LEDC Executive Director Attends Town Hall with President

Manny Hidalgo, executive director of LEDC and Wheaton resident, attended CNBC's town hall on the economy with President Obama in downtown D.C. today, and was invited to ask the President a question.

But between Obama's extended answers and a few questions from CNBC reporters, Hidalgo didn't get to ask his question.

Hidalgo said he was glad he attended though, especially considering the problems he hears about most often in Montgomery County – foreclosures and small businesses struggling to survive the recession – were on the table during the town hall.

"We wanted a question that most of our clients would ask," he said. "To make it as broad as possible."

While most of the conversation focused on the expiring tax cuts and Obama's policy towards businesses, Hidalgo said he was most surprised by a business owner's question about why Obama had not come out strong on his record to match much of the rhetoric from his opponent.

"It was interesting to see the faithful say they want him to take off the gloves," Hidalgo said.

What was missing, other than his own question? Hidalgo mentioned that even the small business owners asked were generally from larger, more established companies.

"I feel like the discussion of small businesses was focused on the larger business," he said adding that the policies the president discussed would affect those kinds of business more directly. "That's not the folks we serve – Mom and Pops that hire less than 10 people and have lifestyle businesses."

And what was that question that Hidalgo wanted to ask?

My name is Manny Hidalgo and I'm the executive director of the Latino Economic Development Corporation. We're a community-based nonprofit that champions thriving small businesses and stable housing for Latinos and other underserved communities in the Washington region.

The economic crisis has left the nation's Latino community shaken but not defeated. An estimated 17% of Latino homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure, the Latino unemployment rate is at 12%, and the thousands of small businesses that Latinos had launched at a rate equal to three times the national average before this crisis began are now in serious jeopardy.

What will you do in the next 12 months to help Latinos and other immigrants rescue their dreams of economic prosperity?