A 2008 exchange between top Clinton aide John Podesta and his chief of staff, Sarah Latham, reveals the two wavering over the race of Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, according to a recently-leaked email published on Wikileaks.
Garcetti told The LA Times in 2013 that he was half-Mexican and half-Jewish, adding that he has “an Italian last name.” Garcetti was an early endorser of President Barack Obama in his primary against Clinton in 2008.
“Did we figure out whether he is italian or latino?” Podesta wrote.
Despite the mayor’s assertion that he is of Mexican decent, Latham noted that Janet Murguia, the president and CEO of the Hispanic advocacy group the National Council of La Raza, does not consider him a part of the community.
“Eric Garcetti IS a 4th generation Angelino, descendant of Mexican immigrants… (but again, Janet M. said they don’t consider him hispanic),” Latham responded in the email.
Garcetti endorsed Clinton in the 2016 race and spoke about his heritage during a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.
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