New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Paul Walters

Is the Council preparing more attacks on Walters, Pulido – and Alvarez?

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

Michele Martinez whining

Should Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and local community leaders demand an appeal of the Santa Ana City Council’s decision to fire City Manager Paul Walters – seven months after they voted unanimously to hire him?

My sources report that the Council is allegedly working overtime to discredit Pulido and Walters – in case there is a public hearing to review the Council’s decision to fire Walters.

While the Council Members said nice things about Walters at the close of Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the attack they are supposedly preparing is beyond belief. My insiders tell me that the Council is trying to find proof that former Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez had an affair some years ago, with Walters. Continue reading→

Exclusive: Santa Ana City Council votes to fire City Manager

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Angry David Benavides

Update: Confirmed. The Santa Ana City Council voted 6-1 to fire City Manager Paul Walters.

The Santa Ana City Council is still in closed session but one of our readers, in the audience, was tipped off moments ago that they have voted to do the unthinkable – they are going to fire City Manager Paul Walters even though he saved our city last year from a budget crisis created by the previous City Manager, Dave Ream, and the Council.

This is by no means the end of this story. The Council will have to agendize this for a future meeting. But they have the votes to see this through. Continue reading→

Delusional liberal blames Walters for poverty and obesity

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Carolina Sarmiento, Civic Affairs, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 7 Comments

Commie Gang of Five Supporter

Carolina Sarmiento, of El Centro Cultural de Mexico, penned a ridiculous op-ed over at the union-funded Voice of OC, ripping our Santa Ana City Manager, Paul Walters, and demanding a national search for a new City Manager. Obviously she timed this to coincide with tonight’s scheduled City Council meeting as the “Gang of Five” may be terminating Walters – with no cause to be sure.

Here are a few excerpts from Sarmiento’s delusional missive. Note that she is essentially trying to pin the problems in our city, which stem from poverty, on Walters – this dear readers is class warfare, right from the writings of Karl Marx: Continue reading→

Is the Council’s attack on Walters demoralizing all the City’s employees?

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Adam Probolsky, Civic Affairs, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 17 Comments

From the Save Paul Walters blog

Is the Santa Ana City Council majority undermining their relationship with all of their city employees by going after their City Manager Paul Walters? That is exactly what Adam Probolsky, an Orange County political consultant and pollster, suggested in a column posted today at the Voice of OC.

While Probolsky did not finger the attack on Walters specifically, he did suggest that “Demonizing public employees might be good for a sound bite, but it’s an ineffective management approach.”

Here is Probolsky’s column, in its entirety. Let’s hope the Santa Ana City Council’s bullies take the time to read it: Continue reading→

Online petition launched to save City Manager Paul Walters

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

An online petition has been created, to save Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters. You may click here to sign it – the petition will be delivered to each of the Santa Ana City Council Members via email.

Here is the letter you will be sending to the Council Members: Continue reading→

Property values reflect that Walters delivered on crime reduction

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Crime, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 12 Comments

By: A Concerned Investor

To the members of the Santa Ana City Council and the citizens who voted for them.

It is shocking and disappointing that our elected officials are attempting to remove Mr. Paul Walters as City Manager when he successfully salvaged the city budget preventing bankruptcy. Mr. Walters is an extremely valuable asset to Santa Ana on many fronts including his years as Santa Ana’s Chief of Police. As Chief he made Santa Ana safer which makes the city a more desirable place to buy homes, build homes, and open business. The Statistics are facts that speak for themselves. (See below statistics) Continue reading→

Is the Council secretly coordinating their attack on Walters?

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 98 Comments

Have Benavides and Sarmiento been secretly coordinating their attack on Walters?

Apparently Council Member David Benavides called the Santa Ana City Clerk, Maria Huizar, this Friday, in the morning at about 10 am, to instruct her to add an item to the agenda for the Council meeting set for this coming Tuesday, regarding the review of Santa Ana’s City Manager Paul Walters. Click here to contact Huizar if you would like to confirm this. You may also call her at 714.647.6520.

About a half hour later his colleague, according to my sources, Council Member Vince Sarmiento, made the same call, using the same language, to Huizar. Continue reading→

Why is the Council blaming Walters for problems they created?

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Dave Ream, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 7 Comments

Where were Sarmiento’s complaints before the majority took power?

I continue to be amazed by the lame excuses our Santa Ana Council Members are making with regard to their ongoing attempt to fire our successful City Manager, Paul Walters. Here are the latest nuggets from the Council, from the O.C. Register:

“Some staff in particular only do the work of the mayor, and that’s been the culture of the city,” said Tinajero. Pulido has been mayor for 18 years, and worked for years alongside Walters’ predecessor, David Ream, and other top officials. (Our Response: Are you kidding? Tinajero worked with Ream too – in fact he essentially sold out after getting elected in 2006, when Ream arranged for Tinajero to serve on various well-paying municipal commissions!) Continue reading→

Council majority adds item to dismiss Walters to next week’s meeting agenda

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 37 Comments

The Santa Ana Council Majority has placed an item, 1C, on the agenda for the next Council Meeting, on Jan. 22, that reads:

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE AND/OR

POTENTIAL DISMISSAL/RELEASE pursuant to Government Code Section

54957(b)(1)

Title: City Manager

This is it folks. They are going to move to fire our City Manager, Paul Walters. They apparently did not learn a thing from the last Council meeting, on Jan. 7, when dozens of local residents and business leaders, including OCTA Chairman Greg Winterbottom, SAUSD Trustee and Local Attorney Jose Hernandez, and Com Link Chair Evangeline Gawronski, ripped them a new one for threatening to fire Walters. Imagine how many folks will turn out for next week’s meeting? Continue reading→

Poll: Does Santa Ana really need a new City Manager?

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Gerardo Mouet, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 17 Comments

Maybe Michele Martinez needs a time machine so she can vote again for a new City Manager?

So this is what it has come down to. The two or three defenders of the Santa Ana City Council majority are now pleading on the blogs, anonymously of course, for a new national search for a new City Manager even though we already have one and he was selected unanimously by the Council. And they gave him a contract that pretty much backfires on them if they can him.

The reality folks is that the Council Majority is desperate to take complete power at City Hall and that is not going to happen as long as Paul Walters is at the helm. Note that former Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is gone now. She was the one who kept these guys from breaking the law. The good news is that now she can come after them as an Orange County Deputy District Attorney – and that is just what it might come down to. Continue reading→

Poll: Should any of our Council members be recalled over the Walters flap?

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2013 Elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 41 Comments

What to do? Our Santa Ana City Council majority has lost it. Now Council Member David Benavides is back from his travels – apparently he flew to India with his church. And so they are ready to resume their horrible attack on our City Manager, Paul Walters. What is driving this? Who knows? Hatred of our popular Mayor, Miguel Pulido? Pressure from the police union, which wants a big contract? Apartment developers who want to build high density units that Pulido won’t allow? Who knows?

What we do know is that it might well be time to strike back. And one way to do that would be to start a recall – and remove these miscreants from our Council. But who to recall? Michele Martinez? That would be a good start. She certainly has been the vortex of the Walter attacks. Benavides? He allowed his supporters to attack Pulido’s kids during his failed mayoral campaign. Vincent Sarmiento? He almost lost in November to a total unknown. Sal Tinajero? He already survived the recall of his pal Nativo Lopez, from the SAUSD School Board, back in the day. Can he survive another one? Roman Reyna? He seems to be going along with the Walters lynch mob…

Here is your chance to be heard! I have set up the poll below so that you may vote to recall one of the Council Members, or more, or all of them, or perhaps none of them. You decide! Continue reading→

It is time to Save our City Manager, Paul Walters!

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Santa Ana 63 Comments

You can now express your support for our great City Manager, Paul Walters, on a new blog and on a new Facebook page. And be sure to show up to the next Santa Ana City Council meeting, on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 5 pm, to speak up for Walters. Bring signs and tell your friends and neighbors.

Our ridiculous Santa Ana City Council majority continues to wage war on Walters, who saved our city from a horrible budget crisis last year. Why isn’t the Council focusing on the problems our city faces? Where are their good ideas? These insane people would rather bring down one of Orange County’s best public administrators than work to improve Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes: the return of Thomas Gordon?

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Alcohol, Cecilia Aguinaga, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Frank Barbaro, Julio Perez, Labor, Latinos, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Public Safety, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 14 Comments

The Return of Thomas Gordon?

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero thought he was being rather clever when he moved community activist Thomas Gordon out of his ward, when the City Council changed the Council ward map before the general election in November. But now I am hearing that Gordon has moved back into Ward 6 – and he will be ready to take on Tinajero in 2014.

Gordon tried to run against Tinajero in 2010, when a Vietnamese American and a Latina also filed to run against Tinajero. There was evidence that appeared to indicate that Gordon was involved in their campaigns, which made sense as this would have been the ultimate vote split. But the Santa Ana City Clerk tossed out Gordon’s signatures, including his own, and he waited too long to turn in his signatures, so there wasn’t time to get more. Continue reading→

Exclusive: Recall campaign against Council Member Martinez may be underway

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2013 Elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 63 Comments

So it begins. I am told, on good authority, that a Santa Ana businesswoman and resident named Cherie Kerr allegedly went to City Hall today to begin the process of recalling Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez. This is, no doubt, fallout from Martinez’ attack on Mayor Miguel Pulido and City Manager Paul Walters. Martinez, and the Council Majority, have recently declared war on Walters, even though he has done a fine job as our City Manager and previously as our Chief of Police.

I have been saying for awhile that eventually the Council’s ridiculous behavior would end up in a recall and here we are. Remember that Pulido and his supporters previously recalled former SAUSD Trustee Nativo Lopez, who at the time was allied with current Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero – who previously served on the SAUSD School Board. Continue reading→

The Council’s chismosos are wrong about Walters resigning

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 10 Comments

“Amid swirling rumors that members of the Santa Ana City Council majority have asked City Manager Paul Walters to resign by Friday, the city’s chief bureaucrat declared Thursday that he plans to remain in the top slot for five to six years,” according to Adam Elmahrek, over at the Voice of OC.

Now you might be wondering about those rumors – who exactly is spreading this B.S.? Could it be the SAME Council Members who recently had a cow because Mayor Miguel Pulido allegedly acted as a community organizer by calling a few folks and asked them to show up at the last Santa Ana Council Meeting, in support of Walters? Continue reading→