, from appreciating my scholastic achievements or from accommodating my schooling," Garza says. "They felt an honest day’s work was just as edifying as a day in school."

At age 20 Garza volunteered as a reserve police officer. His hard work and good attitude led the chief of police to hire him as a radio dispatcher.

"It was my ticket out of the fields," he recalls.

Within a year, he tested for a police officer position and was hired.

"I made the best of it; worked hard to prove myself and read as much as possible," he says. Garza credits many hours of independent reading as essential to his success.

"I developed a love for reading after I became a police officer," he says. "Until then, I cannot recall having read a book from end to end. I especially enjoyed reading about current social events such as abortion, affirmative action, judicial activism, and politics in general."

His dedication to service, his work ethic, his avid reading regime and his growing political involvement allowed Garza to move up quickly from police officer (1990-1993) and code enforcement officer (1994-1995) to political operative.

“I got involved in politics, and some people kind of took me under their wing as mentors,” he says.

That led Garza to successfully run for Toppenish City Councilman in 1995 and begin working as a congressional staff assistant to Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), working out of the congressman’s Yakima office.

“My parents couldn’t believe I was working for a congressman. It was kind of a different dimension that they didn’t know anything about,” says Garza. “My parents had never talked about politics and didn’t know the difference between a Republican and a Democrat.

“It was a learning process for them, as well as for me, and I had to explain to them why the Republican Party was more compatible with our Christian values,” Garza says.

Later he worked for U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) before accepting a position with then presidential candidate George Bush to assist with his campaign in the state of Washington.

In 2001, following Bush’s election, Garza was appointed as Hispanic media coordinator at the Department of the Interior, but soon he was promoted to deputy director of external and intergovernmental affairs.

It was a few months later that he caught the subway near the Pentagon to travel to his office, where the television was already reporting the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City and on the Pentagon his train had just passed.

“We could see the smoke billowing up from the Pentagon, and we knew something terrible was happening,” Garza says. “It was a day that changed the world as we knew it.”

In his Interior position, Garza helped coordinate important initiatives on behalf of Interior Secretary Gale Norton, including the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Celebration; U.S.-Mexico bi-national cooperation on natural resources; development and re-launch of the Take Pride In America campaign; roll-out of 23 national monument management plans, such as the Hanford Reach; the Cooperative Conservation Initiatives, tourism initiatives, and the president’s Healthy Forest Initiative.

He also served as department liaison with all 50 state governors, local officials, and various external and intergovernmental groups.

Then out of the blue in 2003 Garza was asked to become the president’s liaison to the Hispanic community.

“I can’t even say it was a dream come true because I had never dreamed it. It was beyond the realm of possibility. That was something of movies and history books. To be asked to work for the president in the White House was overwhelming, especially as I realized my job was to represent the 44 million Hispanics across the U.S. to the president and then promote the president’s agenda to that same Hispanic community. The amount of responsibility they gave me just blew me away,” Garza says.

“Basically, my job was to try to advance such programs as Social Security reform, immigration reform and the Central America Free Trade Agreement,” he says.

“I was the guy who had to come up with the strategy and what kind of events we might do, who we should invite from among the governors, foreign ambassadors, the members of Cabinet, the vice president, the first lady or anyone else we might want to attend. Then what organizations or individuals to invite. In other words, who would sit in those 200 seats in the White House East Room, the five people in the Oval Office or the 12 people in the Roosevelt Room,” Garza adds.

“I would give my request to the president’s senior adviser Karl Rove, and he took it to Chief of Staff Andy Card, who then took it to the president,” he explains.

Garza was impressed with the hundreds of Hispanics who are in the Bush Administration – about 10 percent -- more than under any previous president.

“And we kind of looked out for each other, and it was easier to deal with them because they understood the culture,” Garza says.

The pressure that came with the job is difficult for the former White House official to describe.

“When you put together an event, you have to make arrangements, call the caterer, get the equipment set up. It’s tough work. Multiply that 1,000 times when you do it for the White House,” describes Garza.

“Everything you do means something, symbolizes something. Everything is exaggerated by the national press. Every event you have has at least 100 cameras pointed at the president. The agenda has been looked at under a microscope, and you’re the guy who is accountable to make sure the president doesn’t get burned. The national media doesn’t look at Daniel Garza. They look at the president. And the president doesn’t represent just George W. Bush. He represents the United States of America. It’s a huge responsibility,” Garza says.

He tells of one event where Hispanic public officials from around the country were invited to the White House. Before the event started, Garza and another White House official went out to verify which of the special guests were actually in attendance so they could be introduced.

Federal Judge Brian Sandoval was then the Nevada state attorney general and a rising star in the Republican Party. He was invited to the event but had not arrived. The other aide, however, wrote down that he was there. The aide made the mistake, but it was Garza’s responsibility.

The president came into the packed room. At the podium he began recognizing his special guests, including, “my good friend, Brian Sandoval. Where are you, Brian?”

Garza panicked in the back of the room. “Oh no!” he thought. He put his hand over his face as the president continued, “I guess Brian got a bad seat.” Everyone laughed, but Garza dreaded having to face the president.

“I thought, ‘Oh boy, this is going to be bad.’ He was by the door when the president and his personal assistant walked out.

“What happened to Brian Sandoval?” Bush asked as he walked by, and his personal assistant walking right behind him reiterated the question. “Yeh, what happened to Brian Sandoval?” When Garza returned to his office, the email popped up from the assistant, “The president wants to know what happened to Brian Sandoval.”

Garza just fell on his sword, took the blame and promised to never let that happen again, and it didn’t. If it had, Garza fears it would have been the end of his political career.

“But that was about the worst I ever did,” Garza says.

Another incident similarly indicates the amount of pressure everyone works under, however.

He was in the Oval Office with the president, reviewing a speech relating to the contributions of Hispanics in America.

The president asked, “Are you sure there are 20,000 Hispanics in the war in Iraq?” Luckily Garza was a little slow in responding, and another White House official said, “Yes, I think so, Mr. President.” The president put down the script and asked, “You think so? Is that what I’m going to tell the press, that I think so? Why don’t you go back and get that number.”

Garza was glad he wasn’t the one who had responded to the president’s question.

Other responsibilities during his time in the White House included advancing the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for attorney general and Judges Roberts and Alito for the Supreme Court.

He recalls being in a meeting with “Scooter” Libby when they found out he was going to be indicted for allegedly lying to investigators about information leaked to the press. And White House officials were still conjecturing if Karl Rove might be indicted the next day.

“I was running in circles where history was being made. It was unbelievable to have that experience and insight,” says Garza.

But a multimillion-dollar opportunity eventually tempted Garza to leave the White House. He left with prospects of becoming vice president of the largest Hispanic media company in the country.

Grupo Televisa asked Garza to help in its efforts to buy out Univision and become the company’s vice president, with extensive influence over programming. But despite making the highest bid, the offer by Grupo Televisa  was rejected by Univision owners in favor of another company.

CONFIA – Council on Faith in Action – then asked Garza to become director and CEO of that national non-profit group and help rally Hispanic Christians behind public policy that reflects Christian moral values, similar to the work of the Christian Coalition among Anglos.

“I feel this is kind of a ministry where I can contribute. While in the White House I picked up experiences and information and education that is unreal, as well at a network of influence – national organizations, celebrities, sports stars, the faith community, non-profits, the private sector, people who have a lot of money, government officials – the gamut. And now I’m trying to bring to bear all that talent and resources to drive this movement,” Garza says.

The efforts have been a little more difficult than he had originally imagined.

“We like to talk about how Hispanics are God-fearing and tight-knit, family-oriented, and that we are pro-life and conservative, but I hate to say the numbers don’t bear that out,” says Garza. “Twenty percent of all abortions now are by Hispanic women in America. There is a 47 percent illegitimacy rate – kids born out of wedlock. We are way above the white community and right under the black community.

“Statistic after statistic, we are seeing a moral downslide in the Hispanic community,” Garza says. “So when we say we have core values in family and tradition and the flag and God, that’s great. But it seems to me that’s a lot of talk about a mile wide, and the truth is it’s about an inch thick.

“That’s not to say there is not virtue in our community,” he says, “but I have to tell you that 30 percent of all abortions are from born-again Christians, and divorce is at the 50 percent rate, just like the rest of America. So we are not innocent. We talk the big talk, but we’re not always practicing what we preach.”

Garza wants to sound the alarm. He hopes by the end of the year to have offices set up in six major cities spread around the country. Already he has a slick video produced by Bush supporter Emilio Estefan to help spread the message.

“The message is that while we are in a downward spiral, we can make a difference. It requires churches coming out of their four walls and fulfilling their civic responsibilities. We need to inform and educate the Hispanic community so they can vote their values,” Garza says. “Government does legislate morality, whether we want to admit it or not. It is not a question of whether morality will be legislated, but whose morality will be legislated.”

He hopes he can help reshape the thinking of Hispanic Christians.

“There has been an idea promoted in our churches that politics is evil and corrupt, and we shouldn’t get involved with it,” Garza says. “We are not of this world; we are just passing through it. We’ve carried that notion at our peril, and we’re seeing the results of not advancing godly principles in government. We’re losing the battle because we chose to stay out of it.” 

He notes that only 40 percent of all Hispanic citizens are registered to vote, and only 40 percent of them voted in the last election.

“That’s pathetic, to be honest with you,” he says.

Garza recently presided over a conference involving 900 pastors and priests, with Texas Gov. Rick Perry as the keynote speaker. Garza is trying to unite both the Catholic and evangelical churches behind this effort, since the vast majority of Hispanics fall into those two religious groups.

“We’re getting great response from both Catholic and Evangelical leaders,” he says.

Garza urges migrant student to use obstacles as steppingstones

Garza encourages migrant students not to let any obstacle keep them from achieving their goals. And few students face more obstacles than Garza did.

But life as a migrant student was one of "privilege,” according to Garza – "the privilege of belonging to a family that overcame barriers and challenges together, and the privilege of living in Mexico for six months and then living in the United States for six months each year."

For most students, the migrant lifestyle is anything but a "privilege," but Garza says those experiences and his parents religious values helped him set high goals, develop a strong work ethic and eventually guided his political orientation.

"They shared very strong Christian values; a hard work ethic; pride in their Mexican ancestry, and they loved each other. That gave me strength," Garza says. "Regardless of our social condition, I always knew my family was solid, and that my father and mother would always provide for us."

And, ultimately, character is more important than circumstance, says Garza. "Tell me what you give your attention to," his father used to say, "and I'll tell you who you are."

"Character will define your future" and "mark your place in this world," Garza says. Character also helps people turn challenges into opportunities for growth.

"Dedicate your lives to strengthening and developing your character. It means everything," he recommends.

Garza says his father modeled such character.

Garza, his brother and father once spent a winter laboring in hop fields. The other workers asked Garza's father to ask the farm owner for a 5 cent-a-bundle raise. The farm workers got their raise, but the Garzas were all fired.

Daniel Garza was angry at "society's cold indifference." He wanted justice, but his father was "wiser." Getting a raise for 30 of his fellow workers was enough for his father, Garza now says.

"You think you could break the spirit of a man by heaping so much indignation on him," Garza says. "But he went out immediately the next day to find a new job. Dad never wished ill on anyone."

Years later, Garza faced a similar opportunity to let anger and a sense of injustice derail his progress.

"At one point during my stint as a police officer, I enrolled at Yakima Valley Community College in an attempt to continue my education," Garza recalls. He was confident his sergeant would agree to keep him on graveyard shift so he could attend classes during the daytime. But halfway through the quarter, the sergeant put him back on day shift and forced him to quit college again.

Instead of getting angry, Garza says he "was just flat out grateful he wasn’t still working in the fields," so he "didn't rock the boat," but rather continued in other ways to advance his career.

Garza urges students to work hard, set high goals, develop their character, and turn their obstacles into steppingstones to success.

"Life deals your cards," he tells migrant students, "and you can either whine about what you didn't get or you can begin to make use of the individual talent and skill you do have" to serve others.

And serving others, he says, will lead to success.