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Category Archives: 2019 Elections

The biggest losers in this week’s Santa Ana Special Election

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD 7 Comments
David Benavides and his pal Roman Reyna

It appears that Phil Bacerra has won this week’s Santa Ana Special City Council Election and he will take over Ward 4, which was vacated a few months ago by Roman Reyna.

Carolyn Torres easily won the SAUSD School Board Special Election, ending the political career of longtime City Council Member David Benavides.

It is time now to have a look at this election’s biggest losers:

  • The Santa Ana Police Officers Association – they supported Bacerra last year and then inexplicably jumped off his bandwagon and spent money on Jennifer Oliva instead. She came in second to last place. Oops! To make matters worse they spent perhaps $60K on SAUSD School Board candidate Cecilia Aguinaga and she came in last place. The SAPOA now has zero pull on Bacerra – and they have already antagonized City Council Members Juan Villegas and Ceci Iglesias, who they are trying to recall. What the heck is the SAPOA trying to accomplish? Their political strategy is a train wreck!
  • Former City Council Members David Benavides, Sal Tinajero and Roman Reyna. As noted above, Benavides’ political career is now in tatters after he was whipped by Torres in the SAUSD Special Election. But Benavides also joined his former City Council colleagues Tinajero and Reyna in supporting Beatriz Mendoza for Ward 4, and she lost to Bacerra. All three of them are now on the outside looking in. Tinajero and SAUSD Trustee John Palacio were likely at the helm of the Mendoza campaign. This is a huge loss for them! They tried last year to destroy Bacerra and now he has the upper hand.
  • City Councilman Jose Solorio – he has been trying for years to become the new Mayor Miguel Pulido. But Bacerra now figures to inherit Pulido’s backers, not Solorio. And despite the SAPOA’s ridiculous attempt to recall Iglesias she is now a candidate for Mayor and will likely win as there figure to be a half dozen liberals who will split the left-wing vote.
  • Santa Ana’s “Berniecrats” – They won in the SAUSD race, with Torres, but lost Ward 4 despite a solid effort by political newcomer Manny Escamilla. Unfortunately for them there were just too many liberal Democrats on the ballot, which allowed the moderate, Bacerra, to prevail.
  • Torres’ victory by the way is bad news for Santa Ana families as she will inevitably oppose school choice and attack our charter schools. We need more school choice in Santa Ana, not less! No doubt more families will now put their kids in Tustin and Irvine schools as they escape from the SAUSD and our awful School Board.

There is a chance, although slim, that Escamilla will pull ahead of Bacerra. However in our experience the candidate that is leading when the early results come in usually prevails. We expect Bacerra to pull this one out.

The overall winner of this election is Mayor Pulido. Now he has a firm City Council majority to work with as he nears the end of his term. While he will wrap up his work on the City Council he is planning to run next year for the First District of the O.C. Board of Supervisors.

Who will win in Santa Ana’s Special Election this Tuesday?

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Beatriz Mendoza, Brandon Sisco, Carolyn Torres, Cecilia Aguinaga, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, Gale Oliver Jr., Gisela Contreras, Jennifer Oliva, Manuel Escamilla, Phil Bacerra, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD 4 Comments

You don’t get a consolation prize when you run for office. You either win or lose. After many weeks of politicking a number of local Santa Ana candidates will discover their fate this Tuesday, Nov. 5, when the combined Santa Ana City Council and SAUSD School Board Special Election finally comes to fruition.

So who will win these seats?

Let’s take a look first at how we arrived at this moment. The City Council seat, in Ward 4, opened up after the incumbent, Roman Reyna, was sued in civil court by the candidate he defeated last November, Phil Bacerra. Reyna it seems moved into Ward 4 but fudged his campaign paperwork. Eventually he was charged by the OCDA and he was indicted and fined a half million dollars! He had to resign from the City Council and promise never to run for local office again.

Manny Escamilla

Bacerra is the leading candidate to replace Reyna. Other challengers include former Santa Ana planner Manny Escamilla, former Planning Commissioner Beatriz Mendoza, business owners Jennifer Oliva and Brandon Sisco, and Bishop Gale Oliver Jr.

Escamilla’s base is the left-wing of the Democratic Party, essentially those who support the likes of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. While those voters are fired up they are small in number and given to not voting.

Mendoza used to work for U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez. She has the support of the same people that supported Reyna last year. She is a single mom and the campaign has been very tough on her.

Brandon Sisco

Sisco is an outlier. He does not seem to be spending any money on his campaign. I am not sure why he is even running. But he seems to be having fun in the process.

Bishop Oliver Jr. is getting a lot of support from conservatives in the area. There are a lot of folks walking precincts with him. However he has not run for office before and presumably his name I.D. is low. Perhaps voters will be moved to vote for a minister?

Oliva is getting some help from the local police union, the Santa Ana Police Officers Association. So she has sent out some mail and has signs up. This is her first campaign too. Council Member David Penaloza has endorsed her and she serves him on our Arts Commission.

Bacerra however has a big advantage as he was on the November ballot last year and he remains popular in north Santa Ana. Like Escamilla, he is a college graduate and a planner by trade. He has served on the Planning Commission and he has plenty of contacts, here in Santa Ana and also up in Sacramento. He will benefit from the fact that these types of elections tend to have low turnouts that favor older voters. That’s his base!

If I was a betting man I would bet on Bacerra to pull this one out.

David Benavides and Roman Reyna

The SAUSD is also holding a Special Election after their former Trustee, Cecilia Iglesias, got elected to the Santa Ana City Council last year. The SAUSD Trustees were unable to figure out who to appoint to replace Iglesias so now we get to vote for a replacement.

The candidates include Iglesias’ longtime friend and ally, Gisela Contreras, former City Councilman David Benavides, Anaheim public schoolteacher Carolyn Torres, and Housing Commissioner/Realtor Cecilia Aguinaga.

Supporters of Bishop Gale Oliver Jr. and Gisela Contreras

The same folks walking for Bishop Oliver Jr. are also walking for Contreras. She is the only candidate who fully supports parental choice in education. This is her first campaign but she has the full endorsement and support of Council Member Cecilia Iglesias, a veteran of many elections.

Benavides was once married to a local schoolteacher but he divorced her a few years ago, when he was running for Mayor of Santa Ana. He heads up a local nonprofit, Kidworks, that is definitely in the education arena however he is what he appears to be – a career politician looking for his next gig.

Torres is cut from the same liberal cloth as Escamilla. You can expect her to promote the teacher’s union, oppose school choice (charter schools) and support new taxes and bond measures.

Aguinaga worked for the SAUSD many years ago. She has been involved in Santa Ana politics and community affairs for a long time. She has run a few times for the SAUSD School Board. This time around the local police union has funded several effective campaign mailers for her. However she is not walking precincts and will depend on the mailers and her existing name I.D.

This race is a tough one to call. Benavides has the highest name I.D. but he is covered in Roman Reyna stink and that will scare off a lot of voters. Torres is too liberal for what is a moderate community but her ballot designation is a good one. She is the only teacher on the ballot. Contreras is working hard but has few funds and is relying on grassroots support. Aguinaga has come close before. Perhaps this time she will finally win?

So who are you voting for?

Will dark money elect Beatriz Mendoza to our City Council?

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Beatriz Mendoza, Civic Affairs, Development, Drugs, Marijuana, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Did you know that Beatriz Mendoza’s Ward 4 Political Action Committee (PAC) is funded by (1) Social Responsible Growth, Irvine, CA, and (2) Wass Bros, Stanton, CA? Turns out this is some seriously dark money that is funding Mendoz’a campaign.

Wass Bros is a pot shop incorporated in 2011. Apparently they have a tab on their website that states, “Shut the f*ck up.” Classy bunch Mendoza is working with!

These same exact industries (marijuana and developers) poured about half a million dollars of dark money into last year’s Santa Ana Men – on behalf of now disgraced felon and former City Councilman Roman Reyna. Now they have created an Independent Expenditure just a few days ago to support Mendoza, their new puppet for the City Council (So you couldn’t track the money until after the election). Why are these people so desperate to elect Mendoza?

Mendoza clearly is the new Roman Reyna, supported by the same special interests and dark money. No thanks!

Did Carolyn Torres’ SAUSD school board campaign resort to breaking the law?

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Carolyn Torres, Crime, David Benavides, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

SAUSD School Board candidate David Benavides had no choice but to file a police report when someone called the company that is handling his mailers, Mailing Pros and pretended to be Benavides.

The caller told the folks at Mailing Pros that he was David Benavides and he proceeded to ask questions about the campaign mail plan that Mailing Pros had been hired to execute on Benavides’ behalf.

The caller then said he had forgotten how many mail pieces had been ordered and asked how many total pieces were planned.

This sort of behavior is called social engineering – and yes it is highly illegal. Fortunately the folks at Mailing Pros did not fall for it. They called Benavides’ political consultant and he called Benavides.

Benavides and his consultant then ordered a caller identification and lo and behold the phone that was used to make the call belonged to a fellow named Erick Carbajal. Who is he? Well he is the longtime boyfriend of Carolyn Torres.

Torres is perhaps the most liberal candidate for the open SAUSD School Board seat that Benavides is also running for, in the upcoming Nov. 5 Special Election. She is a union teacher in Anaheim and while the Santa Ana teacher’s union did not endorse her many of their most liberal and extreme members support her.

Did Torres know what Carbajal was up to? Who knows? But it is a bad look.

You can read the Huntington Beach police report for yourself here.

Ward 4 candidate Manny Escamilla is winning on Facebook but who will win on Nov. 5?

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Beatriz Mendoza, Civic Affairs, Elections, Gale Oliver Jr., Jennifer Oliva, Manuel Escamilla, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Have you decided who you will vote for in the upcoming Nov. 5 Santa Ana City Council, Ward 4, Special Election?

The race features several candidates with widely varied experiences. Almost all of them have some civic experience as well.

Elections have really changed in Santa Ana, which is a tough town to run in because so many of the newer residents have a tendency to move from city to city. This is a city dominated by Latino residents but Latino voters don’t always bother to vote.

As this is a Special Election I expect the overall voter turnout will be extremely low. Older voters can be expected to vote – particularly those who are worried about the direction the city is going in.

There are several candidates who are basing their campaign on getting young people out to vote, including former Santa Ana planning agency employee Manny Escamilla and Arts Commissioner Jennifer Oliva. But those voters often don’t vote.

Escamilla is also spending a lot of time garnering support from Santa Ana’s older voters, as you can see on his Facebook page. Smart move!

The candidate with the biggest advantage is former Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra, who lost a close race to Roman Reyna last November. However Reyna quickly got into big trouble because he tried to carpetbag in Ward 4 and he bungled getting an address in the Ward in time. Quite frankly the City Clerk should never have allowed him to get onto the ballot.

Bacerra has several advantages. He has the highest name I.D. in the current race. While he is a Democrat he is popular with the city’s Republican voters. And he has garnered a lot of support in Ward 4 from residents who are mad about perceived over-development in the city.

But how are these candidates doing on Facebook? Oliva’s Facebook page only has 296 followers. Escamilla’s Facebook page has 851 followers. Bacerra’s Facebook page has 448 followers.

There is also a candidate who moved into Ward 4 fairly recently, former Planning Commissioner Beatriz Mendoza. Her Facebook page has 538 followers.

Mendoza has even less followers than the relatively unknown businessman Brandon Sisco, who is also running for Ward 4. His Facebook page has 125 followers.

There is one more candidate in the Ward 4 race – Bishop Gale Oliver Jr., who also heads up a church in town. His Facebook page has 322 followers.

Santa Ana City Council Ward 4 Candidates Forum set for Oct. 8

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Resilience Orange County, Latino Health Access, and Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities are hosting a Santa Ana City Council Candidates Forum on Tuesday, October 8th from 6 pm-8 pm at Immaculate Heart of Mary, located at 1100 S Center St., in Santa Ana.

The Candidates Forum will be moderated by Norberto Santana, publisher of the Voice of OC.

Submit your questions for the candidates here.

All The Candidates Have Been Invited!

Parking is available on-site. Spanish Translation Will Be Provided!

  • As a non-profit organization, we do not endorse or support any candidates or political parties *

Will Ceci Iglesias become Santa Ana’s next Mayor?

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Elections, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is finally going to term out which means that after some 20 years Santa Ana will finally have a chance to elect a new Mayor, next year.

Current Ward 3 City Councilman Jose Solorio has been plotting for some time to replace Pulido but his odds now look less than great. He has angered the residents of Ward 3 over development issues to such an extent that I don’t think he could win reelection in that Ward, which might be for the best since he left his wife and kids in Ward 1 when he ran for Ward 3.

Compounding Solorio’s bad luck are the rumors that several former City Council Members could be looking to replace Pulido as well, including the likes of Sal Tinajero, Vince Sarmiento and perhaps even Michele Martinez and David Benavides.

These candidates are all Democrats and their views are similar. They will all subtract votes from each other. And I am not entirely sure that the voters want to elect a retreaded perennial candidate.

Over the past few weeks there has been an attempt to recall current City Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias. While the local police union leaders are saying they are not behind the recall it is pretty obvious that they are – as they are not pleased that Iglesias did not back their huge contract – which was not exactly a financially responsible raise.

Those same police union leaders have lined up behind Solorio. Now they must surely be pulling their hairs out as Iglesias just announced on Facebook yesterday that she intends to run for Mayor. If she does run it is fairly certain that she will win as the rest of the candidates will divvy up the same voter base while Iglesias now has support from both the left and the right.

Iglesias has always been fairly independent minded but her clash with the police union has made her a hero to Santa Ana’s progressive activists – something I never saw coming. She is already hugely popular in Santa Ana’s faith community. Garnering the support of the most liberal voters in our city on top of her more conservative voter support makes her the clear favorite to replace Pulido.

Pulido by the way is currently running against First District Supervisor Andrew Do. If former State Senator Janet Nguyen also files against Do it could divide the Vietnamese vote and put Pulido on the O.C. Board of Supervisors. However my sources tell me that if the current City Council makes certain changes to the City’s charter it could result in Pulido getting a new set of terms – which means we could see him run for Mayor yet again, should he lose his Supervisor’s race.

Solorio must have thought that the recall effort against Iglesias was a great idea. But that recall effort is a joke and now it looks like Iglesias is going to dash his dreams and take the Mayor’s office Solorio has long been lusting for.

Will the voters dig what Iglesias has to offer? I think so. She does not support over-development, she consistently opposes new taxes and fees and is a longtime fighter against government waste. She is also a longtime supporter of our immigrant community as Iglesias herself came here from El Savador when she was a little girl. I think the voters will like what Iglesias has to say about Santa Ana’s future. What do you think?

Supporters of SAUSD School Board candidate Carolyn Torres got so rowdy last night that the police were called

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Carolyn Torres, Civic Affairs, Elections, Manuel Escamilla, Santa Ana, SAUSD 1 Comment

Supporters of SAUSD School Board candidate Carolyn Torres got pretty rowdy at last night’s candidate forum. One of the event organizers eventually had to call the police but, it figures, the police did not arrive until after the forum was over.

I was at the forum at its start but did not stay for the whole event. I missed out on the Torres supporter shenanigans during the School Board candidates forum. However I did sit near them and they most certainly were hooting and hollering during the City Council candidates forum. They appeared to be supporting Manny Escamilla for Ward 4 on the Santa Ana City Council.

The pro Torres crowd represents the very far left fringe in Santa Ana. They should be ashamed of themselves for their behavior last night – but I doubt they are.

No the teacher’s union has not endorsed Carolyn Torres for the SAUSD School Board

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Carolyn Torres, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Education, Elections, Gisela Contreras, Santa Ana, SAUSD 1 Comment

You would think that SAUSD School Board candidate Carolyn Torres had the endorsement of our local teacher’s union, the SAEA, given the ads her campaign is running on Facebook. But that is actually not correct! They are not supporting her.

In fact the SAEA (Santa Ana Educators Association) is backing former Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides. (Apparently the SAEA is sitting out this campaign, which is incredibly lame!).

Former Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides has been endorsed by current SAUSD School Board Members Valerie Amezcua and John Palacio.

While Torres is a teacher she is also not exactly a savory candidate, as we divulged in a previous post.

Benavides is not a teacher but he was once married to a SAUSD teacher who has won multiple teaching awards and his kids have all gone to local schools. He also is the head of a local non-profit, KidWorks, which does a lot of good in the community, primarily serving our young people.

Iglesias incidentally is backing Gisela Contreras, a local parent who supports school choice and advocates for family values.

Ward 4 City Council Candidate Beatriz Mendoza won a court case involving her ballot title

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Beatriz Mendoza, Civic Affairs, Courts, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Santa Ana, Tim Rush Leave a comment

Christmas came early this year for Santa Ana City Council Ward 4 candidate Beatriz Mendoza, as she successfully defended herself in court after her ballot title of “Victim Assistance Specialist” was challenged.

Tim Rush

The lawsuit was filed by Tim Rush, a longtime gadfly in Santa Ana. Rush argued that a state regulation disallows “specialist” on ballot designations, but the Judge said that the rule “applies only to attorney candidates for judicial office,” according to the O.C. Register.

Mendoza’s campaign reacted to the ruling on Facebook with these comments:

BEA HAS PREVAILED: The OC Courts have ruled that BEATRIZ MENDOZA can use “Victim Assistance Specialist” as her Ballot Designation!

In an unsavory move, friends of #PhilBacerra and his wife #WendyNuvalBacerra mobilized to intimidate & attack Bea but were unsuccessful.

Mendoza previously ran for the SAUSD School Board, back in 2016. She ended up in last place, according to Ballotpedia, with just over 10% of the total vote.

The leading Ward 4 candidate, Phil Bacerra, narrowly lost his campaign for Ward 4 in 2018, to Roman Reyna, garnering over 23,000 votes, according to Ballotpedia. Reyna later resigned from the Ward 4 seat after Bacerra sued him and Reyna’s many campaign shenanigans came to light. Reyna may yet face prosecution by the OCDA.

Santa Ana City Council Ward 4 and SAUSD School Board candidates forum set for Sep. 24

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

The Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce and Connect to Council are hosting a candidates forum for the upcoming Santa Ana City Council Ward 4 and SAUSD School Board election, on Sep. 24, at the Delhi Center, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Delhi Center is located at 505 E. Central Ave.

The Ward 4 City Council candidates include:

  • Phil Bacerra (D), a former Santa Ana Planning Commissioner who sued Reyna after the November election on the grounds that Reyna screwed up his campaign paperwork and never should have been allowed on the ballot. Phil was right!
  • Jennifer Oliva (D), a Santa Ana Arts and Culture Commissioner
  • Gale Oliver, Jr. (No Party Preference – NPP), a Baptist bishop
  • Brandon Sisco – Businessman
  • Manuel Escamilla – Urban Planner

The SAUSD School Board candidates include:

  • Cecilia Aguinaga – a Realtor who has run for the SAUSD School Board a few times before. Aguinaga has served on various City Commissions over the years. She currently serves on the Santa Ana Housing and Redevelopment Commission.
  • David Benavides – a former Santa Ana City Councilman who now heads up a non-profit, Kidworks.
  • Gisela Contreras – a parent/businesswoman who is endorsed by Iglesias.
  • Carolyn Torres – a 7th grade teacher who has very liberal views.

Attendees all have the opportunity to submit questions in advance.
You may do so here:

http://www.santaanachamber.org/form/view/17847

The City Council and SAUSD School Board elections will be held on Nov. 5.

Who will win in Santa Ana’s Ward 4 Special Election this November?

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Beatriz Mendoza, Brandon Sisco, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Gale Oliver Jr., Jennifer Oliva, Manuel Escamilla, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana Leave a comment

All of the candidates for Santa Ana’s Ward 4 are Democrats except for Bishop Gale Oliver Jr., who is an independent. Special Elections are generally low turnout affairs. Democrats in Santa Ana are infamous for not voting in such elections. So who has the edge this time around?

There are no Republicans in this race. That figures as only 22.6% of Santa Ana’s voters are Republicans. They have no pull in our city any more.

But the Democrats don’t quite have total control yet either as only 53.4% of the voters are from the blue party. The rest of the voters, 20.6%, are Decline to State or third party voters.

So if the Democrats don’t bother to vote the Independent and GOP voters could prevail – if they get behind one candidate.

The race for Ward 4 however is a crowded affair. Here is how the candidates break down:

  • Phil Bacerra – While he is a Democrat he is a moderate and he has a lot of support from Republican voters in Santa Ana including several former City Council Members. He is a former Santa Ana Planning Commissioner who barely lost to Reyna last time around. Check out his website here.
  • Beatriz Mendoza – She is a liberal Democrat who was once a staffer to U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez. Mendoza has previously run for the SAUSD School Board. Her campaign has already goofed on Facebook – referring to former City Councilman David Benavides as the interim Ward 5 Council Member. He is not serving in that role!
  • Brandon Sisco – Another Democrat. I have no idea why he is running. Perhaps this is a vanity campaign? His website claims that  at 15 assisted the FBI. He owns a company called Android Genius. Their Yelp reviews are very entertaining! Another website claims he is a real estate developer.
  • Bishop Oliver Gale, Jr. – He is an independent. He heads up the Greater Light Family Church, located at 1600 W. 3rd St. in Santa Ana. Council Member Ceci Iglesias has endorsed him.
  • Manuel Escamilla – He is a liberal Democrat. That means he and Mendoza will be fighting over the same voters! And those are precisely the voters who don’t show up in Special Elections. I can’t believe that he quit the City of Santa Ana’s Planning Department in order to run for Ward 4. Bad move I think.
  • Jennifer Oliva – She is an Arts and Culture Commissioner in Santa Ana. She was appointed by Councilman David Penaloza. During her interview with the City Council, when they were trying to figure out who to replace Reyna with, she talked a lot about the youth and education.

I expect that Mendoza and Escamilla are going to split the liberal votes – hurting both of them. Mendoza and Oliva will also split many of the woman votes. Mendoza also appears to be the candidate favored by the pro-Reyna faction. I don’t think it is a positive thing to be associated in any way with Reyna, who may still end up getting prosecuted by the OCDA for his campaign shenanigans.

Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias believes that Bishop Gale Jr. will prevail because of the vote splits. However the voters don’t know who he is so that seems like a tall order. Iglesias does run a great ground game however. She will also promote Gale Jr. at area churches. That is how she got elected to the City Council in the last election. She too benefited from a vote split when her two Democratic opponents knocked each other out.

Bacerra however has several huge advantages:

  • He got over 23,000 votes last November! If the same voters turnout for him again the race is over.
  • His opponent in the 2018 election, Roman Reyna, got over 29,000 votes but those will now be split among several opponents.
  • Bacerra already has campaign signs up in town and he is advertising here on this blog. His opponents? Asleep at the wheel.
  • He is immensely popular in north Santa Ana as he has taken a stand against an apartment development that has upset many residents.

Yes it is true that Bacerra was attacked last year by an ex-girlfriend who alleged that he abused her but she has since been generally discredited and the FPPC is investigating who funded the attack video she was featured in. On a personal note I knew them when they were dating and never saw him act rudely towards her. She is also allied with the most extreme liberals in Santa Ana. And it was fairly obvious that her attack was designed to help Bacerra’s opponent, Reyna.

Bacerra also has the support of the last African American City Council Member to hold office in Santa Ana – Alberta Christy, who was also a major figure in the OC GOP.

If I was a betting man I would say that Bacerra is going to win this race easily. And when the local Democrats endorse one of his opponents it will backfire as that party will only back a candidate who supports distribution of drug needles in our city. Reyna did. So will the next candidate the O.C. Democrats endorse. That won’t fly with most voters in our city.

Why would we support a candidate who wants to hand out drug needles to the addicted homeless mob in our city? The Democratic Party endorsement will as such be the kiss of death!

The City of Santa Ana announces the Ward 4 Special Election candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Civic Affairs, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SANTA ANA – The following persons have been nominated for the Ward 4 Office designated to be filled at the Special Municipal Election to be held in the City of Santa Ana on Tuesday, November 5, 2019:

For Member of the City Council, Ward 4

Name & Ballot Designation

  • Brandon Sisco, Business Owner/Entrepreneur
  • Beatriz Mendoza, Victim Assistance Specialist
  • Manny Escamilla, Urban Planner
  • Gale Oliver, Bishop/Pastor
  • Jennifer Oliva, Business Owner
  • Phil Bacerr, Small Business Owner

All eligible Santa Ana residents are encouraged to Register to Vote, check and update their voter registration status, and/or request a vote-by-mail ballot at www.ocvote.com.

Polls will be open between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 5, 2019.

Daisy Gomez, MMC
Clerk of the Council

5 DE NOVIEMBRE DEL 2019, ELECCIÓN MUNICIPAL EXTRAORDINARIA
AVISO DE NOMINADOS PARA CANDIDATOS AL CONCEJO PARA EL SECTOR 4

SANTA ANA – Las personas siguientes han sido nominadas para el Curul del Sector 4, designado para ser llenado en la Elección Municipal Extraordinaria que tendrá lugar en la Ciudad de Santa Ana el martes, 5 de noviembre del 2019:

Para Miembro del Concejo Municipal, Sector 4

Nombre y Designación de la papeleta

  • Brandon Sisco, Propietario de negocio/Empresario
  • Beatriz Mendoza, Especialista de asistencia a víctimas
  • Manny Escamilla, Planeador urbano
  • Gale Oliver, Obispo/Pastor
  • Jennifer Oliva, Propietaria de negocio
  • Phil Bacerra, Propietario de negocio pequeño

Se anima a todos los residentes de Santa Ana que califiquen a empadronarse para votar, que revisen y actualicen su estatus de empadronamiento, y/o soliciten un a papeleta para votar por correo en www.ocvote.com.

Las urnas estarán abiertas de las 7:00 AM a las 8:00 PM en el Día de la Elección, el 5 de noviembre del 2019.

Daisy Gómez, MMC, Secretaria Municipal

The candidates are set for the SAUSD Special Election on Nov. 5

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Carolyn Torres, Cecilia Aguinaga, David Benavides, Gisela Contreras, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

The candidates are set for the upcoming SAUSD School Board Special Election, which will be held on Nov. 5, to replace Cecilia Iglesias, who was elected to the Santa Ana City Council.

The candidates include:

  • Cecilia Aguinaga – a Realtor who has run for the SAUSD School Board a few times before. Aguinaga has served on various City Commissions over the years. She currently serves on the Santa Ana Housing and Redevelopment Commission.
  • David Benavides – a former Santa Ana City Councilman who now heads up a non-profit, Kidworks.
  • Gisela Contreras – a parent/businesswoman who is endorsed by Iglesias.
  • Carolyn Torres – a 7th grade teacher who has very liberal views.

I am surprised that Benavides is running and disappointed that Angie Cano is not running. Cano has come close to getting elected to the SAUSD School Board in a couple previous races.

This Special Election will be held concurrently with the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4 Special Election, which will replace Benavides’ old friend Roman Reyna, who had to quit the City Council after he got caught fudging his campaign paperwork.

The Ward 4 candidates to replace Reyna are set for the Nov. 5 special election

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Beatriz Mendoza, Brandon Sisco, Civic Affairs, Elections, Jennifer Oliva, Manuel Escamilla, Oliver Gale Jr., Phil Bacerra, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 3 Comments

The nomination period for Ward 4 on the Santa Ana City Council closed on August 9. We now know who the candidates will be – and it is a crowded filed. They are vying to replace Roman Reyna, the Councilman who had to resign when he was sued for issues related to his campaign paperwork (essentially he fudged his voting address and got caught).

The candidates include:

  • Phil Bacerra – A former Santa Ana Planning Commissioner who barely lost to Reyna last time around. Check out his website here.
  • Beatriz Mendoza – A former staffer to U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez. Mendoza has previously run for the SAUSD School Board too.
  • Brandon Sisco – His website claims that  at 15 assisted the FBI. He owns a company called Android Genius. Their Yelp reviews are very entertaining! Another website claims he is a real estate developer.
  • Bishop Oliver Gale, Jr. – He heads up the Greater Light Family Church, located at 1600 W. 3rd St. in Santa Ana.
  • Manuel Escamilla – His website notes that Escamilla “grew up at the McFadden Public Library and Jerome Recreation Center in central Santa Ana.” He is a graduate of SAUSD, SAC, UC Berkeley, and UCLA. He served as a City representative on the Santa Ana Arts & Cultural Master Plan and remained on staff in the City of Santa Ana’s Planning Department until he left to run for Ward 4.
  • Jennifer Oliva – She is an Arts and Culture Commissioner in Santa Ana.

Where were all these candidates last time around? I am glad to see that there is so much interest now in the Ward 4 seat. This is a crowded race with a lot of high quality candidates.

The election is set for November 5, 2019.