Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: 2012 Elections

What issues should our new Santa Ana City Council focus on?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 36 Comments

The new Santa Ana City Council Members – Angelica Amezcua and Roman Reyna, won’t be sworn in yet for a few weeks.  Once they are sworn in they are facing quite a few issues – and will have to get up to speed quickly.  Here is a rundown of some of the issues I think will need prompt attention:

  1. Who will be the new Mayor Pro Tem?  I think it should be Sal Tinajero.  Readers – what do you think?
  2. Negotiate a new contract with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association – and no I am not open to a citywide tax increase, or assessment, to pay for this.  I would rather explore outsourcing our police department to the SH
  3. Finish the Santiago Creek bike trail.  This is an embarrassment.  The City of Orange finished their side of the trail.  Why the hold-up in Santa Ana? Continue reading→

The new Santa Ana Council leader is incoming Mayor Pro Tem Tinajero

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, David Benavides, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, Julio Perez, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua, Vince Sarmiento 16 Comments

Santa Ana Council Member Sal Tinajero got out of the way when his colleague, Council Member Michele Martinez, wanted to run for the 69th Assembly District.  And he stepped aside when his colleague, Council Member David Benavides, wanted to run for Mayor this year.

Well, Martinez and Benavides were at the helm of the so-called “Santa Ana Spring,” even as it went into a death spiral.  Most of Team Benavides lost.  Now at last its Tinajero’s turn. Continue reading→

Palacio to blame for Amezcua’s loss in the SAUSD School Board race

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, David Benavides, Education, Estela Amezcua, John Palacio, Myriam Tinajero, Politics, Republican Party, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Term Limits, Vince Sarmiento 15 Comments

Valerie Amezcua

Regardless of whether or not you are a supporter of Valerie Amezcua, the daughter of failed Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua, you have to feel bad for her.  She almost won a seat on the SAUSD School Board four years ago, barely losing to Roman Reyna, who vacated that seat this year and is now moving on to Ward 5 on the Santa Ana City Council.

Two years ago Amezcua had a chance to run again, and to build on her success in the 2008 election.  But SAUSD Trustee John Palacio, who now considers himself to be a political consultant, got in the way.  He prevented her from running out of fear that she might beat him.  There were only two seats up in 2010, Palacio’s and that of his fellow incumbent, Audrey Noji.  Palacio ended up keeping everyone out of that race, except for me.  I was sickened to see that no Latinos were challenging Noji so I ran and lost by only 1,400 votes, with no campaign budget.  Palacio ended up endorsing Noji. Continue reading→

Update: Alvarez still leading over McCloughlin, in the RSCCD Area 5 election

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Chapel, Education, Mark McLoughlin, Santa Ana 9 Comments

Update: Alvarez is still ahead of McLoughlin, by 117 votes, at 9:30 pm on Saturday night, Nov. 10.

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is still leading as ballots continue to be counted, in her race against Mark McLoughlin and David Chapel, for Area 5 on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees.

Currently Alvarez has 4,429 votes versus 4,362 for McLoughlin and 3,198 for Chapel.  There are a lot of votes left to count, according to the OC Voter Registrar: Continue reading→

How Latino candidates fared in the O.C. Nov. 6 general election

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Angelica Amezcua, Cecilia Iglesias, Claudia Alvarez, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Hernandez, Jose Moreno, Jose Solorio, Latinos, Loretta Sanchez, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Steve Chavez Lodge, Tom Daly 6 Comments

Two winners – U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez and Pres. Barack Obama

Fullerton residents are in shock today as they deal with the fact that Assemblyman Chris Norby now needs a job, having lost to Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva. She ran an aggressive campaign and made heavy use of social media. Norby, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to coast to victory.

While Quirk-Silva’s victory is a great one for Orange County’s Latino voters, I am saddened to see that the 69th Assembly District is now represented by Tom Daly. There is no way he will win re-election in two years, but for now we are stuck with him.

Here is a rundown of how the County’s other Latino candidates fared in the Nov. 6 general election: Continue reading→

Benavides stews while Pulido extends an olive branch

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, David Benavides, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 7 Comments

It didn’t take long for losing Santa Ana mayoral candidate David Benavides to show his immaturity.  Check out these excerpts from the Voice of OC:

Benavides was defiant in defeat, saying wins by Vincent Sarmiento and Roman Reyna in their City Council races gives the Santa Ana Spring coalition a super majority that overrides Pulido’s landslide victory. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Clerk announces the 2012 Nov. 6 election results

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Brett Franklin, Charles Hart, David Benavides, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, George Collins, Karina Onofre, Lupe Moreno, Measure GG, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: 2012 UNOFFICIAL LOCAL SANTA ANA ELECTION RESULTS

SANTA ANA, CA (November 7, 2012) – In an effort to keep Santa Ana residents informed about the local election, the following information is provided. As of 11/07/2012 at 8 am, the Orange County Registrar of Voters Office has released the following results. Please note that this information is UNOFFICIAL until certified on December 11, 2012. For complete election information, please go to http://www.ocvote.com/results.

Santa Ana Mayor, Vote Count Percentage: Continue reading→

Team Benavides stumbles as Pulido and Alvarez win

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Elections, Estela Amezcua, John Palacio, Karina Onofre, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Politics, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Valerie Amezcua, Vince Sarmiento 12 Comments

The Team Benavides consultant, John Palacio, lost his tug of war with Mayor Pulido

What a night.  To sum it up, Mayor Miguel Pulido won easily.  Over in the RSCCD Area 5 race his longtime ally, Claudia Alvarez, also won.

What about Team Benavides?  Well, David Benavides got beat, badly.  So did Eric Alderete, in Ward 3, by an unknown candidate, Angelica Amezcua, who barely campaigned.  And while Vince Sarmiento won in Ward 1, he did so barely over another unknown candidate, Estela Amezcua.  The one guy in the Benavides cabal who won with a big margin was Roman Reyna, in Ward 5. Continue reading→

How is it that Angelica Amezcua won in Ward 3?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, Eric Alderete, John Palacio, Santa Ana 15 Comments

Did anyone see this coming?  Somehow Angelica Amezcua, an unknown schoolteacher who did not file a candidate’s statement, did not buy signs or mailers and did not campaign, won in Santa Ana’s Ward 3, over well-funded East L.A. lawyer Eric Alderete, a Santa Ana Planning Commissioner.

How did she do this?  Well, for starters, she was the only female candidate and she has a great ballot I.D.  People like schoolteachers!  And Alderete made a terrible mistake in this race.  He got in bed with John Palacio and David Benavides.

Continue reading→

Santa Ana Election results – Pulido far ahead and Amezcua winning in Ward 3!

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Bond Measures, Brett Franklin, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Chapel, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, George Collins, Jose Hernandez, Mark McLoughlin, Measure GG, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows, Steve Rocco, Thomas Gordon, Tony Tapia, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

Two winners – Mayor Miguel Pulido and President Barack Obama

As expected, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is winning handily tonight.  The O.C. Voter Registrar has posted the early returns, which are absentee ballots. Here are some of the evening’s highlights:

  • Mayor Miguel Pulido has a whopping 7,454 votes – David Benavides only has 3,676 votes.  George Collins is nipping at Benavides’ heels with 2,523 votes
  • In a shocker, the unknown schoolteacher Angelica Amezcua is leading in Ward 3, with 6,637 votes, while Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Eric Alderete has 5,097 votes and former Council Member Brett Franklin has 4,172 votes.  It is early yet but if this trend continues then Franklin has a good shot as the Latino vote in Ward 3 is clearly split.  There are however three candidates splitting up the white vote – Charles Hart, Shane Barrows and Steve Rocco. Continue reading→

Who will win in Santa Ana’s elections on Tuesday?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Bond Measures, Brett Franklin, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, Jerry Hayden, Jose Solorio, Karina Onofre, Loretta Sanchez, Mark McLoughlin, Measure GG, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Orange County, Politics, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Tony Tapia, Travis Allen, Troy Edgar, Valerie Amezcua, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

Santa Ana Mayoral challenger David Benavides wasn’t on the ballot two years ago, as he had no opponent for his City Council seat.  The last time he appeared on the ballot was six years ago, back when he still mentioned his wife and family on his fliers and websites.

So it was a daunting task for Benavides to ramp up his name I.D. this year in a few short weeks, having announced his mayoral campaign rather late in the game.

As such I think he is going to be toast on Tuesday, Nov. 6. But what about the other races? Who will win?  Comment here with your picks, including estimated vote percentages and whoever gets the closest will win a free banner ad on our blog for one month, for the business or non-profit of their choice.

Here are my predictions: Continue reading→

Benavides got caught trying to raise his Council pay package

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, David Benavides, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 24 Comments

Santa Ana Mayoral challenger David Benavides got bad news today as a mailer hit the mailboxes touting his plan to raise his own City Council pay.

Benavides, who is supporting every single tax increase on the November ballot, formed a City Council committee, according to the mailer, which you can see here, in July of this year.  The committee’s mission was to explore raising the City Council’s pay and benefits!  Luckily Mayor Miguel Pulido put a stop to this. Continue reading→

Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustees support tax increase

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Dave Chapel, Education, Elections, Mark McLoughlin, Politics, Santa Ana, Taxes Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 5, 2012

Contact: Judy Iannaccone , Director, Communications , Phone: (714) 480-7503, e-mail: iannaccone_judy@rsccd.edu

Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustees Support Prop 30, Oppose Prop 38

(Santa Ana)—At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) Board of Trustees on October 8, the trustees voted in favor of a resolution in support of Proposition 30, the Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act. Continue reading→

The School Board candidates who will refuse health and retirement benefits

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Education, Jose Hernandez, Orange, Orange County, SAUSD, Tony Tapia 5 Comments

Tony Tapia, speaking at a candidates forum

Dr. Mike Moodian, an educator and a candidate for the South Orange County Community College District, contacted every Orange County candidate for school board and community college board (119 total) and asked them to sign the 2012 Public Service Pledge. By signing the pledge, the candidate promises that he or she will refuse all health and retirement benefits if elected next week.

The following candidates signed the pledge: Continue reading→