Only two of the elected members of the Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education, Cecilia Iglesias and Rob Richardson, post their contact information on the district’s website.
Why is it that the rest of the Trustees, including longtime incumbent John Palacio, who is running this year for reelection, are hiding their contact information from the voters and residents of this city? Continue reading
A Santa Ana City Council candidates forum was held this week and surprise barely anyone in the City of Santa Ana attended or even knew about it. Check out who did show up, as pictured above. Does that look like Santa Ana?
The reality is that unless we televise these forums they will have very little impact on the voters. And the shame of it is that both the City of Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Unified School District have vast internal public relations operations that include their own TV channels on local Cable and AT&T U-Verse.
So why aren’t the City Council candidates forums televised and why aren’t there any SAUSD School Board candidates forums? It all comes down to incumbent protection and that is just wrong.
If you want this to change then you are going to have to make some noise! Continue reading
Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez has reason to worry as she prepares for her reelection campaign in the upcoming November General Election. But from what I hear she is not overly concerned about Mirna Velasquez, who appears to be her top challenger. No, Martinez is losing sleep over a candidate most Santa Ana residents have never heard of. His name is Gilad Salmon.
Salmon’s Facebook page says he grew up in Anaheim Hills but it also says he worked at a Jewish Community Foundation in San Francisco. Salmon is not running much of a campaign for Ward 2 but he might benefit from a three way vote split by the Latino candidates, which include Martinez, Velasquez and a fellow named Rene Gomez. Continue reading
PRESS RELASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Connie Hamilton, Connect-to-Council, 714.745.1692, connect-to-council@earthlink.net
COLLABORATION BETWEEN LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO HOST A FORUM AND DEBATE FOR THE SANTA ANA VOTERS
Santa Ana, CA, –Com-Link, Connect-to-Council, NeighborWorks Orange County, and the Santa Ana Register will collaborate in hosting a debate and forum with Santa Ana Mayoral and City Council candidates on Wednesday, September 17th 2014 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Rancho Santiago Community College District Building, 2323 N Broadway Ave. Santa Ana CA 92706.
“The residents of Santa Ana gave us excellent feedback on the Candidates’ Debate we presented for the 2012 election and we felt that the 2014 Candidates Debate is just as important. Teaming up with Com-Link, NeighborWorks Orange County and the OC Register gives us even more resources and experience to bring the most informative forum possible to the residents of Santa Ana”, explains Connie Hamilton, Connect-to-Council’s Chairperson. Continue reading
Rosario Marin, who worked for Gov. Wilson during the Prop. 187 campaign, is now promoting Roman Reyna
Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday that repeals unenforceable provisions of Proposition 187, the two-decade-old measure that sought to withhold public services from immigrants in the country illegally, according to the L.A. Times.
Ironically Santa Ana Councilman Roman Reyna announced today that Rosario Marin, a Republican who served as President George W. Bush’s U.S. Treasurer, would be the keynote speaker at a Reyna for Mayor campaign reception on Sep. 23. Marin worked as Governor Pete Wilson’s chief of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Developmental Services starting in 1996 and in 1997, she was named deputy director of Govern Wilson’s Office of Community Relations. In that position Marin had to defend the administration’s support for Prop. 187, according to Wikipedia. Continue reading
Alex Padilla, our endorsed candidate for Ward 4 on the Santa Ana City Council, is hosting a campaign reception on Thursday, Sep. 18, 2014, from 6 to 8 pm, at his family’s home, at 2542 S. Rene Dr., in Santa Ana. Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido will be speaking at this event.
Tacos and refreshments will be provided courtesy of Mexicanisimo Restaurant, which his owned by another of our endorsed Council candidates, Mike Gonzalez, who is running for Ward 6. RSVP here or call 714-724-6114.
The City of Santa Ana says U.S. Rep. Sanchez “isn’t political”
Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Agency Director Gerardo Mouet called me today to assure me that all is on the up and up over at the Fiestas Patrias event that is taking place this weekend in Downtown Santa Ana.
Mouet explained that it is okay to let local elected officials participate in the Fiestas Patrias because, well, they’re elected. But it is not okay for other candidates and campaigns to have booths at the Fiestas Patrias or participate in the parade on Sunday because, well, they’re not elected.
Huh? Did I miss something? Does becoming an elected official automatically bestow extra Constitutional powers to our incumbent politicians? Because that is what Mouet is saying. Free speech is apparently available in Santa Ana but only if you were fortunate enough to win an election. Free speech is not extended to anyone else! Is this what we expected from our all-Democrat Santa Ana City Council? Does this mean the “Santa Ana Spring” is dead? Continue reading
Orange County District Attorney Press Release
For Immediate Release: September 9, 2014
SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney has charged Orange County Assessor Webster Guillory with filing false nomination papers in a re-election bid for County Assessor in the March 2014 Orange County primary election. Webster James Guillory, 70, Newport Beach, is charged with three felony counts of filing false nomination papers and faces a possible sentence ranging from probation up to four years and four months in jail if convicted. He is expected to be released on his own recognizance and arraigned Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. at the Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The Department is to be determined.
At the time of the incident, Guillory was the four-term elected County Assessor for the Orange County Office of the Assessor. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 9, 2014
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Maria Unzueta (657) 464-4742 (Cell)
SUPERVISOR JANET NGUYEN FAILS TO VOTE FOR ETHICS STANDARDS – AGAIN
Nguyen Is Only Supervisor & Only OCTA Board Member To Abstain On Vote
SANTA ANA – Orange County Supervisor and OCTA Board Member Janet Nguyen, once again failed to support any form of ethics standards by abstaining from an OCTA vote yesterday on an Code of Conduct that applies to Board Members and employees.¹
“Supervisor Nguyen has developed a pattern of either voting ‘no’ or ‘abstaining’ from any votes relating to ethics for elected officials and government employees,” observed Jose Solorio, former State Assemblyman and candidate for State Senate. “Which part of OCTA’s Code of Conduct does she disagree with? The limit on gifts or favors, the prohibition of workplace harassment, or is it the relationship with contractors and use of OCTA assets? She can’t keep skipping out on these types of votes and expect to hold the public’s trust,” Solorio continued. Continue reading
The Orange County Public Affairs Association is hosting a “34th Senate District Candidate Forum” featuring Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen and former State Assemblyman Jose Solorio on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, at 11:30 am, at the Pacific Club, located at 4110 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach (includes parking).
This event will be moderated by former Real Orange TV News Anchor Ed Arnold. The event is sponsored by Time Warner Cable and Curt Pringle & Associates. Continue reading
SAUSD School Board Candidate Angie Rosario Cano is hosting her Campaign Kickoff on September 13, 2014 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at 1409 S Arapaho Dr., in Santa Ana.
The Host Committee includes:
Santa Ana City Council members voted Tuesday in closed session to release to the public the city attorney’s report on Mayor Miguel Pulido’s property swap case on Sept. 30 if District Attorney Tony Rackauckas or the state’s political watchdog don’t file criminal charges against the mayor by then, according to the Voice of OC.
What is this all about? In 2010, members of the Pulido family traded a parking lot they owned to Rupen James Akoubian, owner of NAPA Orange County Auto Parts, in exchange for a house in Westminster. According to the public assessor’s appraisals, the fair market value of the house was more than twice as much as the Pulidos’ lot, according to the Voice of OC.
The family later transferred the house solely into the mayor’s name, and he ultimately sold it for nearly $400,000, netting a $197,000 profit. Meanwhile, Akoubian’s store received a $1.35 million, no-bid city contract to supply auto parts to the municipal vehicle fleet.
So did Pulido break any laws? Let’s look at this point by point: Continue reading
Team Solorio with Key Supporters
The Jose Solorio campaign for the 34th State Senate District is hosting “Solorio Super Saturday,” their Fall Campaign Kick-Off, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014, from 9 am to 2 pm, at their Campaign Office, located at 1325 W. Warner Ave., in Santa Ana.
The Fall campaign kick-off will include breakfast snacks, lunch from Maggiano’s, precinct walks, phone banking, lawn sign pick up and deliveries, and DJ music. Continue reading
Hugh Nguyen, the Orange County Clerk Recorder, is hosting a private reception on September 4th, 2014, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
The event is sponsored by First American Financial Corporation and will be held at their offices, located at 1 First American Way, in Santa Ana. Reception Location- Main Conference Room.
Please come and hear the innovative changes underway and Hugh’s plans for the future of the Orange County Clerk- Recorders Offices. Continue reading
The Orange County Labor Federation’s granted their COPE (Committee on Political Education) General Election endorsements to the three incumbents running for the Santa Ana City Council – Michele Martinez (Ward 2), David Benavides (Ward 4) and Sal Tinajero (Ward 6) but they also endorsed Ward 2 challenger Mirna Velasquez.
All of these incumbent candidates are Democrats and OC Labor tends to stick to the blue party. But Velasquez, the last time I heard, is a Decline to State voter. That she received a co-endorsement is pretty astounding and a good sign that she is indeed an electable City Council candidate.
Mirna’s bio: Continue reading