SANTA ANA MAYOR PRO TEM MICHELE MARTINEZ ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR
Santa Ana, CA — Santa Ana City Councilmember and current Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez announced her campaign for Mayor of Santa Ana today. Martinez is currently serving in her third term on the City Council.
In announcing her campaign, Martinez released the following statement: Continue reading
Gerrie Schipske Says Nguyen Should Be Ashamed For “Walking Out on Families”
Long Beach, CA — Gerrie Schipske, the Democratic candidate for the 34th State Senate District, today blasted Republican Janet Nguyen for “walking out on families when she failed to vote for SB 63, ‘The New Parent Leave Act‘.” Schipske is running to unseat Republican Janet Nguyen.
“The New Parent Leave Act “, which was signed into law by Governor Brown on October 12th, ensures that more California workers who have been paying into the Paid Family Leave insurance program are able to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to care for a new child. Continue reading
A Santa Ana City Hall insider confirmed today that Santa Ana City Clerk Maria Huizar has accepted the signatures to mount a recall election against Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides. She had previously approved a recall election against Councilman Sal Tinajero.
The forces that are working to recall Benavides and Tinajero have money and they have volunteers. Now we will find out if Benavides and Tinajero can defend themselves. It will likely be very difficult for them to raise money. Continue reading
Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez reacted to the announcement that efforts are underway to recall her pro-gang colleagues on the Santa Ana City Council, in a rambling post on Facebook today:
I am being told that various members of the Santa Ana City Council are being threatened by a recall because of recent actions taken. I have also been informed that if I don’t get on board with the program, I to will be recalled. If they wish to recall me for protecting the city from bankruptcy and protecting the residents interest, so be it. The city is not in the position of hiring any new employees or giving raises. We have no surplus…. It is facing a 15- 20 million dollar structural deficit that I have been speaking of for years. With the increase of pension and health care cost this year and the next few years , it will only create a bigger burden on the general fund. We have to manage expectations but unfortunately, some of my colleagues want to give raises after they have been told that we are not in a position to do so. This is reckless and irresponsible and I will not be silent or threaten because I am trying to do the right thing. Continue reading
Council Members Tinajero, Martinez and Benavides
Apparently efforts are now underway to recall Santa Ana City Council Members Sal Tinajero, David Benavides and Vince Sarmiento. All three of them have opposed hiring more cops and supported our lame former SAPD Police Chief, Carlos Rojas, who did us all a favor by quitting and moving to the Bay area. This means they have been pro-gang City Council Members – which is now what the people of Santa Ana elected them to do.
Tinajero should have been recalled some years ago. If you recall he was a friend and colleague of Nativo Lopez, when they were both on the SAUSD School Board. Lopez got recalled but Tinajero was allowed to stay on the School Board. Now he will finally have to face the music. Continue reading
I heard today from a Santa Ana City Hall insider (yes one of my pajaritos) that the Santa Ana City Council is seriously looking at changing our City Council elections to a Ward-Specific model. Currently we elect our Council Members at large – but they have to live in a specific Ward (unless they move of course).
But that’s not all – the City Council majority – which includes Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez, and Council Members David Benavides, Sal Tinajero and Vince Sarmiento, are also allegedly going to ask the voters to make them full time elected officials – with six figure salaries. Continue reading
Connect-to-Council, along with NeighborWorks OC, is hosting a public forum on Santa Ana local elections, past, present and future, on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Delhi Center located at 505 E. Central Ave., in Santa Ana.
The technical aspects of the Santa Ana City Council’s political process will be presented by Maria Huizar, the Clerk of the Santa Ana City Council. Huizar will discuss the intriguing history of why we elect our local Santa Ana City Council representatives with a city-wide vote and she will also explain the term limit rules that Santa Ana currently has in place. Continue reading
David De Leon and Angie Amezcua
Do you remember Angie Amezcua? She was accidentally elected a little over four years ago in Santa Ana’s Ward 3. She did not campaign at all that year. But her ballot title, “teacher” and her last name helped propel her to victory. She finished out her accidental term then walked away from the City Council, endorsing David De Leon, who proceeded to lose badly to Jose Solorio last November.
I guess Angie missed politics because she and her husband, Robert Oliver, joined ten other individuals, including the bitter loser De Leon, in signing a Notice of Intention to Circulate a Petition, on March 14, 2017. The group of 12 wanted to gather signatures for a campaign to recall Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who easily beat a socialist candidate in November, Benjamin Vazquez. Continue reading
Santa Ana’s City Council members voted 5-0 Tuesday in favor of adopting a Sanctuary City resolution that requires the city to strengthen various policies that already exist to further protect undocumented residents, according to the O.C. Register.
Santa Ana’s Sanctuary City resolution is rather toothless. The City Council could have made this an ordinance as the resolution is not a law. It is more of a P.R. move. Continue reading