Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Alfredo Amezcua

Campaign fundraiser for mayoral challenger Benjamin Vazquez set for Oct. 5

Posted on by Posted in 2016 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Benjamin Vazquez, Luis Mier, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua 5 Comments

benjamin-vazquez-fundraiser

Perhaps the biggest knock on Santa Ana Mayoral challenger Benjamin Vazquez, besides his aggressively liberal politics, is the doubt that he can raise enough money to seriously contend against longtime Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. Vazquez is attempting to answer that doubt with a campaign fundraiser set for Oct. 5, 2016, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Robbins Nest, located at 207 W. 2nd St., in DTSA.

The Vazquez fundraiser is hosted by SAUSD Trustee Valerie Amezcua and her dad, former Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua, a criminal defense attorney who regularly defends Santa Ana gangbangers in court; as well as Dr. Arturo Lomeli, a Dentist; Eddie Quillares (a local insurance agent); Luis Mier (a local bail bondsman); and Santa Ana City Councilman  Sal Tinajero. Continue reading→

O.C. Mexican Mafia leader Peter Ojeda convicted again and is facing life in prison

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Crime, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Peter Ojeda, the head of an Orange County wing of the Mexican Mafia, and his former girlfriend, Suzie Rodriguez,  have been convicted of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder and assault with serious bodily injury, as well as extortion and narcotics trafficking, by a federal jury in Santa Ana, after two days of deliberations, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Both Ojeda and Rodriguez are facing life sentences. Rodriguez was out on bond but will be returned to jail. Ojeda, who is 73-years-old, was due to be released from a 14-year federal prison term for racketeering in 2016 or 2017, with good behavior, according to ABC News. He will never be free again. Continue reading→

Councilwoman Martinez says she won’t mind if she isn’t reelected in November

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mirna Velasquez, Orange County, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 27 Comments

Michele Martinez whining

Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, told NBC News this week that she “will not mind if she isn’t reelected in November.”  She was interviewed after this week’s City Council meeting had to be canceled after a punk in a “F*ck the police” hat wouldn’t leave.

“As I sat here and listened to all the comments, it’s really disheartening. People want to come here and threaten us,” said Martinez. “At the end of the day let me tell you I can go to sleep at night, so I don’t care if you feel that I have not done a job that you’ve asked me to do.”

The sad reality for Martinez is that she has been pandering to the FTP crowd for some time – but as she saw on Tuesday night they are insatiable.  They are anarchists and nothing she or any other politician does is going to mollify them. Continue reading→

Why isn’t Mayor Pro Tem Tinajero running much of a reelection campaign?

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, John Palacio, Mike Gonzalez, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 21 Comments

Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero

Santa Ana’s Mayor Pro Tem, Sal Tinajero, is up for reelection in Ward 6, in this November’s General Election, but you would hardly know that as he still doesn’t have a campaign website.  Tinajero has a personal Facebook page but hasn’t even bothered to launch a Campaign Facebook page.

What is up with Tinajero?  I know he is a busy guy but the message he is sending to the voters is that he isn’t interested in their vote.

This is the wrong year for Tinajero to take a vacation during campaign season as he has a challenger who is working hard and who is known in the community, in the form of Miguel “Mike” Gonzalez. Continue reading→

Why did Lou Correa pull out of the Santa Ana Mayor’s race?

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, George Collins, Lupe Moreno, Michele Martinez, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 9 Comments

Lou Correa on the State Senate Floor

State Senator Lou Correa has opted not to run for Mayor of Santa Ana.  Why did he get cold feet?

“After a review of various factors, I have decided not to run for Mayor at this time,” Correa (D-Santa Ana) stated in an email to a Voice of OC reporter. “I was deeply touched by all of the calls of encouragement that I received from folks from all walks of life, and all across party lines. I thank you all,” according to the Voice of OC.

Well that statement tells us nothing at all.  What I heard from several inside sources was that Correa didn’t think he could beat the longtime incumbent, Mayor Miguel Pulido.  Correa has enough money in his vast campaign war chest that I would be willing to wager that he conducted a poll and the results were no bueno.  Pulido, apparently, is still the man in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Candidates for the SAUSD School Board beginning to emerge

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Education, Eric Alderete, John Palacio, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua Leave a comment
Valerie Amezcua

Valerie Amezcua

Rumor has it that longtime SAUSD School Board Member Audrey Yamagata-Noji is finally going to retire this year.  That means her seat will open up this November.  The other incumbent who is up for re-election is John Palacio.

Cecilia Aguinaga has already started campaigning. I heard today that Valerie Amezcua, who like Aguinaga has run unsuccessfully before for the SAUSD School Board, will also be in the race.  And local businessman Mike Dalati appears to also be running in what is quickly turning into a crowded race. Continue reading→

Santa Ana gangs raided as authorities go after the Mexican Mafia again

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Crime, FBI, Gangs, Michele Martinez, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana 6 Comments

FBI Seal

UPDATE: We have received the official press release regarding this multi-agency gang sweep. It is posted at the end of this article.

Pre-dawn raids at about 75 locations throughout the county Tuesday were the culmination of a multi-agency investigation called “Operation Smokin’ Aces” taking aim at the Mexican Mafia, a notorious prison gang known for its grip on local street gangs, particularly in Santa Ana, authorities said, according to the O.C. Register.

Authorities said it involved dozens of arrests and search warrants that were served throughout Santa Ana neighborhoods. More than 800 officers, deputies and agents of the Santa Ana police; Orange County Sheriff’s Department; FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and U.S. Marshals took part in the investigation and the arrest warrants that were served before sunrise. The arrests were coordinated simultaneously. Continue reading→

Pulido garners praise as he works to shut down SONGS and save the fire pits

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, David Benavides, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Raul Godinez, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Miguel Pulido AQMD

It has been a tough ride for longtime Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido since his successful re-election last November.  He easily defeated Councilman David P. Benavides in that election, but Bneavides came out on top as part of a City Council that appears to be united in their pettiness towards Pulido.

The City Council fired City Manager Paul Walters, although he saved the city from a massive budget deficit by outsourcing our expensive Fire Department to the Orange County Fire Authority.  And someone on the Council leaked damaging information to the Voice of OC about the embarrassing investigation of Deputy City Manager Jill Arthur, who has always been loyal to Pulido.  She will almost certainly retire and not return to City Hall.

But despite all the attacks on him, Pulido has been in the news, a lot, because he has been heavily involved in two regional issues.  Pulido has been leading the charge to save the fire pits on our Orange County coastal beaches.  He has been doing so in his capacity as a member of the Southern California Air Quality Managment District’s Board of Governors.  Even OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano, who has no love for Pulido, has to begrudgingly admit that he is rooting for Pulido: Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes – Sarmiento for Supervisor?

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Elections, Janet Nguyen, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Term Limits, Tom Daly, Vince Sarmiento 9 Comments

Vince Sarmiento 9.6

I had a long talk this afernoon with a Santa Ana insider who had some amazing chismes for me.  I was expecting that perhaps Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido would run for the Orange County Supervisorial seat that is currently held by Janet Nguyen, but apparently Councilman Vincent Sarmiento has decided to run, and Pulido is not going to oppose him.

But the biggest shocker was that Measure D may be in trouble – and that it could be reversed if it is challenged in court.  That was the measure that extended the term limits of the Santa Ana Council Members by four years, from 8 years to 12.  That measure was on the ballot in a special election but apparently it should have been put in front of the voters in a general election.  What this means, if it does get wiped out, is that several Santa Ana Council Members will be termed out – including Michele Martinez and Sal Tinajero. Continue reading→

So you think you can beat Mayor Pulido?

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana, Stanley Fiala, Thomas Gordon 14 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido tells the Nicholas Academic Centers’ 4th Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Celebration that the NACs are profoundly changing education

There appears to be an anti-Mayor Pulido cult in town and I find it rather laughable.  Simply put, these folks can’t beat him.  So why is that?

Well, here are my Top Ten reasons why the Pulido haters can’t beat him:

  1. You cannot beat Pulido if you are a criminal defense lawyer who specializes in getting gang bangers out of jail.  (Alfredo Amezcua – lost badly to Pulido in 2010)
  2. You cannot beat Pulido if your campaign gets derailed when your half-brother gets arrested, for violating parole (Michele Martinez in 2008)
  3. You cannot beat Pulido if you look like a white supremacist (Thomas Gordon in 2006)
  4. You cannot beat Pulido if you use the word “vibrant” 2,000 times but never offer up any ideas as to how exactly you will make Santa Ana more “vibrant” (David Benavides in 2012)
  5. You cannot beat Pulido if you hate Mexicans (Stanley Fiala in 2004) Continue reading→

Is the Council preparing more attacks on Walters, Pulido – and Alvarez?

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

Michele Martinez whining

Should Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and local community leaders demand an appeal of the Santa Ana City Council’s decision to fire City Manager Paul Walters – seven months after they voted unanimously to hire him?

My sources report that the Council is allegedly working overtime to discredit Pulido and Walters – in case there is a public hearing to review the Council’s decision to fire Walters.

While the Council Members said nice things about Walters at the close of Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the attack they are supposedly preparing is beyond belief.  My insiders tell me that the Council is trying to find proof that former Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez had an affair some years ago, with Walters.   Continue reading→

The Benavides Council Cabal doesn’t have a mandate to fire Paul Walters

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, Karina Onofre, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Paul Walters, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 12 Comments

Santa Ana City Council

What is up with the Santa Ana City Council?  In their quest to fire popular and successful City Manager Paul Walters, they are talking like tough guys – as if they have some sort of mandate.  But do they? 

Here’s what Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero told the O.C. Register after this week’s last minute closed-door meeting to ostensibly review the performance of City Manager Paul Walters and Sonia R. Carvalho, our City Attorney (who was added to the agenda just to make this look like less of a lynching of Walters):

“I don’t think he’s angered them,” Tinajero said of Walters. “It’s the mayor’s reluctance to address the fact that there are seven council members.  The mayor has to realize that you don’t get to call all the shots.” Continue reading→

Update: When will the Benavides Council dump Griset from the MWD Board?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Dan Griset, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, John Palacio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento, Water 52 Comments

Update: So now that the Benavides cartel is running the Santa Ana City Council, are they really going to be all about change?  If so when are they dumping Dan Griset from the Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors?  Don’t hold your breath – they already cut a deal with him.  Here is what we had to say on the subject back on Sep. 21, of this year:

Do you remember Dan Griset?  His father Lorin was the Mayor of Santa Ana from 1969 – 1973.  Dan followed suit, serving on the Santa Ana City Council from 1979-1992.  He was our Mayor for a time too.

Why am I bringing him up?  Well he can’t get elected to anything in Santa Ana anymore, but for many years he has been our city’s appointed representative to the Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors. Griset was appointed years ago by Mayor Miguel Pulido back in February of 2005, and even though some of our current Council Members have groused about it, he has stayed put for some time. Continue reading→

Pulido is beating Benavides by a larger margin than he beat Amezcua in 2010

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Angelica Amezcua, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Education, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, George Collins, Lupe Moreno, Mark McLoughlin, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Politics, Rob Richardson, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Valerie Amezcua, Vince Sarmiento 7 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is currently leading his closes challenger, Santa Ana Council Member David Benavides, by over 12,000 votes. Pulido has 27,068 votes, or 48.2% of the ballots versus 14,982 votes, or 26.7% of the ballots for Benavides.  There were four other mayoral candidates this year, including George Collins, Roy Alvarado, Lupe Moreno and Miguel Angel Briseno. 

Pulido beat Alfredo “Al” Amezcua two years ago, in 2010, by just under ten thousand votes. Pulido got 21,588 votes, or 49.5% of the ballots, in 2010, versus 11,689 votes, or 26.8% of the ballots, for Amezcua, according to Smart Voter. There were three other mayoral candidates in 2010 – Alvarado, Collins and Charles Hart. 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→