Benavides signs at Bustamante’s house
I got a tip today that disgraced Santa Ana Council Member Carlos Bustamante has been seen putting up signs for his pal David Benavides’ mayoral campaign, and that Bustamante has Benavides’ signs in his yard.
So I drove over to Bustamante’s house and sure enough, he had two Benavides signs in his lawn! And a pile of Vince Sarmiento signs on his porch to boot. Continue reading
Santa Ana Mayoral challenger David Benavides announced his endorsement today by California’s Lt. Governor, Gavin Newsom. “Despite being the second highest-ranking office in California, the Lieutenant Governor has no real responsibility or power to represent the governor on issues such as trade negotiations or a legislative agenda (i.e. in contrast to its powerful counterpart in Texas), so the job has been jokingly defined by political insiders as “get up, read the paper, see if the governor is dead, if not, go back to sleep,” according to Wikipedia.
Contrast Benavides’ underwhelming Newsom endorsement with the powerful endorsement that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido picked up today, while he was attending the Orange County Forum luncheon. The speaker was U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, one of the most influential lawmakers in the United States. The audience was packed with hundreds of CEO’s and other business and civic leaders. They sat in rapt attention today as Senator Feinstein announced her support and endorsement of Mayor Pulido. Continue reading
Are you wondering who is paying for all of those Measure GG (term limits)? Wonder no more – click here to read the financial report of the Political Action Committee that is paying for the Measure GG fliers.
The special interests funding the Measure GG campaign include:
Mayor Pulido’s cowardly opponents have targeted his children
By now you have probably seen the horrible anonymous mailers that have been attacking Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido – accusing him and his family of hosting a party where a teen was reportedly raped.
The story was reported by the Voice of OC, an online news website that I have at this point lost all respect for. Their seed funding came largely from the Orange County Employees Association, a government workers union headed up by Nick Berardino, who has had some unknown beef with Pulido for some time. And the Voice of OC’s board members include lobbyist Joe Dunn, who tried to move the O.C. Federal Court of Appeals to Irvine but was famously blocked by Pulido. Continue reading
Hatergate: How Council Member David Benavides ended up honoring the Minutemen in July, 2010
By: Art Pedroza
It started out innocently enough. The City of Santa Ana didn’t have the budget to put on their own 4th of July event, back in July of 2010, so they allowed a group of residents to put on their own event – and the City’s Parks and Recreation Agency let them use the Santa Ana Public Library, over in the Civic Center, to stage the event.
It made sense I suppose to have a Library Commissioner run the show. She was also at the time heading up the Friends of the Library. But upon closer scrutiny, there was a major problem. The lady in question was Lupe Moreno, a notorious Minuteman. These are folks who absolutely hate immigrants and who have been accused of hate crimes. When Moreno found herself needing more volunteers it was her Minutemen friends who got the call. Continue reading
Just in time for the Nov. 6 election, Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly, the Democratic Party’s nominee for the 69th Assembly District, was cleared of the sexual harassment charges that had been hanging over him for weeks, according to an independent investigator hired by the County of Orange.
Daly, in a statement released by the county, said the anonymous complaint was “simply a pathetic attempt to smear me. While the lies of the anonymous complainer are appalling, so is the unnecessary waste of tax dollars spent on this investigation,” according to the L.A. Times. Continue reading
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido was in complete control at tonight’s Santa Ana Mayoral candidate’s forum, which was held at Latino Health Access, in Downtown Santa Ana.
Oh sure, the other candidates spent all night sniping at him – David Benavides in particular was quite petulant. Continue reading
A forum for Santa Ana mayoral candidates is set for 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26 at Latino Health Access, 450 W. Fourth St., according to the O.C. Register.
The forum, sponsored by Voice of OC, the non-profit health agency and other groups, will focus on youth issues.
Six candidates are seeking the post in the November election, including incumbent Miguel Pulido and Councilman David Benavides. Continue reading
Former Santa Ana Council Member Brett Franklin continues to lead in polling for Ward 3, despite the fact that there are quite a few candidates running for that seat, including Planning Commissioner Eric Alderete, who has amassed a vast warchest – largely from contributors who don’t live in Santa Ana.
How is Franklin doing it? I asked him that the other day and he offered an anecdote. He ran into a lady at the supermarket the other day. She was a Latina and she seemed somehow familiar to him. She approached Franklin and said that she and her family voted for him via absentee ballot. Apparently she remembered going to the same school as Franklin, in the fifth grade! Continue reading
Nice try, but no cigar. Mark McLoughlin, a candidate for Area 5 on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education, sent out a mailer today implying that he is a Republican. But he is not. He is, like the other two candidates for Area 5, a Democrat.
McLoughlin also has never met a tax increase he didn’t like. He has supported every single bond measure in our area in the past ten years. And he currently supports yet another one, Measure Q. He also supports Prop. 30, another tax increase. Continue reading
Dinner & Dance Fundraiser to elect Karina Onofre for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 5, at El Nuevo Monterrey
Date: Thursday November 1, 2012
Time: 9:00pm To 12:00am.
Location: El Nuevo Monterrey Restaurant
Address: 601 N. Harbor Blvd. Santa Ana CA 92703 Continue reading
The Orange County Taxpayers Association PAC has dropped a mailer in support of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido into local mailboxes today. The mailer touts Pulido’s record of “restoring Santa Ana’s fiscal health without raising taxes.” Continue reading
Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Councilmen Benavides & Sarmiento Are Bad for Labor and for Business!
I wrote previously about how Council Members Benavides and Sarmiento didn’t share with the Orange County Labor leaders that they did a ton of contracting out to private companies this year, like street sweeping, parking enforcement, and emergency medical transportation – killing hundreds of union jobs. But they were given the labor endorsement by the failed political labor staff over at the OC Labor Federation, Teferi Gebre and Julio Perez, who didn’t review their anti-labor voting records. Continue reading
Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is hosting a major fundraiser this Thursday October 25th, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM, at 302 French Street, in Santa Ana. Alvarez is running for Area 5 of the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees. Click here to see the event invitation.
RSVP by calling 714-543-2980 or send an email to alvarez4education@gmail.com.
Alvarez is endorsed by: Continue reading
City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County Community Alert:
Voter Registration Deadline and Popular Drive-Thru Services Return
SANTA ANA, CA (October 21, 2012) – The deadline to register to vote in the November 6, 2012 Presidential Election is Monday, October 22, 2012. In an effort to provide greater flexibility for citizens to participate in the election, the Orange County Registrar of Voters will remain open until midnight on the 22nd to provide drive-thru voting and registration. Continue reading