Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: George Collins

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

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

Lou Correa on the State Senate Floor

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

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

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

Poll: Who is Santa Ana’s 2012 Man of the Year?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, David Benavides, Elections, George Collins, Gerardo Mouet, Jeff Dickman, Jose Solorio, Julio Perez, Ken Nguyen, Lou Correa, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Rob Richardson, Robert Hammond, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Sean Mill, Thomas Gordon 17 Comments

Sean Mill and Paul Walters

As has been our tradition, it is time to vote for the Santa Ana Man and Woman of the Year, for 2012.  And we have quite a few great choices to choose from, in our poll below.  You can vote for up to three nominees.  Voting will close on January 8, 2013.

This year’s mayoral race produced three of our nominees – Mayor Miguel Pulido, and candidates David Benavides and George Collins. But we also delved into our city’s non-profit sector to find stellar nominees Dwight Smith, of the OC Catholic Worker; Armando De La Libertad, the Director of the Delhi Center; Scott Overpeck, of the awesome community project Laundry Love; Scott Glaab, the head of the Santa Ana Athletic Foundation and a local high school wrestling coach; and Benjamín Vázquez, of El Centro Cultural de Mexico.

Please let us know if we missed anyone and we can add them to our poll right away.  Here is the poll – note that you may vote for up to three candidates at once: Continue reading→

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

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

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

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

The Santa Ana City Clerk announces the 2012 Nov. 6 election results

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Brett Franklin, Charles Hart, David Benavides, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, George Collins, Karina Onofre, Lupe Moreno, Measure GG, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: 2012 UNOFFICIAL LOCAL SANTA ANA ELECTION RESULTS

SANTA ANA, CA (November 7, 2012) – In an effort to keep Santa Ana residents informed about the local election, the following information is provided. As of 11/07/2012 at 8 am, the Orange County Registrar of Voters Office has released the following results. Please note that this information is UNOFFICIAL until certified on December 11, 2012. For complete election information, please go to http://www.ocvote.com/results.

Santa Ana Mayor, Vote Count Percentage: Continue reading→

Santa Ana Election results – Pulido far ahead and Amezcua winning in Ward 3!

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Bond Measures, Brett Franklin, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Chapel, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, George Collins, Jose Hernandez, Mark McLoughlin, Measure GG, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows, Steve Rocco, Thomas Gordon, Tony Tapia, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

Two winners – Mayor Miguel Pulido and President Barack Obama

As expected, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is winning handily tonight.  The O.C. Voter Registrar has posted the early returns, which are absentee ballots. Here are some of the evening’s highlights:

  • Mayor Miguel Pulido has a whopping 7,454 votes – David Benavides only has 3,676 votes.  George Collins is nipping at Benavides’ heels with 2,523 votes
  • In a shocker, the unknown schoolteacher Angelica Amezcua is leading in Ward 3, with 6,637 votes, while Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Eric Alderete has 5,097 votes and former Council Member Brett Franklin has 4,172 votes.  It is early yet but if this trend continues then Franklin has a good shot as the Latino vote in Ward 3 is clearly split.  There are however three candidates splitting up the white vote – Charles Hart, Shane Barrows and Steve Rocco. Continue reading→

How Mayoral candidate Benavides ended up honoring the Minutemen

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Civil Rights, David Benavides, Elections, George Collins, Glen Stroud, immigration, Latinos, Lupe Moreno, Politics, Racism, Republican Party, Rosie Avila, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Hatergate: How Council Member David Benavides ended up honoring the Minutemen in July, 2010

By: Art Pedroza

It started out innocently enough.  The City of Santa Ana didn’t have the budget to put on their own 4th of July event, back in July of 2010, so they allowed a group of residents to put on their own event – and the City’s Parks and Recreation Agency let them use the Santa Ana Public Library, over in the Civic Center, to stage the event.

It made sense I suppose to have a Library Commissioner run the show.  She was also at the time heading up the Friends of the Library.  But upon closer scrutiny, there was a major problem. The lady in question was Lupe Moreno, a notorious Minuteman. These are folks who absolutely hate immigrants and who have been accused of hate crimes.  When Moreno found herself needing more volunteers it was her Minutemen friends who got the call. Continue reading→

Pulido stood out among his weak opponents at the last mayoral forum

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, David Benavides, Elections, George Collins, Lupe Moreno, Measure GG, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido was in complete control at tonight’s Santa Ana Mayoral candidate’s forum, which was held at Latino Health Access, in Downtown Santa Ana.

Oh sure, the other candidates spent all night sniping at him – David Benavides in particular was quite petulant. Continue reading→

Santa Ana Mayoral candidates forum set for this evening at Latino Health Access

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, David Benavides, Elections, Entertainment, George Collins, Lupe Moreno, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Roy Alvarado, Santa Ana 4 Comments

A forum for Santa Ana mayoral candidates is set for 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26 at Latino Health Access, 450 W. Fourth St., according to the O.C. Register.

The forum, sponsored by Voice of OC, the non-profit health agency and other groups, will focus on youth issues.
Six candidates are seeking the post in the November election, including incumbent Miguel Pulido and Councilman David Benavides. Continue reading→

Video footage of Santa Ana’s mayoral candidates at a Sep. forum

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, George Collins, Lupe Moreno, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roy Alvarado, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Santa Ana mayoral candidate George Collins is best known in town for one thing – he always brings a video camera along, wherever he goes.  He brought his camera early in September to the Connect to Council Santa Ana Council Candidates Forum.

The footage of the Council candidates was marred by poor sound, which was the fault of the event organizers and the facility, not Collins, but his mayoral candidate footage came out pretty sharp.  You can see it atop this post. Continue reading→

The O.C. Lincoln Club rejects most of the Santa Ana Republican candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Elections, George Collins, Karina Onofre, Lupe Moreno, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 3 Comments

The Orange County Lincoln Club PAC has endorsed Tea Party Republican Charles Hart for the Santa Ana City Council, even though he is a government worker, but ignored small businessman George Collins, the OC GOP-endorsed candidate for Santa Ana Mayor, and Lupe Moreno, the Minuteman who is also running for Santa Ana Mayor. 

They also inexplicably blew off newly minted Republican Karina Onofre, who is running for Ward 5 against the DPOC-endorsed Roman Reyna, but they did endorse Cecilia Iglesias for the SAUSD School Board.  Continue reading→

The Republicans who are trying to take back Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Brett Franklin, Carlos Bustamante, Cecilia Iglesias, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, George Collins, Janet Nguyen, Jerry Hayden, Karina Onofre, Loretta Sanchez, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics, Republican Party, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Thomas Gordon, Tom Daly, Tony Tapia, Valerie Amezcua Leave a comment

Robert Hammond, promoting the GOP

Orange County’s Democrats are generally clueless, but this past June they were particularly out of sorts.  They inexplicably gave Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen a free pass, allowing her to focus on electing her fellow Republican, and gay-basher, Robert Hammond as he won a seat on the O.C. Department of Education’s Board of Trustees.

And the Democrats managed to fumble away Orange County’s most Latino seat, allowing it to go to Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly, who has since been charged with sexual harassment in the workplace.  If they had gotten behind Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez she might have prevailed in June.  Instead organized labor put up their guy, Julio Perez, splitting the Latino vote and allowing Daly to prevail. Continue reading→

The OC GOP Endorsement Committee backs several Santa Ana candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Brett Franklin, Elections, George Collins, Karina Onofre, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Thomas Gordon 2 Comments

Council Candidate Karina Onofre and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez

The Republican Party of Orange County’s Endorsement Committee met tonight to consider a number of endorsements of local candidates running this November in the General Election.  Several Santa Ana candidates came up for endorsement – setting off quite a conversation at times.  One additional candidate, SAUSD School Board candidate Cecilia Iglesias, will be discussed by the Endorsement Committee tomorrow night.

Karina Onofre, a Republican running for the Santa Ana City Council in Ward 5, was endorsed with no debate.  She is running against lifelong Democrat Roman Reyna, an SAUSD Trustee. Continue reading→

Collins, Benavides and Moreno fighting over the same voters

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, George Collins, Lupe Moreno, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roy Alvarado, Santa Ana 17 Comments

Can you spot all the Usual Suspect Mayoral candidates in this photo?

Santa Ana Mayoral candidate George Collins gloated on Facebook today because his name is going to appear first on the ballot, as per the California Secretary of State’s random drawing, which determined the order of the candidates on the November ballot.  But does Collins have a chance to beat the incumbent, Mayor Miguel Pulido?

The fact is, there are too many candidates running against Pulido, ant to make matters worse for Collins, he is fighting over the same voters with two other challengers – Minuteman Lupe Moreno and Santa Ana Council Member David Benavides.  All three of them are hoping to get the Usual Suspect vote, but there really aren’t enough of those votes left in town to matter, even if one of the candidates were able to garner all of their votes. Continue reading→

Update: Tinajero drops out of the Santa Ana Mayor’s race

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, George Collins, Lupe Moreno, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roy Alvarado, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 14 Comments

Santa Ana Council Member Sal Tinajero has dropped out of the Santa Ana Mayor’s race.  The remaining candidates include:

  • Mayor Miguel Pulido
  • Council Member David Benavides
  • Analyst/Production Manager George Collins Continue reading→

Updated: Santa Ana Voter Poll – Who Should be our Next Mayor?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, George Collins, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roy Alvarado, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 17 Comments

Public OpinionPoll Results

The Santa Ana Mayor’s race is quickly growing crowded.  Mayor Miguel A. Pulido will be facing off against two Council Members, David Benavides and Sal Tinajero, but there are others in the race as well, including retired engineer Roy Alvarado, CSUF student Miguel Angel Briseno, and possibly videographer George Collins as well.

You already know who Benavides and Tinajero are.  Here is a rundown of the other candidates: Continue reading→