Courting the Latino Vote

From SBA to TLC

Barreto is no stranger to the politics of Washington, D.C. After helping Bush get elected, Barreto was called upon by the president to head the Small Business Administration (SBA), a capacity in which he served for six years, making him the second-longest SBA administrator in history.

After leaving that post, he moved back to Orange County, Calif., assuming a role as chairman of The Latino Coalition (TLC). Barreto also owns several small businesses.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Mo., Barreto was son of Mexican immigrants. His father Hector Barreto Sr. was an entrepreneur who founded the Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and later the United States Chamber of Commerce. “I’ve grown up around small businesses all my life—working in them, starting my own.”

Barreto Sr. started these businesses and organizations with high expectations, according to his son. And many doubted his father’s vision. “I think my father was prescient. Now the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is a strong voice for Hispanic businesses. My father felt it was important for Hispanics, regardless of their political orientation, to be at the table, if you will,” the younger Barreto says.

In 1980, Barreto Sr. was involved in Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign and was the first president of a national Hispanic business organization to endorse a Republican for president. He later worked with George H.W. Bush and subsequently helped introduce his son to George W. Bush.

It is because of these roots in small business and political activism that Barreto accepted his current role with TLC. Although he’s quick to point out that the organization is not a political organization. During its 17-year history, the coalition has always been interested in policy and having access to elected officials on both sides of the aisle.

Under Barreto’s leadership, the coalition has grown to include more than 50 organizations, not all of which are Hispanic nor are they all businesses. Some are education and healthcare organizations. TLC deals with three primary issues—economic empowerment, education opportunities and information and healthcare. The coalition “provides information to its members and, yes, it gets involved in politics as it relates to policies. But we don’t endorse candidates and we don’t raise money for candidates.”

The coalition does have a political arm called the Hispanic Business Roundtable. Its database boasts 1.2 million Hispanic businesses of the United States—about 40 percent of all Hispanic businesses nationwide.

Barreto also serves on the board of advisors for Latin Business Today.