The Orange County Public Affairs Association is hosting a “34th Senate District Candidate Forum” featuring Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen and former State Assemblyman Jose Solorio on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, at 11:30 am, at the Pacific Club, located at 4110 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach (includes parking).
This event will be moderated by former Real Orange TV News Anchor Ed Arnold. The event is sponsored by Time Warner Cable and Curt Pringle & Associates. Continue reading
SAUSD School Board Candidate Angie Rosario Cano is hosting her Campaign Kickoff on September 13, 2014 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at 1409 S Arapaho Dr., in Santa Ana.
The Host Committee includes:
Santa Ana City Council members voted Tuesday in closed session to release to the public the city attorney’s report on Mayor Miguel Pulido’s property swap case on Sept. 30 if District Attorney Tony Rackauckas or the state’s political watchdog don’t file criminal charges against the mayor by then, according to the Voice of OC.
What is this all about? In 2010, members of the Pulido family traded a parking lot they owned to Rupen James Akoubian, owner of NAPA Orange County Auto Parts, in exchange for a house in Westminster. According to the public assessor’s appraisals, the fair market value of the house was more than twice as much as the Pulidos’ lot, according to the Voice of OC.
The family later transferred the house solely into the mayor’s name, and he ultimately sold it for nearly $400,000, netting a $197,000 profit. Meanwhile, Akoubian’s store received a $1.35 million, no-bid city contract to supply auto parts to the municipal vehicle fleet.
So did Pulido break any laws? Let’s look at this point by point: Continue reading
Team Solorio with Key Supporters
The Jose Solorio campaign for the 34th State Senate District is hosting “Solorio Super Saturday,” their Fall Campaign Kick-Off, on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014, from 9 am to 2 pm, at their Campaign Office, located at 1325 W. Warner Ave., in Santa Ana.
The Fall campaign kick-off will include breakfast snacks, lunch from Maggiano’s, precinct walks, phone banking, lawn sign pick up and deliveries, and DJ music. 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 did not fare very well in a new study of the most family friendly big cities in California by the Estately Blog.
The report mentioned a few upsides: 5th lowest crime, 7th shortest commute, 9th most affordable housing market, 4th biggest children’s population.
But the downsides are significant: 5th lowest number of preschools, 4th lowest number of daycares, 5th highest cost of living. And check out the low GreatSchools Score: 5 out of 10.
Supporters of SAUSD School Board candidate Shuntele Andrews are hosting a “Lunch with Ms. Andrews” on Sunday, Sep. 21, 2014, from 12 noon to 2 pm, at 3617 W. Woodland Place, in Santa Ana.
The event will be hosted by Estella Ruiz Matthews at the home of Joe and Isabel Ruiz, and will feature homemade Mexican food. Continue reading
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Maria Unzueta (657) 464-4742 (Cell)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 28, 2014
SOLORIO FOR STATE SENATE CAMPAIGN RUNS SECOND ROUND OF RADIO ADS IN EARLY EFFORT TO HIGHLIGHT OPPONENT’S ETHICAL LAPSES AND VOTE FOR LOOPHOLE AROUND PROP 13
Two New Radio Commercials Discuss Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s Fine by AG’s Office and FPPC For Taking Illegal Campaign Contributions and Her Vote To Circumvent Proposition 13 Protections by Charging Seniors Extra Paramedic Fees
SANTA ANA – The Solorio for State Senate Campaign announced today that they are running another round of early campaign commercials in heavy rotation on local radio to point out opponent Janet Nguyen’s ethical lapses and her effort to circumvent Proposition 13 taxpayer protections by voting for paramedic fees for seniors and people requiring “advanced life support.”
The campaign kicked off their effort in early August by initially running two other radio ads that highlighted Supervisor Nguyen’s use of taxpayer dollars to benefit herself and her inner circle. This second round of radio ads started running late last week. 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
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 20, 2014
CONTACT: Damon Conklin (Senator Lou Correa), 916-651-4034, Bill Bird (Senator Bob Huff), 916-651-4029
Bi-Partisan Legislation to Reopen Trade Office in Mexico Passes Final Legislative Test
SACRAMENTO, CA: Legislation to help boost California’s exports to Mexico cleared its final legislative hurdle today, passing off the Senate Floor with unanimous support.
SB 928, authored by Senators Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) would direct the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (“GO-Biz”) to establish a California trade office in Mexico City by January 1, 2016. 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
SAUSD School Board candidate Shuntele Andrews, a retired teacher, has been endorsed by SAUSD School Board Trustee Rob Richardson, according to her Facebook page.
In February 2003, Richardson was elected to the Board of Education following a recall election and receiving 65% of the votes cast. He was re-elected in 2004 and 2008 to full four year terms. 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