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Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Michele Martinez

Updated: Michele Martinez to kick off her Assembly campaign on 9/22

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 14 Comments

Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez has officially announced her candidacy for the 69th Assembly District, in an email I am reproducing below.  She is also hosting a Candidacy Announcement Kick-Off event on Thursday, September 22nd.  Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Martinez’ candidacy announcement cited the support of numerous elected and appointed officials, including Assemblyman Jose Solorio; OUSD Trustee Diane Singer; Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido; and Santa Ana Council Members David Benavides, Vince Sarmiento and Sal Tinajero.

Mayor Pulido sent out a personal endorsement of Martinez today: Continue reading→

Durkeegate Update: The FBI freezes the DPOC’s bank accounts

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Loretta Sanchez, Michele Martinez, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 9 Comments

UPDATE: Democratic Party Chair Frank Barbero says the FBI has frozen bank accounts connected to Orange County’s Democratic Party, according to NBC News.

UPDATE: Kang is done: Irvine mayor Sukhee Kang says his bank account shrunk from $20,000 to $700. Kang opened a second account in July to fund his run for congress, but it is missing about $25,000, too, according to NBC News.

UPDATE: O.C. Register reports that Democratic candidates may not be able to replace their stolen campaign funds. Continue reading→

Benavides and Bustamante thwarted by the Santa Ana City Council

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 11 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council just voted on the 85 A item that was put on the agenda tonight, by Council Members Carlos Bustamante and David Benavides.  They said they weren’t trying to punish Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez, but that is precisely what they were trying to do.

The Council voted 4-3 for an alternate motion submitted by Council Member Vince Sarmiento, condemning Alvarez’ comments last week, when she used a Hitler analogy in talking about Jewish property owner and developer Irv Chase.

Surprisingly, Council Member Michele Martinez sided with the “B-Boys.”  However they could not get four votes.  Indeed, they got punked.  Council Members Pulido, Sarmiento, Tinajero and Alvarez voted for the substitute motion. Continue reading→

Live blogging – Alvarez vs. Bustamante and Benavides at the Council meeting

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 12 Comments

I am covering tonight’s Santa Ana City Council meeting – which figures to be an epic confrontation between Republican Council Member Carlos Bustamante and his sidekick, David Benavides vs. Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez.  The “B Boys” have put an 85 A item on the agenda to punish and maybe even ask Alvarez to resign from the Council.

This all came about as a result of an analogy made by Alvarez at the last Council meeting, when she compared developer and property owner Irv Chase to Adolf Hitler.  She has since apologized. Continue reading→

Treasurer who worked with Correa, Sanchez and Solorio arrested by the FBI

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Democratic Party, Jose Solorio, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Kindee Durkee photo by Henry V

Kinde Durkee of Burbank-based Durkee and Associates, a prominent Democratic campaign treasurer who works for federal, state and O.C. lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Rep. Loretta Sanchez and state legislators Lou Correa and Jose Solorio, has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of mail fraud, according to The Orange County Register.

State Sen. Lou Correa of Santa Ana told the Register the FBI notified him late Friday that he was one of many victims. Correa said he believes he has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds. Durkee had been his campaign treasurer since 1995, according to the Huffington Post.

Correa quickly posted a response on Facebook: Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes – will Daly announce his 69th A.D. campaign today?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Elections, Michele Martinez, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Daly and his fellow overpaid government worker pals…

I just got a tip that O.C. Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly is going to be announcing his campaign for the 69th Assembly District today.  The timing makes sense as this will allow him to take the stage at the O.C. Labor Day event, at the Santa Ana Zoo, and pimp for votes.

Daly was the Mayor of Anaheim back in the 90’s.  In his last campaign, in 1998, he beat Bob Zemel, a Republican, by 54% to 40%, according to Smart Voter.  He ran on a platform of hiring more cops, not raising taxes and “beautifying and revitalizing” Anaheim – which is Usual Suspect code for getting rid of the poor and the immigrants.

Has Daly done a good job as O.C. Clerk-Recorder?   Continue reading→

Claudia Alvarez apologizes for comparing Irv Chase to Hitler

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Development, Latinos, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana 16 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez apologized today, in a phone call to the L.A. Times,  for making statements that could be construed to be anti-Semitic.

“What I said was inappropriate, and I let my emotions get the best of me,” Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez told the L.A. Times.  Here are a few more excerpts from the L.A. Times article:

Alvarez said getting emotional did not justify her statements. She said the debate has affected her personally because her father owned a business downtown, and the incident is the culmination of escalating tensions surrounding the downtown area.

“The conversation is not over,” she said. “I obviously need to learn how to keep my cool.”

What the heck is all this about, you might be wondering?

Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council will host a PBID Public Hearing on 8/24

Posted on by Posted in Business, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Entertainment, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 9 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council is holding a special meeting on Wednesday, August 24, at 5 pm.  The biggest item on the agenda is a public hearing regarding the controversial Downtown Santa Ana PBID – an annual assessment that has succeeded in cleaning up and marketing Downtown Santa Ana.

I have no idea how the Santa Ana City Council will approach the PBID, but I do know that Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez has a real problem with Downtown, Inc., the organization that runs the PBID.  I think Downtown, Inc. can count on Mayor Miguel Pulido and Council Members Carlos Bustamante, Vince Sarmiento and David Benavides.  I am not sure where Council Members Sal Tinajero and Michele Martinez are on the PBID.  I think they are supportive of the proposed changes to the PBID’s boundaries, bit they may want even more changes.

Here are the details about the Public Hearing: Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes: Tom Daly to run for the 69th A.D.

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana 13 Comments

The chisme has it that Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly is going to run for the 69th Assembly District, a seat currently held by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, who if memory serves correct employs Daly’s wife.

Daly is the former Mayor of Anaheim.  I am told that “business interests” want him to run as they don’t like OC Labor Political Director Julio Perez, who like Daly hails from Anaheim.

Where does that leave Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez?  She announced she was running this week. Continue reading→

Perez should drop out now that Martinez is running for the 69th A.D.

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, california, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 15 Comments

Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez made an interesting announcement this morning on her Facebook page, “Good Morning! I wanted to share some great news with all of you. In the next week or so I will officially declare my candidacy for the 69 Assembly District. Michele Martinez.”

I have been tracking this story for weeks.  For awhile it looked like Councilman Vince Sarmiento was going to run but his wife put the kibosh on that.  Then it looked like Councilman Sal Tinajero was going to run – but now it is Martinez who is going to run for Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s 69th Assembly District, when he terms out in 2012. 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 continues to dominate redistricted 69th Assembly District

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Latinos, Michele Martinez, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa Ana will continue to dominate the 69th Assembly District, in the latest redistricting proposal that is now headed for public comment.  The new district map includes all of Santa Ana, for the most part, and just a piece of Anaheim.

The Democrats ought to be able to hang on to this seat easily – and odds are that a Santa Ana Council Member will be following the incumbent, Jose Solorio, to Sacramento. Continue reading→

Council members Martinez and Benavides to host a city manager forum on 7/28

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Dave Ream, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana 9 Comments

Santa Ana Council Members Michele Martinez and David Benavides are going to host a community forum on Thursday, July 28, from 6 pm to 8 pm, at the Southwest Senior Citizen Center, located at 2201 W. McFadden Ave., in Santa Ana.

Santa Ana city officials are looking to residents to help identify the most significant issues the city is facing and the type of person who would make the best city manager. Continue reading→

Has the City of Santa Ana suspended its city manager search?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Ream, David Benavides, Latinos, Lawyers, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 12 Comments

Several sources in and around Santa Ana’s City Hall are reporting that the City of Santa Ana has suspended their search for a new city manager.  I am told that this was also conveyed to a reporter from the Voice of OC today.  However, another source reported that there is no suspension.  The truth is likely somewhere in between…

My sources said that an argument will be made that conducting a national search for a new city manager is too expensive and that we ought to just roll with interim City Manager Paul Walters, who also serves as our Chief of Police, to save money.

The downside of this however is that the defacto city manager is now none other than longtime assistant to the last city manager, Jill Arthur.  Apparently Walters is leaning on her a lot – and she is now effectively running the 8th floor. 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→