New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Politics

Fundraiser for SAUSD School Board candidate Aguinaga set for August 15

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Anaheim, Cecilia Aguinaga, Education, Entertainment, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD 2 Comments

Cecilia Aguinaga is hosting a fundraiser and silent auction to benefit her campaign for the SAUSD School Board on August 15, 2014, at Las Palomas Restaurant, located at 400 South Euclid St., in Anaheim, from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Cecilia was born in Jalisco, México and immigrated to the United States in 1978. She has lived more than 35 years in Santa Ana. Cecilia and her husband Armando have two sons (Ramsey and Allan) and a daughter (Sylvia). Ramsey was a police officer for the Santa Ana and Los Angeles Police Department, Allan graduated from the Culinary School of the Arts, and Sylvia graduated from University of California, Berkeley, is teaching for the Los Angeles Unified School District and is currently working towards her masters degree. Cecilia and her husband own a business in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Assemblywoman Grove to speak at the Santa Ana Republican Women Federated meeting tonight

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Entertainment, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Santa Ana Republican Women Federated are hosting a celebration of their 60th anniversary tonight, July 25, 2014, at 7 pm, at the Ebell Club of Santa Ana, located at 625 French St. in Santa Ana.

The speaker will be Assemblywoman Shannon Grove. Continue reading→

Formal complaint filed against 69th A.D. carpetbagger Sherry Walker

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Adam Nick, Anaheim, Cecilia Iglesias, Politics, Santa Ana, Sherry Walker, Tom Daly Leave a comment

Lake Forest carpetbaggers Sherry Walker and Adam Nick

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

State Assembly candidate may have violated residency requirements and acted to deceive the voters

69th Assembly District candidate Cecilia “Ceci” Iglesias calls for investigation into election irregularities and violations

Santa Ana – Cecilia “Ceci” Iglesias, who narrowly lost in the June 3 Primary Election in the 69th Assembly District, has filed a formal complaint against neophyte Republican candidate Sherry Walker. In a letter to Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s Election Fraud Investigation Unit, Iglesias alleges Walker violated residency requirements and conspired to deceive voters who live in Santa Ana and parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove and Orange. Continue reading→

Ward 2 Council candidate Velasquez to host a fundraiser on 7/30

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Entertainment, Michele Martinez, Mirna Velasquez, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

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→

Fundraiser for SAUSD School Board candidate Andrews set for July 30

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Entertainment, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Shuntele Andrews Leave a comment

Shuntele Andrews, a retired Valley High School teacher, is hosting a fundraiser for her SAUSD School Board campaign on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, from 6 to 8 pm, at Original Mike’s, located at 100 S. Main St., in Santa Ana.

Andrews is endorsed by the Santa Ana Educators’ Association.

There will be appetizers and music at this event. To RSVP email herstory63@gmail.com. Or click here for more info. Continue reading→

The June Primary Election’s turnout data bodes ill for Solorio and Quirk-Silva

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Asians, Democratic Party, Fullerton, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Latinos, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Lou Correa and Sharon Quirk-Silva

The O.C. Register asked four experts to analyze the results of this year’s June Primary election, to sort out who did and didn’t vote. The experts included our friend Scott Lay, the publisher of aroundthecapital.com.

What they concluded was:

Rich, educated people vote more.
Independent voters are less likely to vote in primaries.
Seniors vote more.
Ethnicity can influence turnout. (ie. Latinos don’t vote but Asians do)

Continue reading→

Correa and the Sanchez sisters get back half the money stolen from them

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Crime, Democratic Party, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, Politics 2 Comments

Kinde Durkee

Prominent California politicians swindled of $8 million by Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee will get back about half that money under a settlement reached this week with Durkee’s bank, according to the O.C. Register.

Politicians who will get some of the $4 million dollar settlement from First California Bank include United States Senator Dianne Feinstein, Reps. Loretta Sanchez, Linda Sanchez and Susan Davis, as well as state Sen. Lou Correa. Continue reading→

Updated: Martinez now facing two opponents in Ward 2 this November

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Gilad Salmon, Michele Martinez, Mirna Velasquez, Politics, Santa Ana 2 Comments

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→

Mayor Pulido pulls papers to run for office again this November

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Civic Affairs, Lou Correa, Mark I. Lopez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 7 Comments

Miguel Pulido, mayor of Santa Ana for the past 20 years, this week moved a step closer to ending speculation about his political future when he picked up the paperwork to run for another term, according to city records, according to the Voice of OC.

I verified this by requesting a list of candidates who have pulled papers, from City Clerk Maria Huizar.

State Senator Lou Correa has been hotly rumored to be running but he has not yet filed any papers with Huizar. Continue reading→

Mike Gonzalez announces his campaign for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Democratic Party, Mike Gonzalez, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Miguel “Mike” Gonzalez has announced his campaign for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council. That seat is currently held by Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero, who works as a public school teacher and debate team coach in Fullerton.

Gonzalez’s campaign website states:

Born in California and raised with one sibling, Miguel Gonzalez, learned early on the value of hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. He graduated at the top of his high school class and led his football team to a state championship victory, all while working a part-time job as a security guard.
Continue reading→

Fundraiser for Ward 2 candidate Mirna Velasquez set for July 17

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Entertainment, Mirna Velasquez, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

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→

The Santa Ana City Council runs for cover as they reject their own raise proposal

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Lou Correa, Marijuana, Michele Martinez, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 8 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council unanimously rejected their own ballot measure proposal, which was Agenda Item # 65A, to give themselves what amounted to a 700% pay raise. We have been hammering them on this issue for weeks – even posting an article about how much this Council really makes. I surmise that they finally realized this was going to kill their re-election campaigns. Council Members Michele Martinez and David Benavides as well as Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero are all up for re-election this November.

The ballot measure proposal they killed included revisions to the Code of Ethics and to their own campaign finance rules. Remarkably the Council was proposing to accept campaign contributions from residents and business owners who were asking for licenses or permits.

I think the gorilla in the room tonight was the possibility that State Senator Lou Correa will be running for Mayor of Santa Ana. This rumor has now been confirmed by multiple sources and I believe he will be running regardless of what Mayor Miguel Pulido decides to do. You can bet that Correa will win and I am certain that he will find candidates to oppose the Council Members who are up for re-election if they don’t start getting in line. Continue reading→

The City Council wants you to give them a gigantic raise!

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, Politics, Santa Ana 10 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council has cobbled together a real Frankenstein’s Monster of a ballot measure that has one main goal – to give the City Council Members a huge raise! They are going to be considering this measure at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, this week.

What the City Council Members are proposing comes from California Government Code Section 36516, which states in part:

A city council may enact an ordinance providing that each member of the city council shall receive a salary based on the population of the city as set forth in paragraph (2).
(2) The salaries approved by ordinance under paragraph (1) shall be as follows:
(F) In cities over 250,000 population, up to and including one thousand dollars ($1,000) per month.

Continue reading→

Three Council Members seek to ban medical marijuana collectives

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Crime, David Benavides, Drugs, Marijuana, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 25 Comments

Three Santa Ana City Council Members, including Michele Martinez, David Benavides and Angie Amezcua have placed an 85A item on the agenda for this Tuesday’s City Council meeting, regarding medical marijuana.

These Council Members would like to place a measure on the November General Election ballot that would allow voters to vote against the sale of medical marijuana by collectives/dispensaries. Continue reading→

Meet Sherry Walker and Adam Nick aka Shehrzad Rahgozar and Afshin Nikmanesh

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Adam Nick, Anaheim, Politics, Republican Party, Sherry Walker 5 Comments

Lake Forest carpetbaggers Sherry Walker and Adam Nick, aka Shehrzad Rahgozar and Afshin Nikmanesh.

We finally found solid evidence that Sherry Walker, the carpetbagging Republican candidate for the 69th Assembly District, may have lied to the Voter Registrar of Orange County and to the voters. Case number 30-2014-00698760-CU-PT-CJC of the Orange County Superior Court shows that she changed her name, from Shehrzad Rahgozar to Sherry Walker on March 5, 2014. She started the name change process on January 16, 2014.

The address she listed was 25422 Trabuco Road #105-255, in Lake Forest. That happens to be the same address used by Adam Nick and Associates. Nick is her husband – and he is running for the 46th Congressional District as a carpetbagger from Lake Forest. He changed his name too. His real name is Afshin Nikmanesh. Continue reading→