The Santa Ana Police Officers Association has announced their endorsements with regard to the upcoming November City Council election. While it was not surprising to see them endorse incumbents David Benavides and Sal Tinajero, in Wards 4 and 6, it was refreshing to see them back a challenger, Mirna Velasquez, in Ward 2.
SAPOA also is backing Mayor Miguel Pulido instead of Roman Reyna. Continue reading
Roman Reyna and Michele Martinez may tell you that they have left their criminal pasts and gang lives behind but we don’t think this is true. Don’t be fooled for even a second by the self-proclaimed “reformed” drug dealer and tough guy.
Reyna allegedly verbally threatened Martinez’ top opponent, Mirna Velasquez, warning her that something may physically happen to her if she ran for the City Council against Martinez. Luckily, that did not deter Velasquez from running; she filed her papers in spite of these threats. Reyna even tried to talk Velasquez into moving and running against Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinjero, telling her that he is the weakest link on the city council and that she could easily beat him. Continue reading
Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez has reason to worry as she prepares for her reelection campaign in the upcoming November General Election. But from what I hear she is not overly concerned about Mirna Velasquez, who appears to be her top challenger. No, Martinez is losing sleep over a candidate most Santa Ana residents have never heard of. His name is Gilad Salmon.
Salmon’s Facebook page says he grew up in Anaheim Hills but it also says he worked at a Jewish Community Foundation in San Francisco. Salmon is not running much of a campaign for Ward 2 but he might benefit from a three way vote split by the Latino candidates, which include Martinez, Velasquez and a fellow named Rene Gomez. 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
Santa Ana Ward 2 City Council candidate is hosting a special fundraiser event with Salsa Music, a complimentary salsa lesson and Hor d’oeuvres on Friday, August 22, at 6:30 pm.
The event will be hosted by Tony Rodriguez of Spoons Family Restaurant, at 2601 Hotel Terrace Drive, in Santa Ana. 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
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
Mirna Velasquez, a candidate for Ward 2 on the Santa Ana City Council, is holding a fundraiser on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, at 6:30 pm, at El Calamar, located at 315 W. 17th St., in Santa Ana. The event is hosted by Hugo Camacho.
Ruben Mata, a trainer, author, & coach, will be speaking at this event.
RSVP to Monica Leyva at 714-276-7050 or electvelasquez2014@gmail.com. Continue reading
Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez has drawn another competitor for her Council seat, in Ward 2. A fellow named Gilad Salmon has pulled papers to run for her seat. You can check out his Facebook page here.
Salmon contacted me with additional information about him and his campaign. He says he lives south of First St. but he values Downtown Santa Ana and considers it a great asset as he feels it helps to bring more revenue to the city’s coffers. He also said that he is not a friend of Martinez and that he is not running in order to dilute the opposition vote. As such I would expect him to pull away male votes and votes from disaffected residents of the Artists Village who aren’t overly happy with her leadership. Continue reading
Mirna Velasquez, a candidate for Ward 2 on the Santa Ana City Council, is having a fundraiser on Thursday, July 17, 2014, at 7 pm, at Super Antojitos Mexican Grill, located at 1702 E. 17th St., Suite A, in Santa Ana.
The event his hosted by Tony Tejeda. Suggested contributions range from $100 to $500. Please RSVP ASAP to Monica Leyva at 714-276-7050 or electvelasquez2014@gmail.com. Continue reading
Mirna Velasquez, a candidate this year for Santa Ana’s City Council, in Ward 2, is hosting a campaign event on Wednesday, June 25, 2013, from 6 to 8 pm, at Original Mike’s, at 100 S. Main St., in Santa Ana.
Velasquez is challenging longtime Council incumbent Michele Martinez, who has admitted in the past to selling drugs when she was a teenager growing up in Santa Ana. Martinez ran for the 69th Assembly District in 2012, coming in almost last with just 16% of the vote, according to Smart Voter. Martinez spent over $200K for those results, according to the CA Secretary of State. Click here to see which special interests donated to her campaign.
Here is Mirna’s bio, from her website: Continue reading
Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez was not challenged when she last ran for re-election in 2010. She got just over 34K votes in that race according to Smart Voter. But there were over 43K votes cast in that year’s Santa Ana Mayoral contest, again according to Smart Voter. That means 9K Santa Ana voters simply could not stomach voting for Martinez. So they didn’t vote for anyone in Ward 2 that year.
This year Santa Ana’s voters will have a chance to vote for someone other than Martinez in Ward 2. She is being challenged by Mirna Velasquez. And Martinez better take her opponent seriously. Continue reading