New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Elections

Could SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna beat GOP Supervisor Janet Nguyen in 2012?

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Janet Nguyen, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD 10 Comments

Well, it looks like none of the Santa Ana City Council Members are going to challenge Republican Supervisor Janet Nguyen in 2012, so are there any viable Democrats out there who might consider taking her on?

There are a few Democratic School Board Members in Anaheim, but Santa Ana still dominates Nguyen’s First District.

The only guy I can think of who might contend is Santa Ana Unified School District Trustee Roman Reyna. He is up for reelection too, in 2012, but the Supervisorial election is in the spring, while Reyna would have to run for the School Board in November. That means he could conceivably run against Nguyen in June – and even if he lost he would have increased his name I.D. considerably. He could even re-use his signs and get a multi-use website, such as www.reyna2012.com. Continue reading→

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

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Art Pedroza 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.

Poll: would you support Brandman or Sarmiento to replace Assemblyman Solorio?

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

[poll id=”4″]

It looks like there is going to be quite a battle for Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s seat in the 69th Assembly District, in 2012. Rumor has it that Jordan Brandman, a Trustee at the Anaheim Union High School District, is going to run for the seat. If so, he will likely face off against attorney Vincent Sarmiento, who replaced Solorio on the Santa Ana City Council a few years ago.

Brandman has steadily drifted to the Republican Party since he first got involved in politics. He says he got involved in politics after taking a political science class at UCI, taught by recently termed out Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, who once was the Republican Leader in the State Assembly.

Here are a few of Brandman’s gaffes over the years:

I ran into him at the O.C. Labor Day event at the Santa Ana Zoo in 2009. I walked up and asked if I could take his picture. Sure, he said, but first he said he needed to take off his health care reform sticker. As you can see in the picture above, that is precisely what he did.
Conservative Republican Chris Norby decided to run for O.C. Clerk-Recorder, in the Spring of 2009, and before he backed out of that race Brandman endorsed him, over moderate Republican Hugh Nguyen, who lives in Santa Ana. Click here to read about that small fiasco.
This year, Brandman endorsed yet another Republican, John Leos, for the City Council, over two Democrats who were endorsed by their party – John Santoianni, who has been a leader in Orange County’s gay community; and businessman Bill Dalati. Click here to read about the Leos endorsement. It was all for naught as Leos lost.
In 2009, Brandman, voted to reject a $50,000 donation from Anaheim’s After School Fund, even though he served on their board of directors! Click here to read about that.
Brandman appeared at a candidates forum on Sep. 29, that was run by the League of Women voters. He was asked “Do you support State legislation that requires school textbooks to include history and contributions that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons have specifically made towards California’s development?” Brandman turned bright red when he heard the question. Then he said ”this is a non-issue, there is no place for gay rights in our textbooks and schools”. Click here to hear the audio recording of Brandman’s comments.
And to cap all of these fiascos, this year Brandman was endorsed by a slew of Republicans who were big supporters of Prop. 8 – the measure that banned gay marriage. Click here to see that list of GOP haters.

According to his Facebook page, Brandman is the Director of External Affairs for Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly, who also supported Leos. Daly also opposed the Gigante Supermarket that opened in Anaheim a few years ago and he had a reputation for cracking down on the poor people that live in Anaheim’s seedier hotels.

Brandman appears to be single and there is no mention of any girlfriends on his Facebook page. He has no children.

So what about Sarmiento? Here are a few excerpts from his bio:

Sarmiento’s family has lived in and around Santa Ana since 1965. He attended John Muir Elementary, Sierra Elementary, and Willard Intermediate Schools, back when the landscape was still dominated by orange groves.

Sarmiento is socially progressive but he is a moderate on business and fiscal matters. He has worked hard to attract new business to Santa Ana and to help develop jobs.

Sarmiento serves on several boards and committees. He is a member of the Santa Ana YMCA Board, which is constructing a brand new center on the south part of the City. He also serves on the Annual Cesar Chavez Event Committee that commemorates Cesar Chavez Day every March 31st. In addition, Councilmember Sarmiento is the City’s representative to the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Central Corridor Advisory Committee to evaluate transportation options within the Central Orange County region, which includes Santa Ana. As a business advocate he continues to work closely with the Santa Ana Merchants Association to promote the needs of small businesses along Main Street.

Sarmiento previously served on the Community Redevelopment and Housing Commission and has previous experience on both the Historic Resources and Human Relations Commissions. Vincent is also a member of the Hispanic Bar Association and is a Board Member of the Grain Project.

Sarmiento earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UC Berkeley and a law degree from UCLA. He is a strong advocate of education and sees a great opportunity to cultivate a desire in our youth to succeed. Prior to owning his own law firm, Sarmiento was an associate attorney at an Irvine based law firm and clerked for the Los Angeles County Superior Court and the Office of the District Attorney in Riverside. Vincent was also a Legislative Fellow for the California Assembly, serving the Assembly Human Resources Committee. He also just completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Certificate Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Sarmiento and his wife, Eva, operate a home office together in the 1920’s home they purchased several years ago and rehabilitated. The home is now considered a historical property with landmark status.

Los Amigos press conference turns out to be a giant waste of time

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 16 Comments

I attended the Los Amigos press conference today, which was held in their usual meeting place – a German restaurant in Anaheim. As I expected, it was a giant waste of time. I wrote about their complaints yesterday. You can read that post by clicking here.

And I was not surprised to see that failed mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua was pulling all the strings. He and his assistant kept pulling the Chairman of Los Amigos, Amin David, aside, ostensibly to whisper directions to him.

The press conference was conducted by my friend Francisco Barragan, who did a good job with very weak material. Essentially he is asking the Orange County Grand Jury to investigate the Santa Ana City Council, but none of his charges are at all salient. They are all groundless.

I had the opportunity to ask questions and I took advantage of that. Amezcua, of course, got up and left the room as soon as I started asking questions.

I asked if Barragan was aware that Assemblyman Jose Solorio was on the Santa Ana City Council in 2002, when the severance package with now retired City Attorney Joe Fletcher was negotiated. He was not. I asked if he intended to investigate wht Solorio did on that Council. His reply was that Los Amigos was asking for everyone to be investigated – but he only called out Mayor Miguel Pulido and Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez by name.

Barragan also complained that SAPD Police Chief Paul Walters called voters, via a robo-call, during work hours. I then asked if Barragan was aware that robo calls are made by computers and that Chief Walters was not personally on the phone with the voters. He appeared to be flustered by that question.

He then played the audio of the robo call, wherein Walters asked why Amezcua was insisting that he was endorsed by Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, when she in fact endorsed Mayor Pulido. That is a legitimate good point. Sanchez did NOT endorse Amezcua. Barragan insisted that she “supported” Amezcua, but if you look up the word “endorse” in a dictionary, you will find it is synonymous with the word “support.” This complaint was just more splitting hairs by Los Amigos!

It should be noted that former LAPD Chief William Bratton publicly endorsed L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the last time he ran. So did L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. Public safety officials often lend their support to politicians. Walters did nothing wrong and he did not deserve to be slandered by Los Amigos.

At one point, Voice of OC reporter Adam Elmahrek mentioned that Supervisor John Moorlach said that back-pay for public employees was illegal. Of course Barragan agreed.

I then asked Barragan if that means Los Amigos is against the back-pay pensions that the O.C. public employees received a few years ago – that of course is what Moorlach’s comment, which Elmahrek took out of context, was about.

And again Barragan was quite flustered by my question. I felt bad for him. He is a good man and deserves better than to be publicly used by the likes of Amezcua.

Finally, Barragan refused to take any more of my questions, so I left. I was courteous and professional but nevertheless one of those in attendance asked if I was there as a reporter or as an activist. I said both. I was there as a reporter and as a twenty year resident of Santa Ana.

The people of Santa Ana voted in November to keep Mayor Pulido in office. It is sad to see the Los Amigos bunch wasting our time with a public display of sour grapes. Even O.C. Register reporter Doug Irving noticed that. He asked Barragan if Los Amigos would still be holding this press conference if Amezcua won. Barragan said yes, but we all knew right away that this was all about Amezcua spending a quarter million and still getting rejected by the voters.

Los Amigos of Anaheim to attack the Santa Ana City Council on Wed., Jan. 5

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Anaheim, Elections, Entertainment, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 15 Comments

Los Amigos?

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido easily defeated Alfredo Amezcua, back in November. But, for whatever reason, Amezcua’s supporters are still grousing about this – even though everyone else has moved on. This Wednesday, Jan. 5, a group of them are holding a press conference – in Anaheim, at a German restaurant, to complain some more.

Los Amigos of Orange County (which is based in Anaheim) used to be about civil rights and fighting racism. Now they are attacking their fellow Latinos. And what exactly is their beef, you ask? Well, here is what they intend to talk about at the press conference:

They are upset because former City Attorney Joe Fletcher, who resigned recently, is leaving with a huge severance package. Well, Los Amigos is a bit late to this one. The contract with Fletcher was negotiated with the Santa Ana City Council – way back in 2002. Who was on the Council back then? Lisa Bist, Brett Franklin, Alberta Christy, Mike Garcia, Jose Solorio and Claudia Alvarez. Only Alvarez remains today. Maybe Los Amigos can go to Solorio’s Assembly office, which is in Anaheim, and complain about the severance deal he likely voted for?
They are falsely accusing SAPD Chief Paul Walters of breaking the law. What did Walters do? He recorded a robo-call in support of Pulido, during last year’s campaign. That is not illegal. Apparently Los Amigos have an issue with free speech. What, by the way, did Los Amigos do last year to help Latinos get elected to the Anaheim City Council? Nothing. They did absolutely nothing and no Latino candidates won in Anaheim.
The Los Amigos complainers are also upset that Mayor Pulido was going to get a finder’s fee for negotiating the sale of a number of state buildings. Guess what? That was not illegal. Ill-advised? Perhaps – but not illegal. And a Judge overturned the deal, killing the sale. Just this week, Gov. Schwarzenegger re-appointed termed-out Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle to the State’s high speed rail commission. A court earlier established that Pringle had a major conflict of interest in serving on that commission. Did Los Amigos complain about that? No. They let that one slide. There was no press conference…
And lastly, the Los Amigos posse wants to hang the entire Santa Ana City Council because a few of the Council Members accidentally accepted donations from a developer that had business with the city. Guess what? Fletcher approved this! Why do you think he was suddenly retired? He blew it, not the Council!

The real laugher about this press conference is that these guys are making a huge stink two years before the next Santa Ana mayoral election. Will anyone remember any of this two years from now? Of course not! What a giant waste of everyone’s time.

Here is an issue I would like to see Los Amigos look into. Why did Amezcua register to vote at his law office, instead of at his house in the Morrison Park Neighborhood, when he ran for the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education? And why, halfway through his term, did he resign that seat? Did he get caught? Why was he not prosecuted for this fraud?

Amezcua worked to recall former SAUSD Trustee Nativo Lopez, who last year was charged with registering to vote at his office in Los Angeles, when he lived here in Orange County. Wow, that is exactly what it appears that Amezcua did! Why did Amezcua get away with it while Lopez is still trying to stay out of jail?

According to Anaheim community activist Duane Roberts, this is not the first time the Los Amigos have looked the other way for a carpetbagger. He told me he personally outed one of them a few years ago, when that guy ran for a school board in Anaheim even though he lived in a mansion in coastal Orange County. Los Amigos didn’t object to that guy’s carpetbagging either – in fact they tried to cover up for him!

I know the Los Amigos members. Many of them are good guys. I am sad that this is the best way they can spend their time – attacking fellow Latinos in Santa Ana. It is ironic that many of the Los Amigos don’t even live in Santa Ana! Their Chairman, Amin David, lives in Anaheim. And they guy they list as being the head of the so-called “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government,” Dr. Arturo Lomeli, lives in the wealthy Orange Park Acres!

Here is their press release:

PRESS CONFERENCE

WHEN: Wednesday, January 5, 2010
9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Jagerhaus Restaurant, 2525 E. Ball Road,
Anaheim, CA 92806 (Located near the 57 Freeway at Ball Road)

WHY: Orange County Latino organizations ask the Orange County Grand Jury to investigate abuses by top Santa Ana officials, including Mayor Miguel Pulido

WHO: Amin David, Los Amigos of Orange County,

714-758-8090; Dr. Alfonso Alvarez, Rudy Escalante Chapter of American GI Form of the US, 714-605-2544; Zeke Hernandez, LULAC Santa Ana, 714-661-4428; Nelli Kaniski, MANA de Orange County; Francisco Barragan, United Mexican-American Veterans Association and Dr. Arturo Lomeli, Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government.

Poll: Who was Santa Ana’s Man of the Year in 2010?

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, David Benavides, Elections, Jose Solorio, Latino Leaders, Lou Correa, Miguel Pulido, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 34 Comments

UPDATE: Voting will close on Friday, Jan. 7, at 10 am

This poll is now closed. Find out who won at this link.

Who was Santa Ana’s Man of the Year in 2010?

That is a simple enough question, but coming up with an answer isn’t easy. As such, you may vote for up to three nominees in the poll above.

Let me know if I need to add anyone to the poll.

My personal choice is Mayor Miguel Pulido. He was attacked on all sides and his main opponent, Alfredo Amezcua, spent over a quarter million, from what I am told. Most of that money was spent on negative mailers. Yet Pulido won, and he won handily. Now the ball is in his court and he has two years to show the voters what he can do, as he has been doing for so many years.

Amezcua certainly belongs on the list. He resuscitated his political career and put himself on the map, even though he lost.

Charles Hart also ran for Mayor, and while many of his early supporters jumped on Amezcua’s ship late in the game, Hart acquitted himself well, particularly in the debates.

But not all of the nominees are politicians. Francisco Barragan spent the summer doing what he has been doing for several years, volunteering for a number of charitable and community organizations. He also wrote quite a few posts for us.

And Jeff Dickman stayed active even when he was dismissed from the City of Santa Ana’s Historical Resources Commission. He led a lawsuit against the city, stopping the Transit District development, which included affordable housing.

What about Sammy Montoya? His restaurant, La Chiquita, celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. Amazing! And he also continued to book events at the Green Parrot, while growing his catering business and starting a new high-tech venture. He is quite a whirlwind! He was even honored by Mayor Pulido and the Santa Ana City Council this year.

I also included Councilman David Benavides in the poll. He won reelection easily, as he faced no opponent in November, but he got in hot water with the rest of the City Council over his support for Minuteman Lupe Moreno, who ran a 4th of July event that backfired when one of her fellow Minutemen called a Santa Ana resident a “wetback,” and the incident got caught on video by activist Naui Huitzilopochtli, who is also in our poll. But Benavides persevered and today he has four more years to spend on our City Council.

Councilman Sal Tinajero also deserved to be on the list. He did a great job with his public school debate team this year, helping a lot of disadvantaged kids to succeed. Many of his students have gone on to do great in college because of his efforts. And he, like Benavides, was reelected easily – but Tinajero beat two candidates who ran against him.

I also added Hugh Nguyen to the poll. He ran, in June, for O.C. Clerk-Recorder and he helped his uncle to open the new Lee’s Sandwiches in Santa Ana last year. They just celebrated their first anniversary a few weeks ago.

Again, let me know if I overlooked anyone. And thanks for voting! We will be following up this article with another one asking who was Santa Ana’s Woman of the Year in 2010.

Poll: What are the top ten issues in Santa Ana going into 2012?

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Crime, Economy, Education, Elections, Energy, Fiscal Sustainability, homeless, Housing, Janet Nguyen, Jobs, Labor, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Paul Walters, Politics, Public Safety, Real Estate, Redevelopment, Santa Ana, Water 1 Comment

As the year 2011 draws to a close it is time to ponder the top ten issues facing the people of the City of Santa Ana, going into the New Year.

You can vote on your top ten issues here (my top ten follow the poll) – and remember that you can vote for up to three issues: Continue reading→

Santa Ana resident Tim Whitacre is running for the Chairmanship of the OC GOP

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in Elections, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 10 Comments

Santa Ana resident Tim Whitacre has announced that he is challenging attorney and lobbyist Scott Baugh for the Chairmanship of the Republican Party of Orange County (OC GOP).

Whitacre is a longtime member of the OC GOP Central Committee. He ran the Nativo Lopez recall campaign and also was involved in a campaign to recall Assemblyman Anthony Adams, who voted to increase our taxes. Adams was not recalled, but he did end up deciding to walk away from the Assembly.

I spoke to Whitacre today. He acknowledged that his campaign is a longshot but also said that someone had to stand up against Baugh. Whitacre does have a large following in the Tea Party movement and a base of support on the OC GOP Central Committee.

Whitacre also told me that he is opposed to Baugh’s anti-union mandate. Baugh has said that he will not support any Republican candidate who takes money from unions. What this means though is that many Republican candidates who run for local offices are now out-gunned by candidates who get money from the unions. Whitacre is against union corruption, but not against unions in general. Traditionally public safety unions have been warmer to Republican candidates than to Democratic ones.

Whitacre also said he supports efforts to create an Orange County lobbyist registry, which presumably would include Baugh and many of his other supporters, such as Red County editor Matt Cunningham who called Whitacre’s campaign “suicide” in a post he published online today. It should be noted that both Baugh and Cunningham supported disgraced former Sheriff Mike Carona, who Whitacre opposed, even after they knew that Carona was corrupt to the bone.

Carona was brought down ultimately in part due to articles written by the OC Weekly’s Scott Moxley, who had a few interesting things to say about Baugh in an article he posted today. Here are a few excerpts:

Baugh–a graduate of Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University and a glad-handing lobbyist who has cashed in on his undeniable political influence since leaving the state assembly a decade ago–first grabbed the chairmanship in 2004 after Tom Fuentes served in the role for 20 years. His admirers say he has done a decent job raising money and settling disputes between Republicans. He can certainly count on indefinite backing from establishment heavyweights like Michael J. Schroeder, Mark Bucher and Dana Rohrabacher.

But in recent years, there’s been mounting internal party dissatisfaction with what some consider Baugh’s cutthroat management style, his backing of disgraced Sheriff Mike Carona long after it was clear he was a crook, his refusal to obey party bylaws that call for regular audits of party finances, his close association to a relentless pedophile who targeted 7th and 8th grade boys and the local party’s dwindling voter registration numbers.

Indeed, under Baugh’s watch near Armagedon occurred in a place once proudly hailed as “Reagan Country”: Barack Obama, a liberal Chicago Democrat, did exceptionally well here in the 2008 elections.

Here is Whitacre’s campaign announcement, which he emailed to his supporters earlier today:

Dear Friends and fellow Central Committee Members,

After much prayer, reflection, counsel and encouragement from a number of you, I am officially announcing my candidacy for the position of Chairman for the Republican Party Central Committee of Orange County.

This decision does not come lightly but now that I have made it, it does come easily. I love our Party and the Principles it espouses on paper. However, like many of you I have watched those Principles be cast aside time and time again from the National level on down to our beloved County to which we were elected to serve.

I believe it is crucial for us to march in a different direction if we are serious about restoring our Party’s reputation and greatness so that we can bring back those good Americans who rightfully left us in disgust. I, like all of you, believe our Party’s governing philosophy is best for Orange County and the Country. However, we cannot hope to spread that philosophy effectively until we do some necessary house cleaning within leadership all across our blessed Nation. We must start here at home…

Let me be perfectly clear: I am not running against Mr. Scott Baugh; I am running FOR the position of Chairman. I have nothing personal against our current Chairman; I simply believe he has been in that position long enough and I believe we can build upon his efforts and do better. An important pillar of my platform which I will introduce to you in the coming days is a bylaw amendment for term limits for Executive Committee positions that are more consistent with with our State Central Committee.

I ask you to begin praying for our County Party as we fast approach our swearing in and organizational meeting on January 17, 2011. I believe we serve a God of second chances and I believe He has seen fit to give us another opportunity to right this great ship called The United States of America. I believe if we do our part in our assigned sector of governance, He will bless our efforts and we will be able to help countless thousands of fellow Orange County residents, not to mention our own families as well.

On a closing note, there are two other positions on Executive Committee which are uncontested at this time. They are Treasurer and Sergeant of Arms. I believe respectful debate and choice is good for our Party and I strongly encourage all of you to consider running for ANY of the positions. However, I would especially like to see some healthy competition for those positions. Think about it; pray about it; and do it. EVERY ELECTED CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBER HAS THE RIGHT TO RUN FOR ANY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE POSITION REGARDLESS OF IF YOU’RE ABOUT TO GET SWORN IN FOR THE FIRST TIME OR THE TENTH.

I wish you all a safe and blessed New Year and I look forward to answering any questions you might have as I introduce my platform to restore our County Party to a united, ethical, fun place to be as local guardians of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and our Party Platform.

Godspeed and Semper Fidelis,

Tim Whitacre

714-615-1111
trwhitacre@gmail.com

Here is an update Tim emailed today (1/1/11):

Dear Friends,

I hope everyone had a safe, blessed New Years Eve/New Years celebration. I closed out my year and started the new one alone at Calvary Chapel’s service from 9PM to Midnight-ish. The first act of the New Year was to take Communion together; what a moving experience. I thought of those who have particularly been a huge blessing in my life this past year and I prayed especially for you and your families – Thank you for standing by me and being my friend.

More local press picked up on my announcement and the O.C. Weekly article yesterday…

http://totalbuzz.ocregister.com/2010/12/31/challenger-wants-o-c-gop-bosss-job/46328/
(Anonymous hackers from the establishment are taking their usual swipes at me and trying to deflect people off topic– please help frame the debate)

http://www.redcounty.com/content/tim-whitacre-mounting-suicide-oc-gop-chairmanship-run-against-scott-baugh#comment-59396 (Typical Matt Cunningham post here. I posted a response, please read it and feel free to comment)

http://dev.newsantaana.com/2010/12/31/santa-ana-resident-tim-whitacre-is-running-for-the-chairmanship-of-the-oc-gop/
(Nice write-up by Art Pedroza with a couple of anonymous swipes from folks which is to be expected. Again, please help frame the debate here.)

If you would be so kind to forward these links to other folks you know who are on Central Committee to help get them seriously thinking about things, I would greatly appreciate it.

On a very personal note: I have been pondering this decision for a month or two now, waiting and hoping someone would step up and run – no one did…. It became very clear to me in my heart and mind: Win or lose, this “battle” must take place; I must stand up and lead the cry for change (and not the Obama kind…). I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t a little scared when I was alone with my thought sometimes – not of what anyone can do to me (I’m set with the Lord regardless) – but of not giving a good account of myself on behalf of all of those who have hope in this monumental task – who are crying out for revival & restoration within our Party.

You see, this “battle” couldn’t come at a worse time in my life (can anyone relate…?) but nevertheless, the time is upon us and the armies are forming their lines in preparation for the inevitable day and hour. This isn’t just about internal matters of our Central Committee; this IS about the tens of thousands of registered Republicans we were elected to SERVE; what THEY want and need to see in our Party Leadership in order to renew their spirits and reengage.

I’m no more important or valuable than any other Committee Member, yet because I am running for Chairman, I am at the tip of the spear for this one. It is CRUCIAL I give a good account of myself; to be a good example to those who hear me or read what I have to say. I am serious when I ask for committed prayer support and I am in even more need of wisdom, discernment, humility, courage and protection now that we have turned the corner into the New Year. Will you do that? Not only for me but for all of those Members who have decided to run for a leadership position as well? Please.

Respectfully yours,

Tim

A lot has changed in the last decade, in Santa Ana politics

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vietnamese, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

We started a new decade this year – and a lot of political change came to Santa Ana in the previous ten years. We now have an all-Latino City Council. Candidates with names like Franklin, Bist and Christy are no longer electable in Santa Ana. But they were at the start of this decade. Let’s take a look at what happened in Santa Ana politics, starting in 2000.

In 2000, Brett Franklin got 20,370 votes as he won reelection to Ward 3 on the Santa Ana City Council with 43.7% of the vote. That would be his final term on the Santa Ana City Council. That same year, Claudia Alvarez defeated Nancy Lutz, in Ward 5, by just over four thousand votes. This would be Alvarez’ first term on the Santa Ana City Council.

In 2008, Alvarez backed the successful Measure D, which extended City Council term limits to three terms. She will term out in 2012. It is likely that SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna will take her seat. By then, Alvarez might be appointed to a judicial bench, or she could end up running for the SAUSD School board, essentially trading places with Reyna.

Franklin termed out in 2004, and he ran that year for Area 1, on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education. He came in last place, with less than 18% of the vote. He got less votes than some unknown guy named Reuben Ross. Alfredo Amezcua won a seat on that board that year, with over 54,000 votes. He later had to resign from that seat, allegedly because he did not live in Area 1.

In 2002, Lisa Bist won reelection to Ward 2, handily, with over 65% of the vote. Alberta Christy won in Ward 4, and Mike Garcia won with over 42% of the vote, in a very crowded field, in Ward 6.

That same year, John Palacio and Audrey Yamagata-Noji won reelection to the SAUSD School Board. But Lupe Moreno, a known Minuteman, barely lost to Yamagata-Noji by about 500 votes. Moreno got more votes than Nadia Maria Davis, who lost but later married Bill Lockyer. Davis won a County Supervisorial race this year, in Alameda. Palacio and Yamagata-Noji were reelected again this November. Some things never change!

In 2004, Jose Solorio easily won reelection to Ward 1 on the Santa Ana City Council. He did not finish the term. Two years later he ran for the 69th State Assembly District, which had been held by Lou Correa. Solorio thoroughly beat an underfunded student Republican, Ryan Gene Williams, who later changed his name to Ryan Trabuco.

Another newcomer won a seat on the Santa Ana City Council in 2006. David Benavides won that year against Nelida Yanez, in Ward 4. Benavides replaced Christy, who termed out. He won reelection this year with no problem as he ran unchallenged.

In 2006, council outsiders Sal Tinajero and Michele Martinez also won, in tight races that saw them defeat better-funded insiders. Two years later, Martinez challenged Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. She lost but then joined Pulido’s team. She is now an integral part of the City Council majority, as is Tinajero.

Neighborhood activist Thomas Gordon entered the local political scene in 2006 as well. He ran, unsuccessfully, against Pulido, for Mayor of Santa Ana. He did win a seat on the OC GOP Central Committee in 2008, and he was reelected to that seat this year. He was supposed to run this year for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council, but he did not collect enough nomination signatures. That is too bad as he would have made the race more interesting.

The last decade also saw the rise of Latino Democrats in our local legislative seats. Correa served in the 69th Assembly District from 1998-2004. He then won a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, where he served from 2004-2006. He left the Board of Supervisors to run for the 34th State Senate District, which was vacated by Joe Dunn, who termed out.

Dunn served in the 34th State Senate District from 1998 to 2006. He went on to serve as the head of the California Medical Association. Last year he started the Voice of OC, a watchdog news blog. He still serves on their Board of Directors. He also started a law firm, in Sacramento, that also engages in lobbying. While he is mostly in the shadows today, he remains very influential in Orange County politics.

Correa was not the first Latino to win a legislative seat in Orange County. He was predated by Loretta Sanchez, who abandoned her married name, Brixey, after losing a race for an Anaheim City Council seat in 1994. Two years later she defeated Bob Dornan in the 46th Congressional District. She now serves in the 47th Congressional District.

Speaking of firsts, Janet Nguyen moved from the Garden Grove City Council to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, after Correa won in the 34th State Senate District. She is now the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and she just had her first baby. Her main competitor in the local Vietnamese Community, Van Tran, lost this year against Sanchez. He also termed out of the 68th Assembly District, where he was replaced by Allan Mansoor, the former Mayor of Costa Mesa.

Nguyen will likely redistrict her seat this year, moving to make it more Republican. She may end up running against one or more Santa Ana City Council Members. That will be most interesting!

One of the Santa Ana City Council Members, Vince Sarmiento, is likely to run for the 69th State Assembly District, where Solorio is terming out. Solorio is likely to have to wait two years for Correa to term out of the 34th Senate District.

The one constant in the past ten years has been Pulido, who easily won reelection as Santa Ana Mayor this year. That means he will start yet another decade in office. He wisely moved to the left last year, leaving his closest competitor, Alfredo Amezcua, in the dust. Pulido will leave office when he wants to.

What will the next decade bring? I suspect that we will see the first Vietnamese American elected to the Santa Ana City Council, perhaps as soon as 2012.

If Dianne Feinstein retires from the U.S. Senate in 2012, Sanchez will likely run for her seat. If Sanchez moves on, Correa will surely run for her seat. He will likely face Tran, or maybe even Nguyen? The congressional seat will be hotly contested to be sure.

I also believe that the last Republican on the Santa Ana City Council, Carlos Bustamante, is a marked man. He openly campaigned for Tran this year, against Sanchez. The local Democrats won’t take that lying down. He is surely toast. His seat comes open in 2012.

In 2012, SAUSD Trustee Rob Richardson will have to run for reelection. He won a seat on the SAUSD School Board in 2003, after Nativo Lopez was recalled that year. Will Richardson finally lose in 2012? It isn’t likely, but then again, it is a new decade. Who knows what is in store for Santa Ana in this decade?

Have Alfredo Amezcua’s followers become a cult?

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 14 Comments

An old friend of mine got really upset at me this week for something I wrote about failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua. I told him that Amezcua lied to the voters, by registering to vote at his law office, while living in a home that was NOT in the Rancho Santiago Community College District Area that he was elected to represent, but this fell on deaf ears.

I also got into it on Facebook this week with another Amezcua acolyte who said that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido stole the election, in November. Really? People really believe that could happen? Astounding.

This got me to thinking – have the rabid Amezcua followers become a cult? Check out the definition of the word “cult” from Dictionary.com:

A particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
An instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
The object of such devotion.
A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
A group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

No question about it. Charismatic people are able to start cults and cultivate them. Amezcua is indeed a charming guy, when he wants to be. But his followers, like the cultists they have become, are blind to the facts:

Amezcua was Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s good buddy for some twenty years. They worked together many years ago to end gang violence. They worked together to recall Nativo Lopez. They were two peas in a pod, until 2008, when Amezcua inexplicably turned on Pulido, and talked Council Member Michele Martinez into running an ill-fated campaign for Mayor, against Pulido.
While Pulido has moved steadily to the left, influenced by progressive Council Members Martinez, Sal Tinajero and Vincent Sarmiento, Amezcua moved to the right this year. He ended up allying with some of the most unsavory Latino bashers in Santa Ana.
As I noted, Amezcua lied to the voters. I spoke to a Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee recently who corroborated what happened. It was none other than former RSCD Chancellor Eddie Hernandez who found out Amezcua had committed fraud and asked him to resign from the Board. Amezcua did resign, but as he did so he told the public he was doing it to bring new blood to the Board. That was another lie.
Amezcua also appears to have changed his name on traffic tickets, allegedly in order to avoid messing up his driving record.
A few years ago, when Amezcua opened his now defunct Santa Ana Business Bank, I wrote that it was a bad idea. He had his lawyer send me a nastygram. Well, I was right. He sold the bank at a loss and his investors lost their shirts.

But none of this matters to the Amezcua cult. They simply ignore the facts. It is sad. Many otherwise good people have been fooled by this man.

I think a lot of this is because these folks uniformly hate Pulido. So while Amezcua was flawed, they jumped on board his campaign in order to get back at Pulido.

Pulido is what he is. He pushes the envelope at times but he is very careful. And he has been involved in many good votes this past year. He voted to support the Dream Act. He voted to honor Harvey Milk Day. He voted to condemn Arizona’s racist SB 1070. But the Amezcua cultists don’t care. In their book Pulido is bad, no matter what he does to the contrary.

I will say this for Pulido. He is a good family man. He goes to church. He is a longtime supporter of many non-profits and charities, and the arts. He does some things at times that some folks call unethical, but unlike Amezcua he has never lied to the voters.

As for Amezcua, I would be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But he needs to come clean about what he did and why he really quit the RSCCD Board.

What about the Amezcua cultists? They need to get a grip. They bought a bill of goods. It is time to face reality. Amezcua lost, and he lost badly. Time to move on people!

Will Jose Solorio run for the Santa Ana City Council again in 2012?

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Elections, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Assemblyman Jose Solorio won reelection easily in November, as he always has. But he is going to term out of his seat in the 69th Assembly District in 2012. It will finally be time for him to move on to something else.

I thought for some time that Solorio would run against Supervisor Janet Nguyen in 2012. I am beginning to have my doubts about that. The O.C. Board of Supervisors is going to redistrict before the 2012 elections. Nguyen will find a way to move Latinos out of her district and replace them with more Vietnamese voters.

Solorio has never had to run against a determined, well-funded opponent. His Republican challengers have all been cupcakes. Nguyen won’t be a pushover. And she will make sure that she changes her district to give her an innate advantage over Solorio.

That is why I have now come to believe that Solorio will punt. He will instead either resort to lobbying or government relations work, go to a non-profit, or, most likely, find another way to spend his time as he waits for State Senator Lou Correa to term out, in 2014. Solorio will then run for Correa’s seat.

Solorio does have another option. He could run for his old seat on the Santa Ana City Council. It is highly likely that his replacement on the City Council, Vince Sarmiento, will run for Solorio’s Assembly seat. So what they will do is trade places. Solorio has been gone from the City Council for years. He will be able to run for three more consecutive terms, if he wants to.

I suspect that is exactly what Solorio will do. He will then get a good-paying job at a public agency. Remember that he used to work at the OCTA. He will land on his feet.

This may actually work out well for the City Council majority. Solorio will work well with Council Members Sal Tinajero, Michele Martinez and Mayor Miguel Pulido. Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez will term out in 2012 and she could easily run for the SAUSD School Board – and win.

As for Nguyen, she will still face challengers, but most likely they will come from the right, not the left.

It is highly unlikely that Lou Correa will run against Janet Nguyen in 2012

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in Elections, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Lou Correa, Politics, Santa Ana, Vietnamese Leave a comment

Matt Cunningham, a Republican blogger at the Red County blog, thinks that State Senator Lou Correa, who just won reelection, is going to run against Supervisor Janet Nguyen in 2012. Here are a few excerpts from Cunningham’s post:

In 2012, Correa will be in the middle of his final term not only in the state Senate, but in the state legislature. If he has aspiration to remain in public office rather than seek his fortune in the private sector, his options are limited once he is termed out in 2014.

Challenging Sup. Janet Nguyen has several advantages, which I am sure have already occurred to Sen. Correa and his advisors as they ponder his future options:

It’s a free ride: if he fails to unseat Nguyen, he still has two years left in the state Senate.

Since Correa served less than two full years of his original term on the Board of Supervisors before becoming a Senator, he is eligible for two full, consecutive terms on the Board. Two more years as a state Senator versus eight as a county supervisor: in an age when county offices have become landing pads for termed-out legislators, that’s a pretty good trade.

I think Cunningham is very wrong, for a number of reasons:

When Correa first quit the O.C. Board of Supervisors, he angered organized labor. They were particularly tweaked to see his seat end up in Republican hands.
However – the OCEA (Orange County Employees Association) ended up befriending Janet Nguyen, who took Correa’s seat. Does Cunningham really think they will turn on her now? No they won’t.
Plus Correa really did not like being the only Democrat on the Republican dominated OC Board of Supervisors. Why would he go back to that arrangement?
Correa has a few years to figure out what to do before he terms out of the State Senate. Even Cunningham acknowledged that U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein could retire and Sanchez could run for her seat, opening up the 47th Congressional District for Correa.
Correa lives in Santa Ana, as far as I know. I believe he lives in Carlos Bustamante’s ward, which is opening up in 2012 and in 2016. Correa could finish his term on the State Senate and run for the Santa Ana City Council, or for Mayor of Santa Ana, if Mayor Miguel Pulido has moved on by then.
Correa could also, at the end of his term, run for a statewide office. As a moderate Democrat he would do well in the open primary.
Correa could also opt to leave politics and work in the private sector. He could make some real money as a lobbyist or government consultant.

I think that Assemblyman Jose Solorio is the one who is going to challenge Nguyen in 2012. Even if she redistricts her seat, I think he has a great shot at beating her. She has lost a lot of support even in her own community, in the wake of her disastrous attempt to take over the Little Saigon Black April event this year.

Who will run for the Santa Ana City Council in 2012?

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 7 Comments

This year’s Santa Ana City Council elections were a mixed bag. On the one hand, mayoral challenger Alfredo Amezcua proved he could run a serious campaign – but he lost badly to Mayor Miguel Pulido, despite spending a quarter million, from what I hear.

The Council incumbents won handily. Michele Martinez and David Benavides ran unopposed. Sal Tinajero was challenged by Nam Pham and Helen Martinez. They were not competitive.

But 2012 will be a different bag altogether. Vice Mayor Claudia Alvarez is termed out. Councilman Carlos Bustamante will be running for his third term – but this time he figures to draw heavy competition, after he was caught campaigning for Republican Assemblyman Van Tran, who challenged Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. And Councilman Vince Sarmiento might leave the Council and run for Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s seat in the 69th A.D., creating an open seat on the Council.

Amezcua could run for Mayor again, but he ought to consider challenging Bustamante, who has been in cruise control for a few years. If Amezcua does that, he might pick up support from folks who support Pullido but want Bustamante, who is the last Republican on the Santa Ana City Council, off the Council.

Who else might challenge Bustamante? Well, how about past Assembly candidate Armando de la Libertad, who lives in the new CityPlace center? He is very popular and he is very well connected in the O.C. business community.

Guess who else lives in Bustamante’s ward? Popular SAUSD Trustee John Palacio, an ally of Amezcua. Palacio just won a new term on the SAUSD School Board. He would have a free shot at Bustamante’s seat.

What about Alvarez’ Ward? The obvious leading candidate would have to be SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna, who ran for the City Council before. He works at the new Santa Ana YMCA and previously worked at the Boys and Girls Club. He knows a lot of families in town, and he is also popular in the faith community. He would be a formidable challenger, if he could raise enough money.

But it is unlikely that Tinajero, Martinez and Councilman Vince Sarmiento would back Reyna. The danger for the progressive Council majority would be that Reyna would team up with Benavides, Pulido and Bustamante (if Bustamante won reelection) and form a new conservative Council majority.

Then again, who knows? It is still very early in the game. Alvarez’ ward includes the Artesia-Pilar and Washington Square Neighborhood Associations. Both are full of activists and community leaders, including past SAUSD candidates Gloria Alvarado, Cecilia Aguinaga, Oscar Garza and Irene Ibarra, and past Rancho Santiago CCD candidate Lynette Verino, as well as former Councilman Tom Lutz and his wife Nancy, who lost to Alvarez many years ago. And I think that Amezcua’s daughter Valerie might live in this Ward too. She also ran for the SAUSD Board a couple years ago.

If Sarmiento leaves the Council to run for Solorio’s seat he might well end up running against AUHSD Trustee Jordan Brandman – and Solorio may go with Brandman instead of backing Sarmiento. Of course Solorio will have to be careful as he may end up running against Supervisor Janet Nguyen in 2012.

So who might run for Sarmiento’s seat? Community leader Jim Walker did pretty well in 2008, when he challenged Sarmiento. He might run again. But most likely we will see a number of Commissioners and Neighborhood leaders run for this Ward.

What about Pulido? He won handily, again, this year. I doubt anyone will challenge him this time, except for perhaps Amezcua. Oh, you might see a few underdog candidates arise, but no one is going to defeat Pulido. And don’t forget that 2012 will be a presidential election year. Pulido will be helping Obama – and that means Obama will be helping him. Game over for anyone who wants to take on Pulido…

Meet Assemblyman Jose Solorio and local elected officials, over coffee

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in Anaheim, Elections, Entertainment, Jose Solorio, Politics, Santa Ana, Westminster Leave a comment

Upcoming “Capitol in Your Corner” Events

Please accept this opportunity to meet one-on-one with Assemblyman Solorio and other local elected officials to talk about important legislative, city and school issues that are of interest to you by attending a “Capitol in Your Corner” event.

Friday, November 19th
9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
La Casa Garcia Restaurant
1201 W. Lincoln Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92801
* Complimentary breakfast and coffee will be provided

Sunday, November 21st
9 a.m to 11 a.m.
Crepe Corner
9329 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683
* Complimentary pastries and coffee will be provided

Saturday, December 4th
9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The Mill Bakery
312 South Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
* Complimentary pastries and coffee will be provided

About Assemblyman Jose Solorio

State Assemblyman Jose Solorio has as inspiring personal story to share.

The son of migrant farm workers, Assemblyman Solorio has grown from a teenager who labored in the fields alongside his parents, to an outstanding student who earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University, to now a respected elected official who represents central Orange County in the California State Assembly.

Assemblyman Solorio focuses his legislative efforts on education, public safety, job creation, and improving California’s water and transportation infrastructure.

In his first year in office, Assemblyman Solorio successfully worked with Governor Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders to author and co-author laws to reform state prisons, create the state’s first gang czar office, and make it easier for cities to file injunctions against gangs.

Assemblyman Solorio also has authored significant education laws. Thanks to his legislation in this area, California now has a new strategy to improve the way we measure student academic growth, new opportunities to train teachers to use data to improve classroom instruction, and a course of action to reduce the high price of college textbooks. He also champions efforts in Sacramento and Orange County to help English Learners learn English more quickly.

As someone who understands the value and the power of a college education, Assemblyman Solorio is dedicated to making college more accessible. As one example of his personal commitment, he has partnered with the Orange County Leadership Fund to launch Solorio Scholars. Solorio Scholars is a new program created to inspire more high school students from central Orange County to apply for college.

Frequently asked why he dedicates so much time and effort to the community, Assemblyman Solorio responds by reciting one of Cesar Chavez’s famous quotations, “The end of all education should surely be service to others.”

Do you have ideas for information that you would like to see in the E-Newsletter? Please contact Carol Chamberlain, E-Newsletter editor, at carol.chamberlain@asm.ca.gov or (916) 319–2069.

If Brown appoints Pulido to a state post, get ready for Mayor Alvarez

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Claudia Alvarez, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

When Jerry Brown came to Santa Ana, to speak at the O.C. Labor Day event, he first stopped to visit at Mayor Miguel Pulido’s home. Now that both Brown and Pulido have won, the Voice of OC blog is speculating that Brown might appoint Pulido to a state position, possibly in energy or a cabinet-level position involving the environment. Pulido confirmed this with the Voice of OC.

It is true. This might happen. Pulido might also get a call from President Barack Obama.

So what if this happens? Well, for one thing, this does not mean that mayoral runner-up Alfredo Amezcua would be next in line. The system doesn’t work that way. Instead, the City Council majority would appoint the next Mayor. That would likely be Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez, who has shown in the past that she is very capable of running the City Council meetings when Pulido has been away.

This would open up Alvarez’ Council seat, in Ward 5, for an appointment as well. This is ideal as the Council majority will not give that position to SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna, who many think will run for that seat in two years. Who would it be? I don’t know. But Alvarez better get busy looking for someone right away.

Even if Pulido stays put, Alvarez is terming out in two years. And it is very likely that Council Members Vincent Sarmiento and/or Sal Tinajero will run for the 69th Assembly District, as incumbent Assemblyman Jose Solorio will be termed out in 2012. I would guess that Sarmiento will be the one as Tinajero really enjoys his job as a school teacher and debate team coach.

Council Member Carlos Bustamante has to run again in two years. This time he is sure to be challenged by a well-funded Democrat. Bustamante campaigned vigorously for Republican Assemblyman Van Tran this year, when Tran challenged Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. The Democrats won’t soon forget this. Bustamante is toast.

So what about Amezcua? He may run for Mayor again in two years, but he will get trashed again if he challenges either Pulido or Alvarez. I think he is done in politics. He may still face prosecution for running for the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees while not living in the Area he ended up representing.

Who else might run for Mayor in two years? Well, how about Solorio? He is going to be termed out. He could run for Mayor, and then serve for two years and run for State Senator Lou Correa’s seat, in the 34th Senate District, in 2014, when Correa is going to term out.

Solorio could also run for the Board of Supervisors, and challenge incumbent Janet Nguyen, in 2012. I would love to see that come to pass. I think he would wipe the floor with her.

One thing is for sure, a lot of change is coming to the Santa Ana City Council, whether we are ready for it or not.

UPDATE: According to the Santa Ana City Clerk, if Pulido leaves, then Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez will replace him and the City Council will have thirty days to appoint a replacement.