New Santa Ana | Category Archives: 2012 Elections

LULAC welcomes Senator Correa’s support in redistricting efforts

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Elections, Lou Correa, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 2 Comments

League of United Latin American Citizens
Santa Ana LULAC Council #147
Established: National – 1929 | Santa Ana – 1946
Orange County LULAC District #1
PO Box 1810, Santa Ana , CA 92702-1810

June 9, 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Contact Persons: Zeke Hernandez, 714-661-4428 / Arturo Montez, 714-914-3154

Local Civil Rights Organization Welcomes Support of Senator Lou Correa in Redistricting Efforts

The New Santa Ana blog expresses dismay that the California Redistricting Commission “is considering splitting Santa Ana away from Anaheim into two new State Senate Districts. This new district features a 38% Democrat and 37% Republican split of voters and should include Little Saigon, stretching north into Buena Park . This blog entry is provided at end of this press release.

The New Santa Ana blog publisher states that Senator Correa “feels that Santa Ana and Anaheim should remain in one contiguous District.”

Santa Ana LULAC #147 President Zeke Hernandez states, “I thank Senator Correa and feel it is necessary for other elected officials to express their opinions on the plans being drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, and also by the Orange County Redistricting Committee. I encourage other local elected leaders to step up to the plate as Senator Correa is doing. It is important that our community be united and together as a significant community in all parts of Orange County and that the spirit of the U.S. Constitution, the California Constitution, and the Voting Rights Act be foremost as district lines are drawn and adopted.”

Public participation is crucial as these groups have started to receive input from people of various communities of interest.

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission will hold a public input hearing on Saturday, June 18 (2 pm – 5 pm) at California State University Fullerton – Mackey Auditorium, Ruby Gerontology Center 13, Fullerton . Please arrive early.

Senator Correa and Hernandez are also encouraging community residents to attend two quickly-arranged arranged workshops in Orange County by NALEO and MALDEF. Presenters will review the Citizens Commission’s first and up-to-date latest draft maps, allow for community discussion of the implications resulting from these maps related to the Federal Voting Rights Act, in addition to encouraging public participation at the Commission meeting of June 18.

These meetings are scheduled for Sunday, June 12 (9 am – 10:30 am) and Tuesday, June 14 (6 pm – 8:30 pm) at Delhi Community Center , 505 East Central Ave. , Santa Ana 92707 .

Established in 1946, Santa Ana LULAC Council #147 is the oldest LULAC council in California and is an affiliate of Orange County LULAC District#1 and LULAC National – founded in 1929 with its national office in Washington , D.C.

The mission and objectives of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is to advance the economic development, educational advancement, public policy outcomes, housing opportunities, health awareness, and general civil rights protection of Latinos in the United States and Puerto Rico through community-based programs and services through more than 700 local LULAC councils nationwide.

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~ Redistricting May Split Santa Ana and Anaheim into 2 Senate districts ~

New Santa Ana Blog
By Admin
June 8, 2011

http://dev.newsantaana.com/2011/06/08/redistricting-may-split-santa-ana-and-anaheim-into-two-senate-districts/

The California Redistricting Commission is considering splitting Santa Ana away from Anaheim , into two new State Senate Districts. Currently, both of these are in the 34th State Senate District, which is represented by State Senator Lou Correa.

If you look at the graphic above, you will see that the new Santa Ana District will include Little Saigon and will stretch up north all the way to Buena Park . The new District will also include Cypress and Stanton . It will feature a close split of the voters, with 38% Democrats and 37% Republicans, putting the seat in play for the OC GOP.

The new Anaheim District will include that city plus Fullerton , Placentia , Yorba Linda , Chino Hills, La Habra and perhaps even Diamond Bar. The seat will favor the Republicans, with a margin of 41% GOP versus 34% Democratic.

Click here for a better view of the proposed Senate Districts.

I met with Correa today and he feels that Santa and Anaheim should remain in one continguous District. I agree. To me this split will disenfranchise Latino voters in particular.

Click here to read about the upcoming California Redistricting Commission meeting that is coming up at CSUF. This will be your last chance to speak up before these Districts become reality!

O.C. Redistricting Commission sets aside some maps and modifies others

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Latino Leaders, Latinos, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

League of United Latin American Citizens
Santa Ana LULAC Council #147
Established: National – 1929 | Santa Ana – 1946
Orange County LULAC District #1
PO Box 1810, Santa Ana, CA 92702-1810

June 8, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT PERSONS: Art Montez, 714-661-4428 / Zeke Hernandez, 714-914-3154

County Redistricting Committee Sets Aside “Phantom” Map Plans + 1 Other; Modifies 3 Others

The Orange County redistricting voted unanimously on Wednesday (June 8) to set aside and not consider the six anonymous plans submitted to the committee by an unnamed person. The “phantom” plans are listed as Plans #9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15. In addition, the committee also will not be considering Plan #1, whose author withdrew his support for this plan at the May 26 meeting.

Santa Ana LULAC #147 President Zeke Hernandez thanked the committee for its action, but also advised committee members, because they in essence put these plans “in abeyance” – that he hopes they are not resurrected on the last day of public reviews if the author does show up at the last minute. He states, “As to these maps, I would hope the committee has put them to rest permanently.”

The committee also accepted minor modifications to three map plans (Plans #16, 17, and #18) submitted by District #2 staff and replaced them with Plans #16A, #17A, and #18A. The modifications were very minor and did not affect any population data, percentages as explained by staff during the meeting presentation of all maps.

Hernandez also encouraged committee members, “to whittle down the number of plans that were submitted by county supervisors – to assist staff as they work to provide more details on plans under consideration, such as street boundaries, identification of census tracks and blocks, etc.” The general public attending the meeting was assured that district offices were thinking of this and district staff persons may be seriously considering perhaps withdrawing additional plans or may just narrow their district preferences soon.

Among those attending the first of several public meetings outside of the county hall of administration was Orange County Supervisor – District 4 Shawn Nelson and La Habra City Councilmember Rose Espinoza.

The Redistricting Committee will hold its second community meeting on Thursday, June 9 (6 pm) at the Orange City hall Council Chambers, 300 East Chapman Avenue, Orange.

Two additional community meetings are scheduled to encourage public participation, they are:

June 16 (6 pm) – Westminster City Hall Council Chambers, 8200 Westminster Ave., Westminster.
June 23 (6 pm) – Mission Viejo City Hall Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo.

from: Zeke Hernandez
President (Past State Director)
Santa Ana LULAC #147
League of United Latin American Citizens
PO Box 1810, Santa Ana, CA 92702
714-661-4428 (cell)
www.LULACSantaAna.com
www.LULAC.org (National LULAC)

Will Janet Nguyen and Van Tran face off in the 47th C.D. primary in 2012?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Garden Grove, Janet Nguyen, Loretta Sanchez, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana, Stanton, Vietnamese, Westminster Leave a comment

Last year former Assemblyman Van Tran and Supervisor Janet Nguyen were forced by OC GOP party leaders to bury the hatchet as Nguyen endorsed Tran in his campaign against Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. As you can see in the picture above, Nguyen wasn’t very excited about their deal. Next year might be an entirely different story.

I am hearing that Nguyen is going to face off against Tran in a bloody primary battle for Sanchez’ 47th Congressional District, if the redistricting that is underway gives the GOP an edge in that District.

Nguyen and Tran were once close friends – she worked for him and they even went on a double honeymoon, but they split when Nguyen ran for the Garden Grove City Council. She told me years later that Tran tried to force her to hire his buddies to run her campaign.

Last year Nguyen’s former Chief of Staff, Andrew Do, secretly met with businessman and former U.S. Marine Quang Pham. Do was sent by Nguyen with an offer – if Pham would pay Do and Nguyen the sum of $100,ooo, Nguyen would make sure that Pham would be played up in local Vietnamese radio shows and newspapers, so he could win the GOP primary. Pham figured he would be hung out to dry in the general, so he dropped out of the race. Tran went on to win the primary and lose the general, to Sanchez.

Nguyen learned a lot from Tran after all. One thing she did not learn is to be loyal to her friends. Tran will take a bullet for his comrades. Nguyen? Not so much. She dumped Do after he bungled her attempt to take over last year’s Black April event, in Westminster. Tran and his allies scuttled that effort by changing the time of her event to the morning – it turned out to be an epic fail for Nguyen.

Do recently quit the Garden Grove City Council seat that Nguyen helped him win, even though he was accused of carpetbagging. He figured, probably correctly, that Nguyen was going to block his future attempts to ascend in politics.

Sanchez can only hope and pray that Nguyen and Tran will bloody each other in a divisive and heated primary. She ought to go on to defeat the victor, but who knows? A lot will depend on whether voters in her district turn out to vote for President Barack Obama’s reelection.

If Nguyen leaves her Supervisorial seat, there will be a bloodbath in the Democratic Party for the now open seat. I don’t know of any Republicans who are in a good position to hold on to the seat. Maybe that will change if the current Orange County Redistricting Commission, which is made up of the Supervisors’ Chiefs of Staff, dilute the Latino vote in Nguyen’s First District.

Click here to read about the upcoming Orange County Redistricting Commission meetings.

Redistricting may split Santa Ana and Anaheim into two Senate districts

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, buena park, california, Democratic Party, Elections, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Latinos, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Stanton, Westminster 3 Comments

The California Redistricting Commission is considering splitting Santa Ana away from Anaheim, into two new State Senate Districts. Currently, both of these cities are in the 34th State Senate District, which is represented by State Senator Lou Correa.

If you look at the graphic above, you will see that the new Santa Ana District will include Little Saigon and will stretch up north all the way to Buena Park. The new District will also include Cypress and Stanton. It will feature a close split of the voters, with 38% Democrats and 37% Republicans, putting the seat in play for the OC GOP.

The new Anaheim District will include that city plus Fullerton, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Chino Hills, La Habra and perhaps even Diamond Bar. This seat will favor the Republicans, with a margin of 41% GOP versus 34% Democratic.

Click here for a better view of the proposed Senate Districts.

I met with Correa today and he feels that Santa Ana and Anaheim should remain in one contiguous District. I agree. To me this split will disenfranchise Latino voters in particular.

Click here to read about the upcoming California Redistricting Commission meeting that is coming up at CSUF. This will be your last chance to speak up before these Districts become reality!

LULAC complains again about the Orange County Redistricting Commission

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Elections, Latinos, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

League of United Latin American Citizens
Santa Ana LULAC Council #147
Established: National – 1929 | Santa Ana – 1946
Orange County LULAC District #1
PO Box 1810, Santa Ana, CA 92702-1810

June 7, 2011

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

County’s Legal Attorneys Continue to Advise County Committee to Ignore Adopted Procedures

Santa Ana LULAC continues to be concerned that the Orange County Board of Supervisors will be considering and voting on six redistricting map plans submitted by an anonymous person. The plans were accepted by the Orange County Redistricting Committee, even though they had all agreed not to accept any plans without a name and contact information.

Santa Ana LULAC President Zeke Hernandez asserts, “The committee composed of the chiefs of staff for each of the county supervisors has already acknowledged they will disregard their own rules as they provide a façade in the process to cover up the openness and transparency that is necessary. The integrity of the process is at issue here, an average Orange County public resident can easily see that committee members are reviewing and recommending plans – some of these plans were submitted by their bosses and have to be approved by their bosses. Now you have the county’s counsel advising the Redistricting Committee that even though they have decided to recommend one proposal, they alone can change the rules and do as they wish.”

This can be verified by reviewing the committee’s minutes at:
http://egov.ocgov.com/vgnfiles/ocgov/OCGOVPortal/docs/RM5262011.doc

Hernandez continued, “These minutes do not provide sufficient information for the public to be informed, it would be better personally for a person to hear the county’s audio feed of the meeting to understand how the committee is ‘gaming the system’.” The audio can be accessed at:

http://chirb.it/MItcg8

“In addition to the 6 phantom plans, the committee is also reviewing 10 plans submitted by the county supervisors – this is a total of 16 plans that are questionable …. This figures to be 2/3’s of all plans submitted to the committee by the May 18 deadline” stated Hernandez.

Some of these plans submitted by the Chiefs of Staff for board supervisors are not even being advocated by staff personnel. Based on their own statements at the committee meeting, staff has said they are being submitted for either “discussion purposes”, “over-arching philosophy of status quo”, attempts to “clean-up current plan”, keeping “cities whole”, and also to move certain areas from one district to another.

From: Zeke Hernandez
President (Past State Director)
Santa Ana LULAC #147
League of United Latin American Citizens
PO Box 1810, Santa Ana, CA 92702
714-661-4428 (cell)
www.LULACSantaAna.com
www.LULAC.org (National LULAC)

Redistricting may hand Sanchez’ seat to GOP in 2012

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Democratic Party, Elections, Loretta Sanchez, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 4 Comments

The California Redistricting Commission has released preliminary maps of the proposed new Congressional, Assembly and State Senate Districts here in Orange County.

“There is a long list of potential winners and losers on the Congressional front, but none are more striking than the Sanchez Sisters. In these draft maps Loretta Sanchez is put into a Republican seat with Dana Rorabacher, and her sister, Linda Sanchez is put into a Long Beach seat with Laura Richardson. That should get tongues wagging in DC,” according to an online news site.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez’ new district would have a Republican edge in total votes, by a 38% to 37% margin. You can bet both the Democrats and the Republicans would quickly get busy registering new voters in the 47th.

Click here to see the proposed new congressional districts.

The revised map of the 34th State Senate District, which is currently held by State Senator Lou Correa, would stretch from Buena Park to Villa Park, and would still include most of Santa Ana. But Anaheim would move to a north County district that would include Fullerton and stretch up through Diamond Bar.

But this new district would now feature a 39% Democratic versus 37% Republican vote split. And the new district’s voters selected Whitman over Brown by a 47% to 44% margin. In this new district, independent voters would essentially decide our next State Senator.

The new proposed Orange County Assembly maps are not out yet.

“The 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission — set to release draft statewide maps on Friday — has crisscrossed the state in recent months, collecting testimony from people with often opposing viewpoints about what the new districts should look like. The commissioners must digest all of the feedback and balance it against other priorities, including compliance with the federal Voters Rights Act and creating congressional districts that are as close as possible to 702,905 people each,” according to the Press Enterprise.

According to the Redistricting Commission’s website:

Districts must be of equal population to comply with the US Constitution.
Districts must comply with the Voting Rights Act to ensure that minorities have an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.
Districts must be contiguous so that all parts of the district are connected to each other.
Districts must respect the boundaries of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of Interest, and minimize their division, to the extent possible.
Districts should be geographically compact, that is, have a fairly regular shape.
Where practicable each Senate District should be comprised of two complete and adjacent Assembly Districts and Board of Equalization districts shall be composed of 10 complete and adjacent State Senate Districts.
Districts shall not be drawn to favor or discriminate against an incumbent, candidate, or political party.

Will the DPOC give Janet Nguyen a free pass in 2012?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, Democratic Party, Elections, Janet Nguyen, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 13 Comments

Is the Democratic Party of Orange County going to give Republican Supervisor Janet Nguyen a free pass in 2012? It certainly looks like that is going to be the case.

Assemblyman Jose Solorio is not going to challenge her, even though he terms out in 2012.

O.C. Labor Federation Political Director Julio Perez is going to challenge his fellow Democrat, Santa Ana Councilman Vince Sarmiento, in 2012, for Solorio’s seat in the 69th Assembly District, instead of doing the right thing and going after Nguyen.

Phu Nguyen, a Democrat who came close to winning in the 68th Assembly District last year, will probably run for that seat again.

I have heard rumors that one of the Santa Ana Council Members might challenge Nguyen, but so far that has not come to pass.

Nguyen should be ripe for the picking. Her district leans blue and the voters in the district voted for Obama in 2008, and will probably do so again in 2012. Plus Nguyen angered local Vietnamese voters when she tried to take over their Black April event last year. Her former Chief of Staff, Andrew Do, quit after that debacle.

So why are the Democrats giving her a free pass? Well, labor paid for the recount that put her in office. She has been their gal ever since.

It should be noted that Nguyen recently got up and walked out of a Board of Supervisors meeting when a group of Harvey Milk Day supporters was talking to the Supervisors. She later said she had to go breastfeed her baby, but she could have had a surrogate give the baby bottled breast milk. I suspect she used the baby as cover so she could leave and not have to vote to support Harvey Milk Day.

Nguyen was also a staunch supporter of failed anti-Latino gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman.

Can any Democrat beat her? Of course. I think any of the Santa Ana City Council Members could beat her, with the exception of Carlos Bustamante, who I heard today is trying to convince the rest of the City Council to hire the former City Attorney from the City of Bell. Bustamante is also a Republican and an ally of Nguyen. And, as an Orange County employee, Bustamante also works for her.

I also think that former Assemblyman Van Tran could easily beat Nguyen, as could any of his allies.

Nguyen is going to continue to support awful Republicans if she gets reelected. The Democrats need to challenge her. Giving her a free pass would be a real insult to Democratic voters in the First District.

LULAC claims County Redistricting Committee violated procedures

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Latino Leaders, Latinos, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

League of United Latin American Citizens
Santa Ana LULAC Council #147
Established: National – 1929 | Santa Ana – 1946
Orange County LULAC District #1
PO Box 1810, Santa Ana, CA 92702-1810

June 3, 2011

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

County Of Orange Redistricting Committee Violates Its Own Adopted Procedures in Accepting Anonymous Map Plans

In a May 27 letter to the County of Orange Executive Office and the Orange County Redistricting Committee, local civil rights organization Santa Ana LULAC #147 had provided a copy of its letter addressed to the United States Department of Justice to Rob Richardson, Assistant County CEO and to Don Hughes, Chairperson of the redistricting committee. This is contrary to the assertion by a county spokesperson to the Orange County Register in a news article released June 2. The article includes the following quote:

“County spokesman Howard Sutter said the county had not seen the letter and had no comment at this time.”

Santa Ana LULAC President Zeke Hernandez, noted, “The county assistant CEO had requested a copy of the letter in a late e-mail message to me; and the county consequently was provided the letter within a short time after its request. The county committee has violated its own adopted procedures by accepting six anonymous redistricting plans at its May 26 meeting. These plans were submitted via online by a person using the same email username with an Anaheim 92805 zip code. The six phantom map plans constitute 25% of 24 maps submitted.”

The county committee previously adopted guidelines of the Public Participation Plan states (highlights by Santa Ana LULAC):

“In order to submit a plan using the redistricting software, the software requires plans to have five district; no non-contiguous areas; no unassigned areas; a contact name, address, phone number, and email address; and a narrative description of the proposed plan, preferably in 250 words or less.”

In addition, the county committee emphasized they would not accept plans that did not meet the requirements as specified:

“Neither the County nor CDR is responsible for rejection of proposals that are either not received by the deadline or are incomplete or that do not comply with the requirements herein.”

The committee, with the urging by contracted county counsel, quickly accepted these six “Zip-Coded 92805” plans from an unknown person – their rationale was (and also asserted by counsel) that the phantom person may all of a sudden appear and reveal their real identity to the committee at some time during the review process.

Hernandez asserted, “The six submitted redistricting map plans did not have a contact name, no address, no phone number. The zip code was provided upon further investigation by contracted staff. The county committee should have never received the six phantom plans in the first place as they did not comply with adopted public participation guidelines.”

“Santa Ana LULAC is rapidly losing faith that the Redistricting Committee will be neutral in its discussions, deliberations, and recommendations to the Orange County Board of Supervisors in June or July. What is becoming clear is that county committee members will find a way to include a plan for consideration to the Orange County Board of Supervisors that is a “pet plan” of one or more of the incumbent supervisors.”

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Supporting Documents are being provided separately.

Perez will battle Sarmiento in the Democratic primary for the 69th A.D.

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Elections, Labor, Loretta Sanchez, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 35 Comments

When I first heard that Julio Perez, the Political Director of the Orange County Labor Federation, was interested in running for the 69th Assembly District, I figured he was just testing the waters. But he is holding a fundraiser on June 2, at Santa Ana’s Bistro 400, so I guess he is serious about running.

The 69th Assembly District is currently held by Jose Solorio, but he is terming out, after six years in Sacramento, in 2012. Solorio previously served on the Santa Ana City Council. The man who replaced him on that Council, Vince Sarmiento, is also planning to run for the 69th.

Remember also that the election rules have changed. Candidates have to win by 50% or more, or else they have to face off against their runner-up, regardless of their partisan affiliation. This means that we could end up with two Democrats running against each other in the 2012 general election!

Why is that? Because the Republican Party is basically dead in the 69th A.D. They have no chance of winning in the primary, at all. And I doubt any Republicans would vote for Perez in November, given his obvious ties to labor.

Sarmiento is a known quantity. He is a successful attorney and he has been a quiet leader on the Santa Ana City Council. You can read his bio here. What do we know about Perez?

According to his online bio, Perez is an Orange County native, having been raised in the low income immigrant neighborhood situated literally ‘on the other side of the wall’ from Disneyland.

Here is the rest of his bio:

Perez received a BA in International Studies from UC Irvine and continued his education, obtaining a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.

Perez began his career in labor as a Policy Analyst with the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), and helped win organizing campaigns, worker-friendly policies and health care initiatives. He continued this work throughout his career working with SOL (Strengthening Our Lives) PAC, Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) and more recently with SEIU-UHW West.

Rick Eiden, President of the Orange County Labor Federation said “The Orange County Labor Federation has been tirelessly working to improve the lives of working men and women in Orange County. Julio’s policy, research and organizing experience will contribute immensely to our efforts of growing our labor movement in Orange County.

Can Perez, who has never run for office, beat Sarmiento? Well, just look at the map of the 69th A.D. There isn’t much Anaheim in it. It is dominated by the City of Santa Ana.

Has Perez had much of an effect in Orange County? Well, last year labor got behind a Republican, John Leos, for the Anaheim City Council. That didn’t work out so well. Leos lost, although labor spent a small fortune on his campaign. So did the two Democrats in the race, Bill Dalati and John Santoianni. I doubt they will be backing Perez in 2012.

The only victory that Perez can boast about is paying for a recount that put Republican Janet Nguyen on the O.C. Board of Supervisors. Labor spent a ton of money over the past few elections trying to take out Republican Supervisors John Moorlach and Shawn Nelson. That didn’t work out so well.

Perez would be better off running against Republican Supervisor Janet Nguyen, in the First Supervisorial District, even if he had to move into the district. But since Labor funded her recount, they will likely give her a free pass in 2012. Instead they will waste thousands trying to defeat Sarmiento, which of course makes no sense at all. He is a progressive Democrat. Apparently Perez is not aware of that.

County of Orange seeks input on redistricting proposals

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Orange, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana, Westminster 1 Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2, 2011

Contact: CEO Community/Media Relations: 714.834.6203 office

Orange County Seeks Input on Redistricting Proposals

(Santa Ana, CA) — The Redistricting Committee for the County of Orange will conduct a series of meetings in Buena Park, Orange, Westminster and Mission Viejo to receive public input on the Redistricting proposals being considered by the Committee and the factors the Committee should consider in its deliberations.

The 24 Redistricting proposals submitted to the Committee are available for review on the County’s website at http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Government/Redistricting. Public meetings will be held at the following locations:

• June 8 – 6 p.m., Buena Park Community Center (Heritage Hall), 8150 Knott Ave., Buena Park
• June 9 – 6 p.m., Orange City Hall, Council Chambers, 300 E. Chapman Ave., Orange
• June 16 – 6 p.m., Westminster City Hall, Council Chambers, 8200 Westminster Blvd., Westminster
• June 23 – 6 p.m., Mission Viejo City Hall, Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo

The Committee will continue its work with a meeting to be held June 30 at 2 p.m. at the County Hall of Administration, 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana. If necessary, a Redistricting Committee meeting may also be held July 7 at the Hall of Administration.

The public is encouraged to review the Redistricting proposals on-line and attend one of the meetings to provide their input on the Redistricting process. Comments can be made at the meetings orally or in writing. The Orange County Board of Supervisors is currently scheduled to hold public hearings in July and September to consider the public input and the recommendation of the Redistricting Committee before adopting an ordinance setting new Supervisorial district boundaries.

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Is the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government a GOP ploy?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 3 Comments

The Republicans still rule in Orange County – except for the City of Santa Ana, where only one Republican sits on our City Council.

The Democrats control the 69th Assembly District, the 34th State Senate District and the 47th Congressional District. All the Republicans have is Supervisor Janet Nguyen. She might be able to redistrict her way to victory in 2012 – or she might not.

Given that background it is very surprising that two Republicans have started the so-called “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government,” which is really a state registered Political Action Committee. Why should Democrats in Santa Ana give them the time of day?

I spoke to the publicist for this coalition a few month ago. She said they had others on their Board, besides the two Republicans – Art Lomeli and John Acosta – but so far they have not posted any other names on their website.

To make matters worse, Lomeli and Acosta don’t even live in Santa Ana! Does anyone on their board live in Santa Ana? Who knows – they won’t post their names!

What exactly do these people advocate? Again, who knows? Their website does not cite any original ideas for change – just a laundry list of empty complaints.

You have to wonder if the OC GOP is using this sad bunch to try to regain territory in Santa Ana. Sorry – that won’t work.

It certainly did not work last year when several of the most bitter Republicans in town lined up behind Amezcua. He still got blown out of the water by Mayor Miguel Pulido.

Too bad these people are so set on complaining instead of trying to foster real change in Santa Ana. In the end their effort will amount to nothing – no one at City Hall will give these people any credence. And in 2012, their favored son, Alfredo Amezcua, is going to lose again to Pulido. The reality is that Pulido won’t stop being Mayor until he decides to leave.

Amezcua blew a quarter million last year in his failed attempt to beat Pulido. There is no telling how much more money will be wasted by his “Coalition of Republicans who don’t live in Santa Ana.”

Orange County redistricting plans due May 18

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2011

Contact: Howard Sutter, 714.834.6203 office, Howard.Sutter@ocgov.com

Orange County Redistricting Plans Due May 18

(Santa Ana, CA) — Just one week remains to submit plans for the redistricting of supervisorial districts in the County of Orange.

The final date to submit a complete Redistricting plan is Wednesday, May 18 at 5 p.m. Questions about submitting a plan should be directed to staff at the Center for Demographic Research (CDR) at California State University, Fullerton by calling (657) 278-4670. Information about submitting Redistricting plans is also available on the County’s website at http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Government/Redistricting. Computer workstations with the software needed to create a Redistricting plan are available at 35 locations throughout Orange County. A map of these sites is included on the Redistricting webpage.

A series of Redistricting Committee meetings in May and June will provide opportunities to review and comment on the plans that are submitted. Locations and times for these meetings will be determined by the Redistricting Committee during their May 12 meeting, which is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room at the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana.

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County of Orange Redistricting Committee meeting on May 12

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Entertainment, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

There will be a meeting of the County of Orange Redistricting Committee this Thursday, May 12th at 2:00 p.m., at the Hall of Administration, in the Public Board Hearing Room, which the public is welcome to attend. The agenda can be found at:

http://egov.ocgov.com/vgnfiles/ocgov/OCGOVPortal/docs/RA05122011.doc

More information about the County’s Redistricting efforts can be found at:

http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Government/Redistricting

Here is the Meeting Agenda:

REGULAR MEETING OF THE REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Thursday, May 12, 2011, 2:00 P.M.

BOARD HEARING ROOM, FIRST FLOOR
333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., 10 Civic Center Plaza
Santa Ana, California

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS: (Items 1 – 2)

At this time, members of the public may ask the Committee to be heard on the following items as those items are called.

1. Update on status of redistricting process

2. Approval of locations and times for May 26, June 9, 16 & 23, 2011 Redistricting Committee meetings

PUBLIC & COMMITTEE COMMENTS:

At this time members of the public may address the Redistricting Committee on any matter not on the agenda but within the jurisdiction of the Committee. The Committee or Chairman may limit the length of time each individual may have to address the Committee.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

COMMITTEE COMMENTS:

ADJOURNMENT

NEXT MEETING:

May 26, 2011 TBA (time and location to be approved as part of Item 2)

Vincent Sarmiento to run for the 69th Assembly District

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

State Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-69) has reportedly convinced Santa Ana City Councilman Vincent Sarmiento to run for the 69th Assembly District in 2012, when Solorio will term out.

Sarmiento was appointed to the Santa Ana City Council when Solorio resigned to go to Sacramento. Now, I am told, Sarmiento will return the favor, as the Santa Ana City Council will appoint Solorio to replace Sarmiento, in Ward 1.

I am told Solorio will have a tough time getting four votes from the current Santa Ana City Council – he can rely on David Benavides, Carlos Bustamante and Mayor Miguel Pulido, but Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is no fan of his, nor is Council Member Sal Tinajero. Council Member Michele Martinez will be the all-important swing vote.

Julio Perez, the political director of the OC Labor Federation, was considering running for the 69th, according to various sources, but that is now unlikely. Sarmiento should be able to raise a lot of money, with Solorio’s support.

The 69th is a predominantly Democratic district. That may change via redistricting but until that happens, Sarmiento will be the presumptive victor, should he win in the Democratic Party’s primary, as the OC GOP has not been able to challenge for the seat since the days of former Assemblyman Jim Morrissey, who infamously hired a Democrat to run his campaigns.

Public meeting on redistricting to be held in Santa Ana on Friday, May 6

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, california, Democratic Party, Elections, Entertainment, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

From the Democratic Party of Orange County

California Citizens Commission on Redistricting to hold public meeting in Santa Ana on May 6th — you need to attend.

Notice of Public Meeting on Redistricting

Please attend the public hearing on redrawing the boundaries of all state and congressional elected offices which will be held on May 6th in Santa Ana. The meeting is conducted by the voter approved California Citizens Commission on Redistricting. It will be held at 6 pm until 9 pm, at the Santa Ana City Council Chambers, 22 Civic Center Plaza.

These boundaries are only drawn every 10 years following the census. The lines will determine which political party will be elected.

To prepare for the hearing at which members of the community may give testimony, Click on this link.

About Democratic Party of Orange County

Representing over 517, 000 registered Democrats, the Democratic Party is the fastest growing political party in Orange County. We have a proud history of representing and protecting the interests of all Americans.

We believe in:

A healthy economy that creates jobs and promotes a shared success between employers and employees.

A strong, respected America that protects our security when it is threatened, but also emphasizes diplomacy and Democratic values; the foundations of a more peaceful and prosperous world.

Fundamental rights for all Americans, such as: quality healthcare, a world-class education and a clean environment.

Being progressive and adaptive to the challenges of a changing environment, economy and society.

When and Where We Meet:

The Democratic Party of Orange County meets twice a month:

Second Monday of each month: Executive Committee Meeting is held at the DPOC Office, 201 N. Main Street, Mezzanine Level, Santa Ana at 7 pm.
Fourth Monday of each month: Central Committee Meeting is held at the Carpenter’s Union Hall, 1916 N. Chapman Avenue, Orange at 7 pm.

How to Reach Us:

DPOC: gerrieschipske@ocdemocrats.org
Web: www.ocdemocrats.org
Phone: 714 835-5158
Fax: 714 835-3685