GADDI VASQUEZ

is actually a Latino, which wouldn’t normally surprise us, considering his name
and everything, except that he used to be a rising star in the county’s
Republican Party. Now he makes a six-figure salary with Southern California
Edison, which makes him a role model, and the way Southern California Edison
recognizes this and employs him as a public-relations corporate figurehead is the
kind of real-world evidence that maintains civic faith in the capitalist system.
You know: people are put in their proper place. Beyond that, however,
Vasquez’s success is proof that he is more than just a racial token. He landed in
the Edison position in a very mainstream way: after retiring from politics. As
one of five members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Vasquez
presided over OC’s bankruptcy five years ago. But despite the high positions
he’s held and the high salary he earns, Vasquez has not forgotten his roots. He
has returned to his previous job as a patrol officer in Orange, where he quickly
earned the distinction of being the only cop on the force to drive a Porsche.

Read the full story here:

Five Latinos we really like