Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ron Unz, who began a revolution in California education by seeking to end bilingual education, said on Friday that taking the issue to a national level would be one of his top priorities.

Unz, who grew up in North Hollywood and went on to become a millionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur, said he believes ending bilingual education is necessary for the nation to return to the concept of being a melting pot of immigrants.

”California and the nation are at a crossroads,” Unz said at a breakfast with Los Angeles political reporters. ”It can go one of two ways. One road is returning to the philosophy of a melting pot where people become assimilated.

”The other is where we are divided by race. And, pretty soon, in California, whites will no longer be the majority. When that happens, I am afraid you begin to see the emergence of groups advocating white nationalism movements. You already are beginning to see some colleges where students are talking about having classes in white culture.”

Unz said he fears such an approach would serve to tear apart the nation and the reason he wants all students in the country to be able to speak English.

”The last generation of immigrants were able to immerse themselves in the American culture by learning to speak English,” Unz said.

Unz is one of the leading GOP contenders in the March primary, seeking the party nomination to run against Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in November 2000.

Other announced Republican candidates include San Diego Supervisor Bill Horn and state Sen. Ray Haynes, R-Riverside.

A congressman from the San Francisco Bay area, Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Campbell, has announced plans to create an exploratory committee as he considers whether to enter the race.

Unz became a lightning rod for criticism from primarily Latino groups with his Proposition 227, which banned bilingual education unless students applied for a special waiver.

Although voters overwhelmingly approved the state ballot measure, Unz conceded he became identified with some of the wedge-issue politics being used by Republicans – particularly former Gov. Pete Wilson – to win elections.

However, Unz pointed out he opposed Proposition 187, the anti-illegal immigration measure which also was overwhelmingly approved. Later, a federal court blocked many of the provisions of Proposition 187, which limited public services to illegal immigrants.

”I don’t think you will see much support for a new Proposition 187-style measure,” Unz said. ”Not by Republicans. I think they learned their lesson.”

Measures such as that one energized the Latino community, producing a wave of new registered voters over the past six years as well as renewed efforts to make sure they vote in elections.



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