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Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Miguel Pulido

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Santa Ana graffiti targeting Gov. Brown underscores hate problem in the O.C.

Posted on by Posted in Blogs, Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, Crime, Governor Jerry Brown, LGBT, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Politics, Public Safety, Republican Party, Santa Ana 7 Comments

George Collins, a videographer who lives in south Santa Ana, and who ran for Mayor last year, was on the scene yesterday when graffiti was discovered on two walls in his area – but this was not normal tagging.  The words that were painted onto those walls constituted a threat to the life of our new Governor, Jerry Brown.

Why target Brown?  Who knows?  He has been fairly moderate so far and has mostly made headlines for announcing that he is slashing public library funds and going after redevelopment and free enterprise zone funding.

Brown appeared here locally, at the Santa Ana Zoo, at last year’s O.C. Labor Day event.  He is a close friend of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and Brown has actually stayed over at Pulido’s house while in town.  Pulido told me last year that he met with Brown several times to assist with Brown’s campaign.

The first one happened around Greenville Street just north of Alton Street, according to the OC Weekly, which also reported that the other graffiti threat appeared near Thornton Park.

Collins appears in the video above, which I am providing courtesy of ABC News.  They interviewed Collins and were able to video the graffiti before City of Santa Ana public works crews quickly painted it over.

Collins noted on his Facebook page that the graffiti was covered up by 9:30 am.  He credited the City of Santa Ana for acting quickly to get rid of these hateful messages.

Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, of the SAPD, talked to ABC News and he brought up what happened recently in Tucson – and he noted that there have been other hateful graffiti messages in town recently – those messages have targeted gays, Catholics, Mexicans, African Americans and Asians.  He also referenced that other cities in Orange County have been dealing with the same problem.

ABC News cited at least eight such incidents, in four cities here in Orange County.  Many of these messages have included spelling errors.  I have noted over the years that right-wing anonymous commenters on local blogs often misspell words.

The targeted cities have included Brea, Anaheim, and Irvine. Police in those cities are working together to identify if the taggers are the same person or are otherwise in cahoots with each other.

One teenager I know who lives near the area targeted yesterday told me in a text message that there is a known skinhead who lives in that area.  Young people in Santa Ana expressed fear yesterday, on Facebook.

These are indeed scary times.  Hate is commonplace on local blogs in particular.  This is one of the reasons I suggested yesterday that we need to scan those who attend our local City Council meetings for weapons.  There are just too many unhinged people here in town and we need to take steps to ensure public safety.

And the local Republican Party is part of the problem.  Minuteman Lupe Moreno got appointed this Monday to the OC GOP Central Committee, as I related in a post yesterday.  So did failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Charles Hart.  Moreno is well known for her hateful views targeting Mexicans and gays.  Hart however is not much better.  He pined during his campaign for the “good old days,” presumably when it was okay for city leaders to burn down Santa Ana’s Chinatown and segregate schools to keep Mexicans and African Americans away from white children.

Another major problem has been the behavior of failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua, who has been railing against the Santa Ana City Council and who has recruited a Who’s Who of bitter, angry folks to his coalition of people who mostly don’t live in Santa Ana.  Their attacks on our City Council and our Mayor have been little more than innuendo and slander – contrast that behavior with that of the aforementioned George Collins, who recently met with Mayor Miguel Pulido to discuss concerns about the Harbor transit corridor and who continues to do good work in our community.  Collins is a shining example of how politicians should act when they lose an election.

Pulido and Sarmiento visit the Santa Ana Soccer and Business Association

Posted on by Posted in Business, Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana, Sports, Vince Sarmiento 3 Comments

The Santa Ana Soccer and Business Association held its first board meeting on January 11, at the offices of Edgar Seb Vazquez, their President.  Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilman Vincent Sarmiento attended the meeting and discussed how the City of Santa Ana might be able to help this new organization.  Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Agency director Gerardo Mouet also attended the meeting.

Pulido also disclosed that the City is negotiating to host a number of exhibition games by the Chivas Soccer Club, at Eddie West Field.  Talks are also continuing with the Chivas regarding building a new stadium at the site of the Willowick Golf Course.

Vazquez told Pulido and Sarmiento that his organization’s goal is to unite the many soccer leagues in town and to work with local businesses to support each other.

Mauricio Cardenas, the host of a popular T.V. show about soccer, is also involved in this organization.  His media savvy will be a considerable asset to the association’s members.

Alex Vega is one of the founders of this organization.  He is excited about helping the members to register to vote and he believes that this association’s members could become a political force in Santa Ana.  Vega is a longtime supporter of Mayor Pulido.

Vega is also a proponent of “street soccer,” which entails playing soccer in the street, or in a parking lot.  The concept comes from Mexico City, where there is a lack of green space and kids have literally taken to the streets to play soccer.  In this country such an event would of course include city approval and safety measures, such as closing off certain streets.

Here is the Board of Directors for the Santa Ana Soccer and Business Association:

Edgar Seb Vazquez : President
Jose Antonio Meza: Vice-President
Hector Pineda: Treasure (Financial Chairman)
Art Pedroza, Abel Torres, Mauricio Cardenas (Difusion) Media, Alex Vega
Jennifer Delson, Jesus Rodriguez: Public Relations & Secretary
Humberto Murillo: Special Events

If you would like to contact Mr. Vazquez, click here.

Stroud and Betancourt to be replaced as Santa Ana City Commissioners on Tuesday

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Development, Miguel Pulido, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana, Women 10 Comments

Longtime Santa Ana City Commissioners Julie Stroud and Vicky Betancourt are out – both are being replaced this Tuesday night, at the next Santa Ana City Council meeting, according to the posted meeting agenda.

Stroud served on the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission.  She was one of two Commissioners on that board who opposed my suggestion that the City of Santa Ana look into creating a dog park.  The other, Tish Leon, was dismissed a few months ago after she joined with Stroud in bullying a teenage Commissioner, who then quit the Commission, but outed them in the process.

Stroud was seen by many supporters of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, when she was leaving the election night party of failed Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua.  I knew then it was unlikely she would be re-appointed to the Parks and Recreation Board.

Stroud is being replaced by Ava Steaffens, the President of Kidworks, a non-profit that serves needy children in Santa Ana.  That is a great choice!  Steaffens is being appointed by Councilman David Benavides.

Roman Reyna, who is now a member of the SAUSD School Board, was also replaced, on the Housing and Redevelopment Commission, by Laura Morfin, who chaired the now defunct EPIC Commission.  Morfin is being appointed by Benavides.  And Mayor Pulido is appointing Wendy Tobiska to the Parks and Recreation Board.

Benavides also re-appointed Mario Turner to the Santa Ana Planning Commission, but the big news is Betancourt’s departure from that same body.  Betancourt was perhaps the most controversial member of the Santa Ana Planning Commission.  Her decisions were often overturned by the Santa Ana City Council.  Betancourt is allegedly an atheist, and she reportedly was very tough on any church that had business with the Planning Commission.  She is also a major supporter of the Artists Village.  None of the current Planning Commissioners are known supporters of the arts, although that doesn’t mean they won’t be supportive of the Artists Village.

Betancourt is one of the owners of Coneybeare, a local temp agency firm.  She was also on the board of directors of the Santa Ana Business Bank, which sold its assets at a loss of about 40%, to a bank in Los Angeles, about a year ago.

Sandy Nalle will be replacing Betancourt on the Planning Commission.  Nalle works for CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate company.  He has a Juris Doctorate and he ran against Bustamante back in 2004, when he got over 40% of the vote.  Bustamante won that election, with 59% of the vote.  Nalle was supported by Pulido, and it is Pulido who is now putting him on the Planning Commission.

According to his company’s website, Nalle is an expert in large property sales and governmental relations, Mr. Nalle’s transactions vary from 400,000 square foot industrial leases to 100 acre land acquisitions and development projects. Additionally, he has thirty years of extensive experience with Mexican commercial, legal and real estate matters including fideicomiso organization.

Nalle was also a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.

With Betancourt’s exit there are now no women on the Planning Commission.  She is also an environmentalist – and again, to my knowledge, none of the remaining Planning Commissioners are environmental extremists.

It should be noted that Nalle lives in Ward 3 – as do all of the Planning Commissioners except for Sean Mill, who lives in Ward 6.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So who are these non-residents of Santa Ana?

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

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

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

A day in the life of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 4 Comments

I met with Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido today at noon, and we had a chance to discuss the Artists Village, amongst other topics.  In the course of our conversation Mayor Pulido shared his schedule with me and gave me permission to discuss it here.  Remember that Mayor Pulido is a part-time Mayor.  Here is how he spent this morning:

  • 8:30 am: Met with City Staff to discuss the Go Local Project
  • 9 am: Met with Roy Alvarado and George Collins to discuss the Harbor Blvd. Corridor
  • 9:20 am: Met with Shirley Grindle to discuss the Bike Trail near the Discovery Science Center and Santiago Park
  • 10 am: Met with Dennis Lluy, David Leon, Ryan Chase, Gil Marrero, Irv Chase and Councilwoman Michele Martinez to discuss the direction of nightlife in the Downtown, and the dance ordinance
  • 10:20 am: Met with Gary Kutscher, Angie Rowe, and Scott Baugh to discuss the O.C. Marathon
  • 10:40 am: Met with Ray Estrella and Robert Maniaci to discuss a Veteran housing project
  • 11 am: Met with Jody Johansen and Chris Roelle to meet and greet the new FBA President
  • 11:20 am: Met with Armando de la Libertad to be introduced to a Santa Ana resident who is a CAD designer who designs skateboard parks
  • 11:40 am: Met with Carlos Benitez to discuss projects related to the Federacion de Clubs Guerrenses
  • and 12:20 pm – Spoke on the phone with Charmayne Bacon and Ken Brown re Climate Communities and USCM

Many city staffers were involved in these meetings, including Jill Arthur, SAPD Chief Paul Walters, Gerardo Mouet, Mark Lawrence, Jay Trevino and Lt. Mike McCoy.

What a day!  And Pulido still has an afternoon full of additional appointments to work through.

We are fortunate to have a Mayor who can spend so much time on city business.  Mayor Pulido made it clear that he is available to talk to anyone who wants to meet with him with regard to city business.  If you want to meet with him contact Becky Magallon, at City Hall, at BMagallon@santa-ana.org.  She is an Executive Assistant to City Manager Dave Ream.

Anti-government rhetoric fed Arizona shooter, could that happen in Santa Ana?

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Democratic Party, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Public Safety, Republican Party, Santa Ana 8 Comments

It appears now that Jared Lee Loughner, the deranged 22 year old shooter in Tucson who killed six people on Saturday, was a Democrat.  But what drove him was not partisan politics, but rather anti-government rhetoric.  That sure sounds familiar here in Santa Ana, a city dominated by Democrats.

The last election happened in November, but Alfredo Amezcua, the failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate, has not been able to accept his loss gracefully.  He has continued to openly attack Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and the Santa Ana City Council.  And many of his supporters continue to insist that Pulido somehow stole the election.  That is just plain nuts!

Amezcua held a poorly attended “Vigil of Discontent” when the victorious Santa Ana City Council members were sworn in.  And, as we wrote about on this blog, Amezcua joined forces with the Los Amigos of Anaheim this week in a bizarre press conference that was loaded with unfounded innuendo and slanderous, hateful statements against Pulido, the City Council and SAPD Chief Paul Walters.  The anger was palpable.  Looking around that room I saw more than a few unhinged characters who, in hindsight, could very well end up doing something regrettable.

The Democrats will try to pin the Arizona shooting on the GOP – and in truth some Republicans, such as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, not to mention Rush Limbaugh, have blood on their hands.  They spend every hour ripping the government and attacking the Democrats.  But if the Tucson shooter was indeed a Democrat, well then that party has to take ownership of this disaster too.

I could definitely see this same thing happening here in Santa Ana, where we have Latinos attacking Latinos and Democrats attacking Democrats.  Amezcua and his followers have fed the fires and all they are doing is creating an angry mob – they are not solving anything with this ridiculous insurrection of theirs.

Media reports indicate that Loughner’s favorite books included Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifest.  Many of Amezcua’s backers often post comments that allude to communist ideology.

And Amezcua’s backers also include a lot of right-wing residents of Santa Ana.  Loughner often cited Republican spin, such as focusing on the Constitution, property rights and “treasonous laws.”  The same anger Amezcua continues to fan on the left has been simmering on the local right too, for a long time.

I hope the Democratic Party of Orange County, and the O.C. labor leaders, will step in and have a talk with Amezcua before this deranged and bitter movement of his results in bloodshed.  The fact is, he lost in November.  It is past time for him to move on.  If he wants to run again he may do so in 2012.  Until then it is highly irresponsible for him to continue to rant and rave.  I would much rather see him offering positive solutions, but that is something he didn’t do during his campaign.  I cannot imagine he might actually have any good ideas now.

Don’t forget by the way that Amezcua’s clients over the years have been the very worst gang bangers and drug dealers in Santa Ana.  Loughner, born September 10, 1988, had a court case involving possession of drug paraphernalia in 2007, according to an online news report.  Imagine if one of Amezcua’s clients decides to pay back a favor to him by doing something awful to one of our local elected officials?  God forbid…

Poll: Should Alfredo Amezcua move on, or continue his insurrection?

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 19 Comments

There are some that say that failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua is being heroic because he is still fighting, months after he lost his election last November.  To me it seems like Amezcua is a sore loser – and he clearly does not accept the will of the voters.

This reminds me of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who got thrown in jail after he tried to pull off a coup.  He got out a few years later and took over anyway – and now he is Latin America’s biggest loon.  The same thing happened in Cuba, where Fidel Castro got tossed in the can, then got out and staged a coup.  In Latin America democracy is fine unless you don’t like the results – which generally sets off armed insurrections.

Should Amezcua accept the will of the voters and graciously end his rebellion or should he keep pestering the Santa Ana City Council and Mayor Miguel Pulido?  Let the will of our readers be known – here is your chance to vote on this issue:

[poll id=”3″]

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

Posted on by 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 by 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.


(polls)

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 by 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→

Governor-Elect Jerry Brown is targeting Santa Ana’s Enterprise Zone tax breaks

Posted on by Posted in Business, california, Governor Jerry Brown, Jobs, Labor, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana, Taxes 4 Comments

California Governor-elect Jerry Brown is laying the groundwork for a budget plan that would couple deep cuts to state services, including university systems and welfare programs, with a request that voters extend temporary tax hikes on vehicles, income and sales that are set to expire next year, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Among the breaks are multibillion-dollar incentives for redevelopment projects and hundreds of millions of dollars of “enterprise zone” credits meant to encourage investment in blighted neighborhoods, according to the L.A. Times.

According to the City of Santa Ana’s website, a qualified business may reduce its state income tax by $37,440 per qualified employee, over a 5-year period. The credits may be carried over until they are exhausted.

The Santa Ana website also explains that California income or franchise tax may be reduced by the amount of sales or use tax paid on certain machinery, machinery parts, and equipment purchased for exclusive use in an Enterprise Zone.

Brown appears to be targeting those tax credits, as the State of California faces a $28 billion budget shortfall – equivalent to nearly a third of the general fund.  Brown is also targeting redevelopment funds.  That too could have a considerable impact on the City of Santa Ana.

According to Good Jobs First, a think tank, the State of California spent $333 million on Enterprise Zone tax credits in 2005.  Good Jobs First also raised the issue of transparency.  California was rated a D-, as hardly anyone can tell if the Enterprise money has actually created jobs or been effective at all.

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is close to Brown, who visited his home several times during this year’s hard-fought campaign against Republican Meg Whitman.  Perhaps that will help, but Brown is desperate for money to replenish the State’s coffers.  I don’t think he will leave any stone unturned.

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

Posted on by 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?