Recent census figures indicate that Latinos make up 69.4 percent of the population in Dover, yet, historically the town has had a low number of Latinos running for public office — a pattern that one political group is actively trying to change.

Of the 11 candidates — three for mayor, eight for alderman — who have filed to run in the June primary election, just two are Latinos.

Such low numbers are nothing new.

Edward Correa, 33, is a Democratic political activist who is running for a spot on the Board of Aldermen in the primary.

According to his records, only six Latino candidates have run for office in Dover since 2004, three Democrats and three Republicans. Since 2005 three Latinos have run for school board seats, he said.

Dover has had only one Latino mayor, Javier Marin, who was elected for one term in 2003. He was unsuccessful in his run for an alderman seat in 2006 before moving to Florida. Marin was also the first Latino mayor in Morris County.

Last year, Correa, a founder and co-founder of Latino advocacy and education groups, founded Dover Democrats for Change, a political action committee under whose name Correa is running for alderman, along with seven other candidates for municipal and school board seats.

Dover Democrats for Change, Correa said, is setting out to develop and groom Latino candidates for public office — not just so Latinos can represent other Latinos, but for Latinos to be able to take office and represent everyone, he said.

His ticket this year is reflective of that goal, he said.

"There's a trend here that we're going from low participation of candidates to an era of greater numbers of Latino participation for office," Correa said.

Still, he acknowledges overall that Latino participation in Dover's political process is low, something he attributes to a lack of interest, education and information of the political process, and the overall absence of consistent community organization efforts to recruit Latinos. Additionally, as the "newcomer group," many Latinos are busy working multiple jobs not giving them time to vote, and language can become a barrier, too.

Despite the fact that Dover is predominantly Democrat, Republicans have done a better job recruiting Latinos for public office, he said.

"I think they're being more open to listening to Latino concerns," he said. "The regular Democratic machine has done a poor job recruiting and grooming Latino candidates for all offices — Board of Education and Board of Alderman."

Daniel Martinez, 39, is a Republican running for mayor in the June primary. He will face the winner of the Democratic primary in November, incumbent James Dodd or Alderman Frank Poolas.

This is the first time Martinez, born in New York of Puerto Rican decent, is running for public office.

With a Latino population in Dover hovering at 70 percent, Martinez agrees that the ratio of Latino residents to Latino public officials is low, "but it's not about getting a bunch of Latinos in power now; it's about getting a representation of the (entire) community," he said.

Martinez said there is no shortage of qualified Latinos to run for office, he just can't explain why they don't get involved.

"We have the caliber of (Latino) candidates in Dover to run not just for mayor or alderman but as well as several boards," he said. "I definitely believe that Dover has a good, strong leadership among Latinos and other cultures as well. But, for whatever reason, people don't jump in."

Robert Medina, 56, of Califon is chairman of the board of directors for the Morris County Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce.

According to Medina, who previously lived in Long Valley for 25 years, there's been an improvement in Latino political participation over the last few years.

"I do see a more organized movement of Latinos willing to run for office," he said.

However, outreach from both Democrats and Republicans to Latinos, who, often end up running independently, has been lacking, Medina said.

Latino candidates need the support of established political parties to succeed, he said.

"I see that there is a younger generation of politically active Latinos who are starting to get better educated in the political process, and that given the (Latino) population growth in Morris County, that you will see more and more Latino candidates, not just in Dover, but throughout Morris County," Medina said.

Dodd did not return calls seeking comment.