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By Ryan Thornburg
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Tuesday, May 11, 1999

While state legislatures from California to New Jersey struggle to deal with racial profiling – where police target minorities in traffic stops – the issue could become a prominent one next year in several hotly contested statewide elections.

"Among whites, the issue is viewed as a tempest in a teapot. Among blacks in the state, and to a lesser extent, Latinos, the issue of racial profiling is a hurricane." – Cliff Zukin, chairman of Rutgers University's department of public policy. (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., May 10)

Although 11 states have some sort of racial profiling legislation pending, the issue has been most prominent in New Jersey and North Carolina. New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R) is trying to create a national model for tackling the issue before her campaign to replace retiring Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) heats up. In North Carolina, where Democrat James B. Hunt's gubernatorial dynasty comes to an end next year, lawmakers passed a bill that requires state troopers to gather racial data about the drivers they stop.

• Where Jerseyans Stand on Profiling Depends Upon the Color of Their Skin (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., May 10)
• House OKs Bill to Track 'Driving While Black' (The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., April 2)
• Special Report: Police And Race (The Hartford Courant)
• States Face Up To Realities Of Police Racial Profiling (stateline.org, May 10)

Vouchers Stopped in N.M., Advance in Louisiana
Louisiana passed New Mexico as the latest state to approve a school voucher program. The Louisiana proposal is headed for the Senate floor, while the New Mexico House killed a similar bill, despite support from Gov. Gary Johnson (R). Florida recently became the first to adopt a statewide school voucher program.
• House Rejects School Voucher Program (The Albuquerque Journal, May 10)
• School Voucher Plan Wins First Round (The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., May 7)

Rep. Jefferson Makes Bid for Louisiana Governorship
Focusing on a clean environment and his opposition to school vouchers, Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) said he would run for the gubernatorial nomination this year. Republican Gov. Mike Foster (R) is seeking reelection.
• Jefferson Enters Governor's Race, Says Foster Hostile to Workers (The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.)
• Governors Guide: Mike Foster (washingtonpost.com)

Term Limits Group Heats Up Effort to Hold Nethercutt to His Word
U.S. Term Limits, a national organization that has been busy keeping tabs on the representatives whose self-imposed term limits are coming up next year, will begin running ads on the sides of buses this weekend, encouraging Rep. George Nethercutt (R-Wash.) not to seek reelection.
• Term-Limit Group Steps Up Pressure on Nethercutt (Seattle Times, May 10)

Ryan Thornburg can be reached at ryan.thornburg@washingtonpost.com