01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, May 12, 2005

You may have read that Grace Diaz, who is a freshman state representative, came to Providence from the Dominican Republic in 1990 with $40, two dresses and no English.

She's now swept up in the political whirl and was at a March 2 White House program for Dominican-American leaders. It turned out to be the day President Bush honored the Red Sox, and she got to see that. Diaz didn't lack for things to talk about over the cell phone with her 12-year-old daughter, Maria, the youngest of her five children, back in Rhode Island. "She's so excited about anything I do, and she's constantly calling: 'What are you doing now? What's happening now?' "

Diaz, 48, represents Elmwood, Washington Park and the West End, a largely Latino district. She owns a home-based daycare business. Backed by other child care providers and by House leaders, she ousted Rep. Leon Tejada in a 2004 Democratic primary. Tejada had run afoul of state campaign finance reporting laws and, in the House's internal politics, was on the outs with chamber powers. At a recent Diaz fundraiser, Majority Leader Gordon Fox said he'd been "very impressed" with her. "It happened to be a wonderful fit."

The event (chicken, rice, vegetable lasagna) was at Ada's Creations, a sprawling Broad Street restaurant and success story. "This represents prosperity for this community and also specifically for Latinos," said Sen. Juan Pichardo. Owner Ada Terrero is a Diaz pal. They both work hard. "We compete with each other," Diaz chuckles.

She rises at 5:30 a.m., receives her first young clients at 6, does errands in the afternoon, goes to the State House and attends political or community events until 9 or 10 at night.

After arriving here from the Dominican Republic, where she worked in government offices, Diaz studied English at the International Institute. She's been a bartender, cashier and metal polisher. She took courses at CCRI, became a nursing assistant, then a group home community living aide.

Diaz has submitted an ambitious agenda of bills. But one measure she did not join in sponsoring, though she certainly wants it to pass, is a bill to allow home-based child-care providers, whose services are state subsidized, to unionize and negotiate with the state. Governor Carcieri has threatened a veto of the bill, sponsored by Fox and many others.

Diaz calls daycare providers key to the community: "We're supporting who's working." She says providers had urged her to run for the House -- "We need somebody like us there," they said -- and that her winning impressed lawmakers with the providers' clout and ability.

She declined to co-sponsor the unionization bill in order to avoid a conflict of interest. As for whether she will vote on the measure, she is seeking an Ethics Commission advisory opinion on that and other matters regarding her roles as a provider and legislator. Until the ruling comes, it's not clear how free she is under ethics laws to talk up the bill with other reps. She told me she'd been doing that, but after meeting with Jason Gramitt, commission staff lawyer, she said that she'd now do so only if she, like citizens generally, comes upon legislators outside the State House.

Of course, there's no question about promoting issues of general concern to her district. Diaz says, "We are people who are working hard. . . . We want to be part of the economic development in Rhode Island. We want to have a better opportunity for education for our kids."

She hopes you'll drop by the area, see the businesses, hear the merengue and eat the food. I find the neighborhood interesting and lively; Latinos are a burgeoning population, and I feel I'm visiting the future.

M. Charles Bakst, The Journal's political columnist, can be reached by e-mail at mbakst [at] projo.com