The National Council of La Raza's annual conference kicks off in San Diego Saturday. The presumptive presidential candidates from both parties will speak in hopes of courting the Latino vote. KPBS reporter Amy Isackson has details.
The National Council of La Raza is the country’s largest Latino civil rights organization.
Conference organizers expect about 20,000 people to attend this weekend’s event.
Barak Obama and John McCain will speak at the conference, Obama on Sunday and McCain on Monday.
Both presumptive presidential candidates see the country’s approximately 18 million eligible Latino voters as hot political property.
Bill Flores is spokesman for the San Diego Latino rights coalition El Grupo. He hopes to hear Obama and Mc Cain address a host of issues.
Flores : Definitive plans and programs that would benefit Latinos in general: health care issues, education, and of course the war, the economy and here in San Diego County, the immigration debate.
Representatives from both presidential campaigns will address health care reform at a town-hall style meeting Sunday.
Flores says he'd also like to see the National Council on La Raza take positions on the major issues.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
