First Latino Democrat Pac launches In Tennessee
May 6, 2021

Fuerza Democrats Tennessee PAC will focus on electing Latinos
up and down the ballot across the state

NASHVILLE, TN — A group of Latino leaders, including business owners, current and former elected officials, candidates, political staffers, are launching the first Political Action Committee (PAC) focused on electing Latino Democrats across Tennessee up and down the ballot. The group, Fuerza (FOO-err-sah) Democrats Tennessee, wants to ensure that the growing Latino population in the state is reflected at all levels of government and will be focused on identifying, organizing, educating, and mobilizing Latino candidates and voters across the state.

Fuerza Tennessee will be led by Sandra Sepulveda, as the group’s founding Executive Director. Sandra was elected to Nashville’s Metro Council in 2019 and is the first Latina Councilmember in Nashville’s history.

“If the past five years have shown us anything, it’s that representation matters. The number of Latinx elected officials in Tennessee is not representative of our population and we are going to change that, said Fuerza Executive Director, Sandra Sepulveda. “The new generation of Latino Tenneseeans needs to be able to look at their elected officials and see someone whose lived-experience reflects their own, which is why we at Fuerza are eager to hit the ground running to build the infrastructure for our community to be able to run competitive races.”

Fuerza means “strength” in Spanish, which the group will make a guiding principle as they foster community development initiatives around Latino issues in addition to constructing a strong statewide network to promote collective action both at the ballot box and through legislative developments. Fuerza will also serve to promote Latino candidates by identifying prospective candidates, providing them the essential startup guidance, and direct financial support.

Fuerza Board members include Former Nashville Metro Council Member Fabian Bedne, Former State Representative Candidate from Memphis, Gabby Salinas, and longtime community leaders Cristina Allen, Bob Tuke, and Luis Mata. Fuerza Democrats Tennessee is the state-wide evolution of Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats which was established in 2009.

To learn more about Fuerza visit www.fuerzatn.org, @fuerzademstn