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Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Alfredo Amezcua

Amezcua’s PAC to protest Alvarez and the PBID at the Council meeting on 9/6

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Business, Claudia Alvarez, Hate, immigration, Latinos, mexico, Santa Ana 19 Comments

Failed Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua’s Political Action Committee, which he calls the “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government,” (SACBG) has sent out a bizarre email asking its members to show up to Tuesday night’s Santa Ana City Council meeting in protest of Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez while at the same time advocating against the PBID – the assessment charged to property owners in part of Downtown Santa Ana.

Do these self-serving yahoos realize that Alvarez is the ONLY Santa Ana Council Member who agrees with them regarding PBID?  Why would they turn on her when she is advocating their position?  How ridiculous are these people? Continue reading→

How and why I ended up helping Pulido to defeat Amezcua last year

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Ream, David Benavides, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Sean Mill, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

Former Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream was not a fan of the Orange Juice blog

I have taken a lot of heat over the past couple of years because I ended up supporting Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido for Mayor last year – and I was retained by his consultant to design his campaign blog. This left a few of my friends scratching their heads.

I fought Pulido and his allies for over fifteen years – and flayed them onthe political blog I created, the Orange Juice. The Orange Juice blog changed Santa Ana politics.  It broke down the barriers built up by now retired Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream.  We went after him and his allies with such a vengeance that they monitored our site all day long.   Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes, 7/29 edition

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

I was going to wait a week for the next Santa Ana Political Chismes column, but I have some more Chismes and they need to get posted now, so here we go:

  • Sources tell me that the Santa Ana City Council announced at their special meeting on Thursday night that they are indeed suspending the search for a new City Manager for at least a few months.  Apparently four of the Council Members voted to suspend the search.  Not sure who voted that way but I guess it is a moot point.
  • Councilwoman Michele Martinez brought a birthday cake for Councilman David Benavides to tonight’s special session of the Santa Ana City Council.  The Council enjoyed the moment in the midst of all their deliberating.
  • The demonstration that was supposed to happen at Monday’s City Council meeting has been called off.  Sources tell me that whoever was targeting Alvarez has since decided to back off. Continue reading→

Amezcua’s old pal Ojeda, of the Mexican Mafia, gets busted again

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Courts, Crime, Gangs, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana 10 Comments

A chill must have gone up failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua’s spine this morning when he cracked open the newspaper and found out that “Federal and state authorities charged 99 alleged Orange County gang members with crimes including murder, drug trafficking and extortion, at least half or whom were associated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang,” according to NPR. Continue reading→

Alfredo Amezcua crashes Michele Martinez’ Santa Ana candidate meeting

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Elections, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 24 Comments

Failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua strolled into Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez’ meeting this morning, at the Corner Bakery located at the CityPlace, as if he owned the place.  He even refused to shake hands with a local resident at the meeting.

Martinez held the meeting to give those interested in running for local office in Santa Ana a chance to meet her, and to give advice to any residents interested in seeking public office. Continue reading→

Why the Chivas Soccer Stadium should be built at the Willowick Golf Course

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Development, Latinos, Miguel Pulido, Real Estate, Redevelopment, Santa Ana, Sports 52 Comments

To understand the true genius that is the idea behind putting the Chivas Soccer Stadium complex at the site of the Willowick Golf Course, you have to look at the Google satellite map of the area.  You see that diagonal grey line that abuts the north side of Willowick and runs from Garden Grove to Santa Ana Blvd.?  That is the old P&E Santa Ana line.  It is an abandoned rail line.  And it is where Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido wants to run a new street car system.

Now it all makes sense.  I thought the street car idea was pretty lame until I connected the dots – this new light rail system will begin at the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, where the Metrolink trains currently stop, over on the east of Downtown Santa Ana, and stretch all the way to downtown Garden Grove.  And it will bring Chivas fans to the new Stadium complex.

Take a look at the neighborhoods surrounding Willowick.  This is a very blue collar area.  The new light rail/street car will transform all of the neighborhoods lining the old P&E line.  And the new Chivas Soccer Stadium Complex will be a game changer.  I am told that it will include recreational facilities for our youth.

Think about the big picture.  The Chivas U.S. soccer club is a professional sports franchise.  It will be Santa Ana’s first pro team.  It will put us on the map – and soccer is the most popular game in the world.  Here in the U.S. it is the most popular youth sport.

The street car to Garden Grove will also give our residents direct access to a cluster of colleges, including Cal State Fullerton’s Extension campus.

What is the downside?  I don’t see it.  The street car system would be funded by Measure M and federal grants.

There is already a precedent for this in San Diego, where a light rail system delivers fans to the San Diego Chargers Stadium.

The opposition to this project is comprised of a cluster of mostly white Republicans – none of whom live near the Willowick Golf Course.  The Voice of OC recently provided us with a list of some of these malcontents:

  • Tim Rush – not married, no kids, lives in south Santa Ana.  Registered Republican.
  • Tom Lutz – married but retired, lives by Santa Ana College.  Registered Republican.
  • Don Cribb – lives in the Park Santiago neighborhood, in north Santa Ana.  Not married, no kids.
  • Alfredo Amezcua – lives in Morrison Park.  Divorced.  Kids are grown up.  Registered Democrat.
  • Thomas Gordon – lives in south Santa Ana.  Not married.  No kids.  Registered Republican.
  • Dave Brandt – lives in south Santa Ana.  Retired.  Registered Republican.
  • Debbie McEwen – lives in French Park, where she once tried to keep Mexicans out with traffic barriers, which had to be torn out after the ACLU won a lawsuit against the City.  Not married.  No kids.

A friend of mine recently attended a meeting of these malcontent “Usual Suspects.  I asked my friend what they talked about.  The response was just as I figured, “they talked about how Mexicans always leave trash and diapers behind.”

As usual, the opposition to the Chivas soccer team and soccer complex is rooted in overt racism.  That should not come as a surprise given the folks who are involved and given that most of them are Republicans.  I don’t know what possessed Amezcua to join hands with these xenophobic haters.  Bad move Al!

These folks are crying about traffic and noise – and are saying that the Chivas will push Santa Ana High School and Santa Ana College football games out of Eddie West Stadium.  The truth is that the Chivas will play at that facility but only until the new complex at Willowick is built.  The Santa  Ana City Council will work with the SAUSD School Board and the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education to make sure that the school football teams are accomodated.  Pulido has allies on both of those elected bodies.  The City of Santa Ana has good relationships with both school districts.

As for traffic, the fact is that many Santa Ana residents will get to Eddie West field on foot, by bike and on the bus.  Eddie West Stadium has limited capacity.  I expect each Chivas game to be a total sell-out.

The good news for the school districts is that there will be improvements made to Eddie West Stadium that will benefit the school teams, at no cost to them.

It has been suggested that the Chivas soccer complex be built in east Santa Ana.  But when you consider the implications of the proposed street car system, it is obvious that Willowick is a slam dunk.

Will the City of Garden Grove, which owns Willowick, play ball?  You bet.  The street car system will bring new customers to their downtown, revitalizing that area too.  You think the restaurant owners in their downtown will be opposed to that?  No way!

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government reveals their Board members

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Politics, Santa Ana 9 Comments

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government, a Political Action Committee, finally posted the members of their Board of  Directors tonight, on their website, after we prodded them to do so.  Here they are:

CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • President Arturo Lomeli – Downtown property owner: He is a dentist.  He also owns property in Downtown Santa Ana and leases out office space.  He is a Republican and he lives in wealthy Orange Park Acres.
  • John Acosta – Former Santa Ana mayor pro tem: Like Lomeli, Acosta is a Republican.  He served on the Santa Ana City Council many years ago.  He no longer lives in Santa Ana.
  • Jeff Dickman – Friends of Lacy neighborhood: Dickman was booted off the City of Santa Ana’s Historical Resources Commission.  He led a lawsuit against the City of Santa Ana which cost taxpayers thousands of dollars and stuck us with dilapidated buildings that the City cannot even give away.
  • Albert Castillo – Chicano Unidos member: He used to be a staunch supporter of Mayor Miguel Pulido, back in the day.
  • Debbie McEwen – French Park resident: I believe she is a Republican, but am not sure.  That is her picture atop this post, flipping me the one finger salute, at a Santa Ana City Council meeting.  She is notorious for complaining about her Latino neighbors to the Santa Ana Code Enforcement Agency.  She led the charge to install illegal traffic barriers in her neighborhood, but was defeated by the ACLU.  They correctly surmised that the barriers were racist and illegal.
  • Valerie Amezcua – Morrison Park resident: She is the daughter of failed Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua.  She lost a close race for the SAUSD School Board, to Roman Reyna, a couple years ago.
  • Luis Ortiz Franco – Los Amigos of Orange County
  • Gabriela Gonzalez – Community Volunteer
  • Raquel Lomeli – Downtown property owner: She is married to Art Lomeli.
  • Francisco Barragan – Business and community leader: He is a former Marine.  He belongs to quite a few community organizations.  He is also a CPA.  He used to write for this blog.  He drank the Amezcua Kool Aid unfortunately.
  • Alfredo Amezcua – Attorney/Business Property Owner: He got caught when he got elected to the Rancho Santiago Community College District – but was living in a different ward.  He resigned and later ran for Mayor of Santa Ana, last year, losing badly to Mayor Miguel Pulido, despite spending a quarter million dollars on his campaign.  He is a criminal defense attorney who has defended some of the worst drug dealers and gang bangers in Orange County, over the years.  It should be noted that he has also supported every major tax increase (via bond measures) that we have been stuck with here in Santa Ana, over the past decade.

There you go.  This organization appears to be a mixture of Republicans, malcontents, questionable politicians and litigious residents.  I have yet to see any concrete good ideas from these folks, but predictably they are making Code Enforcement a focus, which comes as no surprise given the involvement of McEwen on their Board.  Any organization that includes the likes of McEwen is not to be trusted by the people of Santa Ana, IMHO.

Is the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government a GOP ploy?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 3 Comments

The Republicans still rule in Orange County – except for the City of Santa Ana, where only one Republican sits on our City Council.

The Democrats control the 69th Assembly District, the 34th State Senate District and the 47th Congressional District.  All the Republicans have is Supervisor Janet Nguyen.  She might be able to redistrict her way to victory in 2012 – or she might not.

Given that background it is very surprising that two Republicans have started the so-called “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government,” which is really a state registered Political Action Committee.  Why should Democrats in Santa Ana give them the time of day?

I spoke to the publicist for this coalition a few month ago.  She said they had others on their Board, besides the two Republicans – Art Lomeli and John Acosta – but so far they have not posted any other names on their website.

To make matters worse, Lomeli and Acosta don’t even live in Santa Ana!  Does anyone on their board live in Santa Ana?  Who knows – they won’t post their names!

What exactly do these people advocate?  Again, who knows?  Their website does not cite any original ideas for change – just a laundry list of empty complaints.

You have to wonder if the OC GOP is using this sad bunch to try to regain territory in Santa Ana.  Sorry – that won’t work.

It certainly did not work last year when several of the most bitter Republicans in town lined up behind Amezcua.  He still got blown out of the water by Mayor Miguel Pulido.

Too bad these people are so set on complaining instead of trying to foster real change in Santa Ana.  In the end their effort will amount to nothing – no one at City Hall will give these people any credence.  And in 2012, their favored son, Alfredo Amezcua, is going to lose again to Pulido.  The reality is that Pulido won’t stop being Mayor until he decides to leave.

Amezcua blew a quarter million last year in his failed attempt to beat Pulido.  There is no telling how much more money will be wasted by his “Coalition of Republicans who don’t live in Santa Ana.”

Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government’s attack on Paul Walters misfires

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Crime, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana 50 Comments

The so-called “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government” ripped the Santa Ana City Council and Santa Ana Police Department Chief Paul Walters today, in a mass email that questioned how much Walters will get paid as interim Santa Ana City Manager (see the graphic above or click here).

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government is registered as a Political Action Committee.  It is run by two Republicans, John Acosta and Art Lomeli, who do not live in Santa Ana.

Walters’ team responded to the mass email thusly:

Double-dipping: Paul is not double-dipping. About 6 years ago, he actually did retire and the city asked him to come back temporarily on a contract basis to groom one of the deputy chiefs to take over his position. During the process, the deputy chief, Dan McCoy, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and subsequently died. The next in line was Bruce Carlson, who was eventually diagnosed with and succumbed to liver cancer. Since there was no one else the city felt comfortable with as chief, they asked Paul to un-retire, which he did.

Actually, it will cost the City of Santa Ana less money for Walters to serve as both Interim City Manager and Chief of the SAPD.  It would cost quite a bit more to pay two people to do those jobs.

The truth is that the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government is just a mouthpiece for failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Al Amezcua.  He dislikes Walters because Amezcua makes a living defending drug dealers and gang bangers in court – while Walters and his department do their best to arrest these people.

I also found it interesting that the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government’s latest email also focused on Code Enforcement – a tool often used in the past by Santa Ana’s dwindling white minority to make life tough for their Latino neighbors.

Alfredo Amezcua and his Santa Ana PAC to host a community forum on April 20

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Entertainment, Politics, Santa Ana 5 Comments

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government, which is a Political Action Committee, is holding a “Community Forum,” on April 20, at the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s headquarters.  Here is their invitation to the meeting:

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

As you probably know, my commitment to our beautiful City of Santa Ana continues… Quite a few community leaders and stakeholders have requested me to take a role in the creation and development of the SANTA ANA COALITION FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT (SACBG). For those of you who are not yet familiar with this new entity, the SACGB is a community organization comprised of residents and business owners encouraging civic participation, while promoting and advocating for efficient, transparent, accountable and ethical governance by the elected and administrative officials of the City of Santa Ana.

Please join us at our first Community Forum on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Rancho Santiago Community College District Conference Room 107. See the attached Invitation Flier and feel free to distribute this e-mail to your personal e-mail contacts, lists, friends and neighbors. If you have any questions about this new community coalition, please contact me.

I look forward to seeing you on April 20th!

Alfredo Amezcua
Attorney at Law

Law Offices of Alfredo Amezcua & Associates
1319 N. Broadway
Santa Ana, CA 92706
Ofc.: (714) 835-3538
Fax: (714) 835-0906
e-mail: amezcualglsrvcs@aol.com

###

Note that the invitation is from Alfredo Amezcua, one of several mayoral challengers last year who lost badly to incumbent Mayor Miguel Pulido.

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government is run by two men who do not live here in Santa Ana – Dr. Art Lomeli, who lives in wealthy Orange Park Acres and is a registered Republican, and John Acosta, who lives in Orange and is likewise a registered Republican.

New labor-backed study alleges that special interests influence planning decisions

Posted on by Posted in Affordable Housing, Alfredo Amezcua, Anaheim, Development, Planning, Politics, Redevelopment, Santa Ana 8 Comments

MEDIA ADVISORY: February 7, 2011

CONTACT: Robert Nothoff, 949-433-0541 (mobile)

New Research Documents Influence of Special Interests in Local Planning Decisions

ORANGE COUNTY, CA – Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) today released a new report—The Rubber Stamp Process: Broken Governance in Planning and Development and How Communities Can Regain a Voice—which details structural flaws in the local planning processes in Anaheim and Santa Ana that favor special interests over local residents.

―Now more than ever, we need economic development in Orange County, but people won’t support it if they lose confidence in the political process, said Robert Nothoff, OCCORD Policy Analyst and Rubber Stamp Process co-author. ―The planning process is broken: Communities don’t have an equal voice to counter special interests, and elected leaders are between a rock and a hard place as they look for ways to balance the budget.

Findings of The Rubber Stamp Process include:

  • Outside interests have disproportionate sway over local politics, as 70% of all individual and corporate political contributions in Anaheim and Santa Ana came from outside city boundaries.
  • The top five Economic Sectors (NAICS) accounted for 63% of overall contributions to successful Mayoral and City Council races, including several development-related sub-industries.
  • Local planning commissions do not represent every neighborhood or the general public as a whole. In Anaheim and Santa Ana, over half of all planning commissioners between 2000 – 2010 came from relatively affluent neighborhoods that represent less than 20% of the total population.
  • Development projects move forward even when the public strongly disagrees with them. In Anaheim and Santa Ana, 87 new development projects were presented between 2005 and 2010.  21 were met with overwhelming community opposition, yet 20 of the 21 were approved.
  • Other significant barriers to public participation exist: Inadequate notification, ineffective public hearings (public input sought at end vs. beginning of process), and constraints on city planners.

To produce The Rubber Stamp Process, OCCORD collected and tracked all 5,600 donations made to successful Mayoral and City Council candidates in Anaheim and Santa Ana between 2004 and 2010; reviewed occupational backgrounds and geographic locations of all planning commissioners in the two cities between 2000 and 2010; and based on 3,898 pages of City Council minutes, analyzed the City Council approval rate for all new development projects in those cities between 2005 and 2010. A copy of
The Rubber Stamp Process is available on OCCORD’s website at www.occord.org/rubberstamp.

The report offers four broad policy principles to remedy the current structural bias: (1) Encourage public participation early in the development process by raising public awareness and increasing outreach to neighborhoods before important decisions are made; (2) level the playing field by ensuring that all costs and benefits for a project are taken into account and increasing transparency in the decision-making process; (3) empower every neighborhood to have a voice in development decisions that affect its quality
of life; and (4) make elected and appointed officials more accountable to the communities they represent.

―The bias we observed goes beyond the actions of any single city, elected leader, or political party. It’s about who decides what happens to our communities: Out-of-town developers or the people who live and work there, said Nothoff. ―The solution is to give communities a real voice in the planning process.

Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) is a nonprofit organization committed to economic development that benefits everyone who lives and works in Orange County’s diverse communities.

###

Click here to see the graphics associated with this study.

In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua is listed as a “Champion Funder” of this organization, according to OCCORD’s website.  Moreover, their Board of Directors is totally dominated by organized labor, which is of course a special interest.  Their Board also includes Amezcua backer Amin David, of the Anaheim Los Amigos.  David is also listed as a funder or this organization.  Lastly, their Staff is also dominated by labor representatives.

OCCORD is an advocate for Community Benefit Accords – these are compacts with developers that force the developers to spend thousands of dollars mollifying the OCCORD activists.  Close to 100% of the CBAs advocated by OCCORD fail when developers realize they don’t have to listen to these unelected people.

The study fails to note that organized labor spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last year trying, fruitlessly, to elect John Leos to the Anaheim City Council – and labor figured heavily in Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s campaign as well.  Labor money often is hidden in Independent Expenditures or arrives in the form of precinct walkers, which does not show up on campaign finance reports.

It is not illegal to accept campaign donations from sources outside of one’s city.  That is  a common practice.  In fact Amezcua has started a PAC called the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government, which is led by three of Amezcua’s allies who don’t live in Santa Ana, including Art Lomeli, who lives in wealthy Orange Park Acres and John Acosta, who lives in Anaheim.

The Planning Commissioners in Anaheim and Santa Ana are appointed by City Council representatives elected by the people who live in those cities.  It doesn’t matter where they live.  They serve at the pleasure of the Council Members who appoint them.

While Planning Commissions often approve development projects that face community opposition, the question one must ponder is whether that opposition consists of more than a few dozen people.  The most hotly contested development in Santa Ana – the One Broadway Tower, was approved by the voters, yet today a handful of opponents continue to tie this project up in court – even though the project will provide almost three thousand good-paying jobs to union contractors.  How ironic.

The people involved in OCCORD are also allied with the folks who are suing to stop the Transit District development in Santa Ana, although it would have provided a substantial amount of affordable housing.  Again, how ironic, as affordable housing is supposedly one of OCCORD’s missions.

Amezcua’s coalition tries to take credit for the changes at Santa Ana’s City Hall

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua’s coalition of people who don’t live in Santa Ana, the so-called Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government, today tried to take credit for the changes that are happening at Santa Ana’s City Hall, in a bizarre newsletter you can read by clicking here.

As my readers will recall, I attended the ridiculous press conference that Amezcua’s allies at the Los Amigos of Anaheim held, a few weeks ago, where they demanded that the Orange County Grand Jury investigate the Santa Ana City Council.  It was a joke – the Los Amigos had no answers for my questions.  Their unfounded charges were complete innuendo and slander.  And both the L.A. Times and the OC Weekly ignored that event, as we disclosed in an earlier post.

More importantly, the Orange County Grand Jury blew off Amezcua too.

And now suddenly these people are taking credit for the fact that the Santa Ana City Council is cleaning house?  Unbelievable!  The credit for the changes in our local government goes to our City Council majority, period.  Amezcua and his cult-like following had nothing to do with it – and they didn’t even see the changes coming.

I am not sure I can take two more years of this silliness.  But apparently Amezcua intends to embarrass himself daily until the 2012 elections.

Here is a graphic rendition of the latest Amezcua cult newsletter, in case these guys come to their senses and delete it from the Internet:

Can Alfredo Amezcua beat Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido in 2012?

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Democratic Party, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

Failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua convinced his then-friend, Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, to run for Mayor of Santa Ana, in 2008, against the incumbent, Miguel Pulido.  In hindsight that was a ridiculous idea, but Martinez gave it her best.  She built a large coalition that included a lot of young people – and she worked very hard, walking many precincts and gaining a number of key endorsements.

However, when the dust settled, Martinez earned 29.3% of the vote, while Pulido came away with 55% of the vote and another challenger, George Collins, got 13.8% of the vote, according to Smart Voter.

Amezcua told a friend of mine, back in 2008, that Martinez was his trial balloon – and that he intended to run for Mayor himself, in 2010.  In fact, on election night, in 2008, he left Martinez’ election party, when it became clear she was going to lose – and he drove, in a limo, to Pulido’s election night party.

And, sure enough, Amezcua ran against Pulido in 2010.  But the results left much to be desired.  Amezcua only got 26.8% of the vote, while Pulido got 49.5% of the vote, in a very crowded field with a total of five candidates, including Collins and two newcomers – Roy Alvarado and Charles Hart, according to Smart Voter.

Amezcua is now coordinating a sustained attack against Pulido and the entire Santa Ana City Council.  To that end he has recruited two allies, Art Lomeli and John Acosta, who do not live in Santa Ana, to head up the so-called “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government” PAC.

Amezcua told the publisher of Rumores, a local Spanish language newspaper, at the close of the 2010 campaign, that he would be a “rock in Pulido’s shoe,” until the next election, in 2012.  He is certainly living up to that.  He and his out-of-town cohorts staged a lightly-attended “Vigil of Discontent,” at the swearing-in ceremony of our newly re-elected City Council members, and he, and his allies from the Los Amigos of Anaheim, recently held a pathetic press conference where they engaged in innuendo and slanderous attacks against Pulido and the Santa Ana City Council.

What is Amezcua up to?  Clearly he is trying to poison the well against Pulido and company, by dredging up empty attacks from now through 2012.  But will this strategy work?

The OC Weekly and the L.A. Times both skipped the aforementioned press conference.  Amezcua’s publicist used to work for the L.A. Times and as such it was amazing that they overlooked the event, which she engineered for him.  The Voice of OC and their friends from KOCE covered the event, as did the O.C. Register, and all of them offered fawning coverage that omitted the fact that the charges were spurious and unfounded.  The point of the press conference was to call for an investigation of Pulido and the City Council by the O.C. Grand Jury.  The fact that this investigation has not come to pass, and will not, has been overlooked by the lame reporters who covered that contrived event.

But here is the question we must ponder.  Given that Amezcua did WORSE than Martinez, even though he had not one but two white candidates splitting the white vote that normally all goes to Pulido, how in the world is he going to win in 2012, if indeed he does run again?

Amezcua purportedly spent a quarter million dollars on his campaign – after losing a fortune on his failed Santa Ana Business Bank, which was acquired at a huge loss by a group from Los Angeles.  Can he really afford to do that again in 2012, and is that a good idea given his lack of success in 2010?

Clearly Amezcua’s only hope is to attack, attack and attack, non-stop, until 2012, but here is the problem with that strategy.  It is far too early to be doing this. The voters will have forgotten all of this by the time the next election rolls around.  It is a failed strategy, right out of the gate.

Amezcua would be better served to tell us what his plans are – how he would improve our city.  But so far all he has offered is empty platitudes and promises to build more parks and hire more police – without offering up how he intends to pay for all of this.

Even worse for Amezcua, he failed to earn support from organized labor, in 2010.  Pulido had the support of the trades, the firemen and the policemen.  There is no way Amezcua gets that support in 2012.

And Pulido earned an endorsement from the Democratic Party of Orange County.  Furthermore, the Chairman of the DPOC, Frank Barbaro, focused all of his efforts this past year on reelecting Pulido and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.  That will happen again two years hence, I guarantee it.

Pulido leaned left in the past two years, forming an alliance with Martinez and fellow Council progressives Sal Tinajero and Vincent Sarmiento.  This too took the wind out of Amezcua’s sails.  In fact Amezcua ended up allying with angry white voters in Santa Ana, who early in the race supported Hart, and he still got blow out of the water.

So can Amezcua win in 2012?  I just don’t see how that is possible.  Unless he starts talking about his ideas for change, he is going to be toast again.

KOCE Video of Los Amigos attack on the Santa Ana City Council

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Elections, Latinos, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 22 Comments

KOCE’s David Nazar has apparently bought into the unfounded allegations and slander that were pitched by the Los Amigos of Anaheim at their recent press conference, against the Santa Ana City Council and SAPD Chief Paul Walters.

Nazar’s report will air, according to the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government, whose leaders don’t live in Santa Ana, this Thursday, at 5:30 pm and 11 pm, on Channel 8, in Santa Ana.

Nazar is the only minority employed by KOCE’s Real Orange.  The rest of their news team is all-white.  It is small wonder then that they are going after the all-Latino Santa Ana City Council and Mayor Miguel Pulido.

I already debunked the silly Los Amigos’ complaints in a previous post.  And I wrote about their press conference at this link.  Suffice to say that their spokesperson, Francisco Barragan, had no answers when I showed up and questioned his complaints.

Why did any media show up to this event, which was orchestrated by failed Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua?  Simple.  He hired former L.A. Times reporter Jennifer Delson to serve as his publicist.  She was there at the press conference.  I caught her whispering orders to the Los Amigos Chairman, Amin David, and to Barragan.

Check out the surprised look on Delson’s face, in the picture above.  When I showed up to the press conference she panicked.  She shut down the press conference when I asked one too many questions that Barragan simply could not handle.

As for Amezcua, he literally ran out of the room once I started asking questions.  In fact David called out his name, wanting him to speak, but Amezcua had already flown the coop.

Why doesn’t Amezcua just accept that he lost?  In fact he lost badly!  I would prefer to see him offering solutions instead of his endless gripes.  Too bad KOCE fell for this B.S.

The Leaders of the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government PAC don’t live here

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Have you heard of the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government?  They are one of the organizations behind this week’s ridiculous Anaheim Los Amigos press conference that consisted of unfounded innuendo and slanderous attacks against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, the Santa Ana City Council and Santa Ana Chief of Police Paul Walters.

I took a look today at the  website today and found these stated goals:

  • Identify viable candidates for mayor and city council who are pro-business and encourage the development and growth of small businesses.
  • Support identified candidates with finances, volunteers and in-kind resources.
  • Create a pool of viable candidates by providing training and workshops to educate and enhance their capability for conducting successful campaigns.
  • Support nonprofit groups that promote the city’s progress by continuously incrementing the profile of three sectors: business, arts and education.

It turns out this organization is not a community-based organization.  It is a political action committee.  It is headed up by Dr. Art Lomeli, a resident of wealthy Orange Park Acres, and John Acosta, a resident of Anaheim.  They are both allies of failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua.

Now let’s dissect those goals.  The first one is silly.  Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and every single Council member is pro-business.  They all support development – it is ironic that this coalition even mentions development as Amezcua and his allies have repeatedly sued the City of Santa Ana to STOP developments, some of which have included affordable housing.

As for training political candidates, why would a candidate want to take advice from this bunch?  Amezcua spent a quarter million dollars last year and he lost badly to Pulido.  Lomeli got blown out of the water a few years ago when he ran for the Rancho Santiago Community College District.  Acosta has not won an election since before most residents of Santa Ana were born.  Please!  How silly.

What have any of these people done to support the arts, business or education?  I have yet to see any concrete proposals from ANY of them to that end.  In fact their website has NOTHING to contribute – no ideas, no proposals, nada.  In that, it reflects Amezcua’s campaign, which also failed to propose even one good idea.

So who are these non-residents of Santa Ana?

Lomeli owns a dental practice in Downtown Santa Ana.  He is also one of 35 business owners in the Downtown who has signed a petition to stop the Santa Ana PBID – an assessment that has done wonders to clean up, market and improve our Downtown area.  Lomeli is also a landlord as he rents space out in his building.

Acosta served on the Santa Ana City Council many years ago.  He retired recently, but worked in construction his whole life.

I think this coalition needs to change its name if its leaders are going to be non-residents of Santa Ana.  And residents of our city should think twice before contributing to them.  They have no ideas and are simply mad that their candidate, Amezcua, got blown out last November.