VISTA -- The club's name is different, but the goal is the same: to increase Latino civic and political participation in North County, organizers say.

In 2001, the North County Latino Democratic Club was formed as a way to increase Latino voter registration and encourage Latinos to run for local offices.

But the group fizzled several years later when its president and one of its founders, Xavier Martinez, moved up in the party ranks and became busy with his own accounting business.

Fast forward to 2008 and Fabio Marchi, a Vista contractor and real estate agent, said he decided to step in because he felt there was a void.

"There was not a good club in North County for the Latinos," Marchi said.

Marchi, 48, said he decided to start the new Latino American Democratic Club after helping Robert Hamilton of Fallbrook run for the 49th Congressional District against Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista.

Marchi said he wanted a club that would address Latino issues and conduct meetings in a way that made Latinos comfortable, in English and in Spanish.

Marchi and Martinez said last week they see the new club as a continuation of the North County Latino Democratic Club and its goals. Martinez, who serves as treasurer for the San Diego County Democratic Club and on the executive board for the party statewide, said he was glad to see the group revived.

"There is a need (for a Latino Democratic club in North County) and it's very positive," Martinez said. "I'm a member."

In North County, Latinos make up more than 40 percent of the population in several cities, such as Escondido, San Marcos and Vista, but only a few Latinos serve on elected positions. Most notably, Escondido recently elected its first Latina to the City Council, Olga Diaz.

Rocky Chavez and Esther Sanchez serve on the Oceanside City Council and Frank Lopez is a councilman in Vista.

Marchi said he recently announced that he is running for the county supervisor seat held by Bill Horn.

Latinos make up only about 15 percent of the county's 1.3 million voters, according to political analysts.

On Tuesday, about 30 people gathered at a Vista restaurant for one of the club's monthly meetings. It was attended by several Democratic candidates, including 50th Congressional District hopefuls Francine Busby and Tracy Emblem.

The meeting included speakers, such as immigrant rights activist Enrique Morones and Palomar College professor Carlos von Son, and discussions about current events, such as police driver's license checkpoints and day laborers in Vista.

Marchi said he hopes the club will inspire immigrant Latinos who are eligible for citizenship to become citizens, register to vote and become engaged in local politics.

Dressed in a light blue shirt and sporting a cropped haircut, Marchi looked like -- and at times sounded like -- a retired Marine giving his troops a pep talk.

"The rules are very simple," he told the group jokingly, "I make the rules."

Marchi, an electrical engineer in his native Argentina, said he moved to Chicago in the 1970s following family members who had settled there earlier. He moved to San Diego following a divorce 10 years ago.

Now he is a U.S. citizen, and though he looks European due to his Italian heritage, Marchi speaks with a heavy Spanish accent. He said learning English was one of the hardest things he did after moving to this country.

Working as a janitor and taking English classes early on, Marchi said he experienced firsthand how new immigrants can be mistreated and marginalized.

Marchi said he hopes the club helps to level the playing field for minority candidates by helping to register people, giving them a platform and providing information about issues in North County.

Given its goals, the club is off to a modest start, Marchi said. It has about 100 members and $250 in its bank account. And a recent voter registration effort drew eight new voters, he said.

The group's meetings are held around North County in hopes of attracting new members and raising more funds.

He said many Latinos, who often are poor and work long hours, are not able to travel far to attend political meetings, but may be able to attend them if they are held in their communities.

"If they can't come to me, I can come to them," he said.

For more information on the club, visit http www.ladc.sddem.org, and via email, fabio.marchi@cox.net.

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.