Team Pulido is hosting an Election Night Party on Nov. 4, 2014, starting at 8:30 pm, at The Robbins Nest, in Downtown Santa Ana, at 214 N. Sycamore St.
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido has provided considerable support to City Council challengers Mirna Velasquez, Alex Padilla and Mike Gonzalez. All of them will be at the Election Night Party tonight. Continue reading
This voter guide addresses the Orange County local and legislative races as well as the State and Local ballot measures.
Santa Ana City Council
Mayor:
Endorsed Candidate: Mayor Miguel Pulido
Other Candidates: Roman Reyna, Mark I. Lopez
Note: Even Reyna’s friends and allies admit that he is not a capable candidate for Mayor of Santa Ana. This will be Pulido’s final term and in the next two years we need to recruit better candidates than the likes of Reyna, who has only served two years on the Santa Ana City Council. Continue reading
The Orange County Labor Federation’s granted their COPE (Committee on Political Education) General Election endorsements to the three incumbents running for the Santa Ana City Council – Michele Martinez (Ward 2), David Benavides (Ward 4) and Sal Tinajero (Ward 6) but they also endorsed Ward 2 challenger Mirna Velasquez.
All of these incumbent candidates are Democrats and OC Labor tends to stick to the blue party. But Velasquez, the last time I heard, is a Decline to State voter. That she received a co-endorsement is pretty astounding and a good sign that she is indeed an electable City Council candidate.
Mirna’s bio: Continue reading
The Yes on Measure CC (Santa Ana Medical Cannabis Restriction and Limitation Initiative) campaign is launching this Saturday, August 30, 2014, from 12 noon to 2 pm at 117 W. Fourth St., in Santa Ana.
Come by and learn how you can volunteer to help save safe access to medical marijuana in Santa Ana. RSVP to Kandice@yesonmeasurecc.com.
About Measure CC: Continue reading
Lake Forest carpetbaggers Sherry Walker and Adam Nick
The woman who helped collect nomination signatures for Lake Forest carpetbagger Sherry Walker, Farzaneh Akhavi, 55, aka Frances Akhavi, has been indicted on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, by a grand jury in Phoenix, Arizona, according to the East Valley Tribune.
Both Walker and Nick changed their names. They are originally from Iran. Walker also became a registered Republican right before running for the 69th Assembly District.
The indictment refers to the victim only by the initials SRG. But court records showed a federal civil lawsuit was filed against Akhavi last month by a California woman named Soraya Ghalchi, who claimed she was defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the financial scheme, according to AZ Central. Continue reading
Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides represents Ward 4, which stretches from Willits on the North to Sunflower on the South and from Fairview on the West to Flower on the East. There are plenty of restaurants in Ward 4 but for whatever reason Benavides is hosting a fundraiser on Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at the Little Sparrow, located at 300 N. Main St., in Downtown Santa Ana – that is in Ward 2, which is represented by Councilwoman Michele Martinez.
Why is Benavides holding a major campaign fundraiser outside of his Ward? This is a major snub to the businesses and residents of Ward 4. Continue reading
Mike Gonzalez, a candidate for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council, is hosting his Campaign Kick-Off on August 23, 2014, at 6 pm, at the nightclub/restaurant he owns, Mexicanisimo, located at 2323 W 1st St, Santa Ana.
The MC for the event is “Sammy” and various musical artists will be there including Regulo Car, Hugo Armando, and Grupo Folklorico Desafio.
Gonzalez owns a security guard company as well. He is a licensed security guard instructor as well. Click here to see his Facebook page.
Gonzalez’ Bio: Continue reading
Rene Gomez, a graduate of Santa Ana High School who studied at CSU Long Beach, is running for Ward 2 of the Santa Ana City Council. He joins a field of candidates that includes the incumbent, Michele Martinez, and another challenger, Mirna Velasquez.
The local Republican Party tried to recruit Velasquez but she opted to continue as a Decline to State voter. Martinez is a liberal Democrat. Gomez is a Republican and he stands to get support from the OC Lincoln Club and the OC GOP.
Gomez lists his birthplace as Tijuana, Mexico. He appears to be friendly with Mike Gonzalez, the head of Los 32, an organization that supports Mexican Americans. Gonzalez is also running for the Santa Ana City Council, in Ward 6. Gomez supports immigration reform and immigrant rights. Continue reading
Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides got a free ride when he ran for reelection in 2010. No one ran against him. He got just over 34,000 votes according to Smart Voter. There were about 43,000 votes cast in that year’s Santa Ana Mayoral contest, according to Smart Voter. That means that over 9,000 voters chose not to vote for Benavides in 2010, even though his was the only name on the ballot in Ward 4.
Benavides ran for Santa Ana Mayor in 2012. His campaign was very ill-advised. He ended up with 14,995 votes, according to Smart Voter. The incumbent, Mayor Miguel Pulido, got 27,092 votes. The rest of the vote was split among three gadfly candidates. Benavides raised a ton of money in that campaign but it was for naught.
Perhaps Benavides was distracted as his marriage was reportedly falling apart during his mayoral campaign. He is supposedly divorced now. Ironically he came to town with his wife years ago and took advantage of a program that allowed his wife, a teacher, to buy a home in Santa Ana at a low interest rate. I believe that Benavides is still living in that home. He has since scrubbed his official city bio of any mention of his wife and kids. Continue reading
Well the dust has finally cleared and we now know who is running for the Santa Ana City Council in this November’s General election.
The Mayor’s race lost many of the candidates who had pulled papers, including State Senator Lou Correa and Santa Ana Councilman Vince Sarmiento. The incumbent, Mayor Miguel Pulido, is running again and he will be facing off against first term Council Member Roman Reyna and a fellow named Mark I. Lopez, who is an entrepreneur/soldier, according to the Voice of OC. Continue reading
Santa Ana City Councilman Roman Reyna, who was elected to his first term, in Ward 5, last year, is apparently going to run against popular Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido in 2014, according to a city insider.
Reyna, who touts that he is an “Orange County Department of Education Case Manager,” on his city bio, has previously worked at the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Agency, the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club, and the Santa Ana YMCA. He served one term on the Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education, before running for the Santa Ana City Council, when longtime incumbent Claudia Alvarez termed out. Continue reading
I had a long talk this afernoon with a Santa Ana insider who had some amazing chismes for me. I was expecting that perhaps Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido would run for the Orange County Supervisorial seat that is currently held by Janet Nguyen, but apparently Councilman Vincent Sarmiento has decided to run, and Pulido is not going to oppose him.
But the biggest shocker was that Measure D may be in trouble – and that it could be reversed if it is challenged in court. That was the measure that extended the term limits of the Santa Ana Council Members by four years, from 8 years to 12. That measure was on the ballot in a special election but apparently it should have been put in front of the voters in a general election. What this means, if it does get wiped out, is that several Santa Ana Council Members will be termed out – including Michele Martinez and Sal Tinajero. Continue reading
Santa Ana Michele Martinez announced her intention to run for re-election in 2014, today on her Facebook page: “It’s with great excitement to announce my re-election campaign for 2014! Re-Elect Michele Martinez for City Council, Ward 2, Facebook Page and Website coming soon!”
Sigh. I supposed this grammatical disaster is about the best we can expect from Martinez, but what’s her excuse? She was born and raised here. She grew up speaking English – it wasn’t her second language. Yet after finishing college she still reels off “It’s with great excitement to announce my re-election campaign for 2014!” Wow. Continue reading
Come to the Orange County campaign kickoff for SB 52, the California DISCLOSE Act! Join SB 52 supporters including Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, Community College Trustee and former Assemblymember Jose Solorio, Costa Mesa Councilmember Sandy Genis, and local activist leaders to kick off the local legislative campaign for the California DISCLOSE Act.
WHEN: March 23rd, 2013 12:00 PM through 2:00 PM
WHERE: The Delhi Community Center, located at 505 East Central Ave, in Santa Ana.
SB 52, the California DISCLOSE Act, would change the Big Money game and fight back against unlimited hidden spending on campaigns by letting voters know who REALLY is paying for political ads — on the ads themselves. Continue reading
I received an email tip this morning from a reader who said that someone had turned in recall paperwork, at the City Clerk’s office – and they were going after Mayor Miguel Pulido. The pajarito did not say who was behind this so I texted Mayor Pulido.
His response said it all – “It’s just Rocco.” LOL! Steve Rocco – the perennial paranoid candidate who got lucky a few years ago and actually got elected to the Orange Unified School Board, when Republicans voted for him instead of voting for his Latino opponent. Continue reading