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Tag Archives: alfredo amezcua

How and why I ended up helping Pulido to defeat Amezcua last year

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Ream, David Benavides, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Sean Mill, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

Former Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream was not a fan of the Orange Juice blog

I have taken a lot of heat over the past couple of years because I ended up supporting Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido for Mayor last year – and I was retained by his consultant to design his campaign blog. This left a few of my friends scratching their heads.

I fought Pulido and his allies for over fifteen years – and flayed them onthe political blog I created, the Orange Juice. The Orange Juice blog changed Santa Ana politics.  It broke down the barriers built up by now retired Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream.  We went after him and his allies with such a vengeance that they monitored our site all day long.   Continue reading→

Amezcua’s old pal Ojeda, of the Mexican Mafia, gets busted again

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Courts, Crime, Gangs, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana 10 Comments

A chill must have gone up failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua’s spine this morning when he cracked open the newspaper and found out that “Federal and state authorities charged 99 alleged Orange County gang members with crimes including murder, drug trafficking and extortion, at least half or whom were associated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang,” according to NPR. Continue reading→

Alfredo Amezcua crashes Michele Martinez’ Santa Ana candidate meeting

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Elections, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 24 Comments

Failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua strolled into Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez’ meeting this morning, at the Corner Bakery located at the CityPlace, as if he owned the place.  He even refused to shake hands with a local resident at the meeting.

Martinez held the meeting to give those interested in running for local office in Santa Ana a chance to meet her, and to give advice to any residents interested in seeking public office. Continue reading→

The Usual Suspects return, to try to stop the Chivas from coming to Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Latinos, Miguel Pulido, Neighborhood Associations, Politics, Redevelopment, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Sports 14 Comments

Pictured above: Debbie McEwen, a member of the Usual Suspects’ coalition against the Chivas Soccer team

They’re back…the folks I used to refer to as the “Usual Suspects” have come together again. This time they are ticked off about Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s ongoing attempts to bring the Chivas soccer team to Santa Ana.
Here is what the Voice of OC has reported about the resurgence of the “Usual Suspects:”

With rumors swirling about a potential pro soccer expansion into Santa Ana, some 50 residents gathered Wednesday night to complain about potential traffic, noise and other problems that soccer games could create.

Residents opposed to the move appear to be circulating a protest petition. They are particularly incensed over rumors that Mayor Miguel Pulido is holding private meetings aimed at bringing the team to the city while avoiding any input from residents.

Tom Lutz, a former council member, hosted the residents at his home. He said he found out about the negotiations and possible move only because of old contacts he has at City Hall.

Lutz said he understands that if the soccer team comes to the city, its first home would be Santa Ana Stadium. If true, that would displace football teams of local high schools like Mater Dei and Century, according to Lutz. The move also would mean Santa Ana College’s football team could lose access to the stadium, he said.

At the end of the meeting, residents formed a committee to prevent the team from coming to the city. The committee includes Rush, Lutz, Don Cribb, Alfredo Amezcua, Thomas Gordon, Dave Brandt, and Debbie McEwen.

Note that failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua is now a full-fledged member of the Usual Suspects. Latino voters will remember this when Amezcua comes begging for votes the next time he runs for Mayor.

I am not buying the silly argument about the school sports programs getting kicked out of Eddie West Stadium. Note that none of the new Usual Suspects are on the SAUSD School board – and not one of them has any children enrolled in our SAUSD schools. In fact most of them aren’t even married, or are too old to have kids.

What these NIMBYs don’t realize is the tremendous economic impact that the Chivas will have on our city. Nor do they care that the majority of our residents will be thrilled to welcome the Chivas to town.

I also don’t buy the open space argument. The Willowick golf course is not of any use to the thousands of residents in Santa Ana who don’t play golf, or cannot afford to do so. But the proposed Chivas complex will include new soccer fields that will be a huge boon to the young people of our city.

If the Usual Suspects want more open space they should join the dying lawn bowling league at Santiago Park, or go jog in our cemeteries.

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government reveals their Board members

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Politics, Santa Ana 9 Comments

The Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government, a Political Action Committee, finally posted the members of their Board of  Directors tonight, on their website, after we prodded them to do so.  Here they are:

CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • President Arturo Lomeli – Downtown property owner: He is a dentist.  He also owns property in Downtown Santa Ana and leases out office space.  He is a Republican and he lives in wealthy Orange Park Acres.
  • John Acosta – Former Santa Ana mayor pro tem: Like Lomeli, Acosta is a Republican.  He served on the Santa Ana City Council many years ago.  He no longer lives in Santa Ana.
  • Jeff Dickman – Friends of Lacy neighborhood: Dickman was booted off the City of Santa Ana’s Historical Resources Commission.  He led a lawsuit against the City of Santa Ana which cost taxpayers thousands of dollars and stuck us with dilapidated buildings that the City cannot even give away.
  • Albert Castillo – Chicano Unidos member: He used to be a staunch supporter of Mayor Miguel Pulido, back in the day.
  • Debbie McEwen – French Park resident: I believe she is a Republican, but am not sure.  That is her picture atop this post, flipping me the one finger salute, at a Santa Ana City Council meeting.  She is notorious for complaining about her Latino neighbors to the Santa Ana Code Enforcement Agency.  She led the charge to install illegal traffic barriers in her neighborhood, but was defeated by the ACLU.  They correctly surmised that the barriers were racist and illegal.
  • Valerie Amezcua – Morrison Park resident: She is the daughter of failed Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua.  She lost a close race for the SAUSD School Board, to Roman Reyna, a couple years ago.
  • Luis Ortiz Franco – Los Amigos of Orange County
  • Gabriela Gonzalez – Community Volunteer
  • Raquel Lomeli – Downtown property owner: She is married to Art Lomeli.
  • Francisco Barragan – Business and community leader: He is a former Marine.  He belongs to quite a few community organizations.  He is also a CPA.  He used to write for this blog.  He drank the Amezcua Kool Aid unfortunately.
  • Alfredo Amezcua – Attorney/Business Property Owner: He got caught when he got elected to the Rancho Santiago Community College District – but was living in a different ward.  He resigned and later ran for Mayor of Santa Ana, last year, losing badly to Mayor Miguel Pulido, despite spending a quarter million dollars on his campaign.  He is a criminal defense attorney who has defended some of the worst drug dealers and gang bangers in Orange County, over the years.  It should be noted that he has also supported every major tax increase (via bond measures) that we have been stuck with here in Santa Ana, over the past decade.

There you go.  This organization appears to be a mixture of Republicans, malcontents, questionable politicians and litigious residents.  I have yet to see any concrete good ideas from these folks, but predictably they are making Code Enforcement a focus, which comes as no surprise given the involvement of McEwen on their Board.  Any organization that includes the likes of McEwen is not to be trusted by the people of Santa Ana, IMHO.

It could be a free-for-all for Solorio’s Assembly seat in 2012

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Elections, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 4 Comments

It is beginning to look like a free-for-all for Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s 69th Assembly District seat, which includes most of Santa Ana and parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Tustin and Orange, in 2012.

I am hearing that Santa Ana City Councilman Vincent Sarmiento is not going to run after all.  I cannot blame him.  Term limits would limit him to three two-year terms – and having to move to Sacramento would be tough on his family and his law practice. Plus Sarmiento could end up being our next Mayor if Mayor Pulido retires in the near future.

Looking at the rest of the Santa Ana City Council Members, it is tough to figure which one might run for Solorio’s seat.  Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez would likely win this time, after losing to Solorio a few years ago, but she has a good job as an Assistant O.C. District Attorney.  She will also be a top candidate for Santa Ana Mayor if Mayor Pulido retires.

Councilman Sal Tinajero has a good job as a Fullerton teacher and debate team coach.  He too has young kids and while he could move his family up to Sacramento, it would surely be a hardship for them.

That leaves Council Members Michele Martinez and David Benavides, as I don’t expect Mayor Pulido to run for anything other than re-election in 2012.

Of the two, I prefer Martinez.  She works for a non-profit involved with childhood obesity, and the move to Sacramento would mean a bigger salary for her.  More importantly, she works well with others and is fairly progressive.  She might we be more effective than Solorio, who has done a good job but he tends to be overly status quo.

Benavides works in the mortgage industry.  He seems like a good guy but his friendship with Minuteman Lupe Moreno is a problem for me.  He also has far too many Republican allies for my taste.

Solorio may not back any of these people.  He has hired O.C. Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly’s wife, who used to be a county lobbyist.  Daly, in turn, has hired AUHSD School Board Trustee Jordan Brandman.  Either Daly or Brandman could run, even though they would both be carpetbaggers, from what I am told.  They have ample time to move into the district.  Neither one has a solid record with regard to Latinos, in my opinion.

Anaheim City Councilwoman Lorri Galloway is terming out in 2012.  She too could run for Solorio’s seat.

What about the Republicans?  They have no shot at this seat.  Nor do they have any viable candidates.  The GOP is a non-sequitur in the 69th A.D.  Even after redistricting they are not likely to pick up this seat.

One guy who could really toss a monkey-wrench into the works is Alfredo Amezcua, who got blown out by Mayor Pulido last year.  Amezcua could win the 69th if he is willing to spend another quarter million of his own money.  He would have a better shot at the 69th, ironically enough, than he would running for Mayor again.

UPDATE:

A reader sent me a note today indicating that Julio Perez, the Political Director at the OC Labor Federation, is apparently thinking of running for Solorio’s seat.  He has no previous experience running for office, as far as I know.

The OC Labor Federation has an awful record of spending millions on failed candidates, such as Republican John Leos, who lost in a first-time bid for the Anaheim City Council last year.  Good luck Julio…

Get to know the Santa Ana Kiwanis at a free lunch or dinner this week

Posted on by Posted in Entertainment, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Enjoy a free lunch or dinner at the Santa Ana Kiwanis this Wednesday, March 16, at noon, at the Ebell Club, located at 625 French St., in Santa Ana, or on Thursday, at 6:30 pm, at Knowlwood’s Restaurant, located at 2107 E. 17th, in Santa Ana.

If you attend the lunch on Wednesday, park in the parking lot on the Mortimer Street entrance.

Click here to RSVP via email, or call Membership Committee Chair Herb Michel at 714-541-3361, or Public Relations Committee Chair Alfredo Amezcua, at 714-835-3538.

Kiwanis of Santa Ana is an organization of Volunteers who come together to make our Community a better place.  This is accomplished by developing programs to enhance the education, recreation and safety of children, young adults and their families.

 

New labor-backed study alleges that special interests influence planning decisions

Posted on by Posted in Affordable Housing, Alfredo Amezcua, Anaheim, Development, Planning, Politics, Redevelopment, Santa Ana 8 Comments

MEDIA ADVISORY: February 7, 2011

CONTACT: Robert Nothoff, 949-433-0541 (mobile)

New Research Documents Influence of Special Interests in Local Planning Decisions

ORANGE COUNTY, CA – Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) today released a new report—The Rubber Stamp Process: Broken Governance in Planning and Development and How Communities Can Regain a Voice—which details structural flaws in the local planning processes in Anaheim and Santa Ana that favor special interests over local residents.

―Now more than ever, we need economic development in Orange County, but people won’t support it if they lose confidence in the political process, said Robert Nothoff, OCCORD Policy Analyst and Rubber Stamp Process co-author. ―The planning process is broken: Communities don’t have an equal voice to counter special interests, and elected leaders are between a rock and a hard place as they look for ways to balance the budget.

Findings of The Rubber Stamp Process include:

  • Outside interests have disproportionate sway over local politics, as 70% of all individual and corporate political contributions in Anaheim and Santa Ana came from outside city boundaries.
  • The top five Economic Sectors (NAICS) accounted for 63% of overall contributions to successful Mayoral and City Council races, including several development-related sub-industries.
  • Local planning commissions do not represent every neighborhood or the general public as a whole. In Anaheim and Santa Ana, over half of all planning commissioners between 2000 – 2010 came from relatively affluent neighborhoods that represent less than 20% of the total population.
  • Development projects move forward even when the public strongly disagrees with them. In Anaheim and Santa Ana, 87 new development projects were presented between 2005 and 2010.  21 were met with overwhelming community opposition, yet 20 of the 21 were approved.
  • Other significant barriers to public participation exist: Inadequate notification, ineffective public hearings (public input sought at end vs. beginning of process), and constraints on city planners.

To produce The Rubber Stamp Process, OCCORD collected and tracked all 5,600 donations made to successful Mayoral and City Council candidates in Anaheim and Santa Ana between 2004 and 2010; reviewed occupational backgrounds and geographic locations of all planning commissioners in the two cities between 2000 and 2010; and based on 3,898 pages of City Council minutes, analyzed the City Council approval rate for all new development projects in those cities between 2005 and 2010. A copy of
The Rubber Stamp Process is available on OCCORD’s website at www.occord.org/rubberstamp.

The report offers four broad policy principles to remedy the current structural bias: (1) Encourage public participation early in the development process by raising public awareness and increasing outreach to neighborhoods before important decisions are made; (2) level the playing field by ensuring that all costs and benefits for a project are taken into account and increasing transparency in the decision-making process; (3) empower every neighborhood to have a voice in development decisions that affect its quality
of life; and (4) make elected and appointed officials more accountable to the communities they represent.

―The bias we observed goes beyond the actions of any single city, elected leader, or political party. It’s about who decides what happens to our communities: Out-of-town developers or the people who live and work there, said Nothoff. ―The solution is to give communities a real voice in the planning process.

Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) is a nonprofit organization committed to economic development that benefits everyone who lives and works in Orange County’s diverse communities.

###

Click here to see the graphics associated with this study.

In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua is listed as a “Champion Funder” of this organization, according to OCCORD’s website.  Moreover, their Board of Directors is totally dominated by organized labor, which is of course a special interest.  Their Board also includes Amezcua backer Amin David, of the Anaheim Los Amigos.  David is also listed as a funder or this organization.  Lastly, their Staff is also dominated by labor representatives.

OCCORD is an advocate for Community Benefit Accords – these are compacts with developers that force the developers to spend thousands of dollars mollifying the OCCORD activists.  Close to 100% of the CBAs advocated by OCCORD fail when developers realize they don’t have to listen to these unelected people.

The study fails to note that organized labor spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last year trying, fruitlessly, to elect John Leos to the Anaheim City Council – and labor figured heavily in Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s campaign as well.  Labor money often is hidden in Independent Expenditures or arrives in the form of precinct walkers, which does not show up on campaign finance reports.

It is not illegal to accept campaign donations from sources outside of one’s city.  That is  a common practice.  In fact Amezcua has started a PAC called the Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government, which is led by three of Amezcua’s allies who don’t live in Santa Ana, including Art Lomeli, who lives in wealthy Orange Park Acres and John Acosta, who lives in Anaheim.

The Planning Commissioners in Anaheim and Santa Ana are appointed by City Council representatives elected by the people who live in those cities.  It doesn’t matter where they live.  They serve at the pleasure of the Council Members who appoint them.

While Planning Commissions often approve development projects that face community opposition, the question one must ponder is whether that opposition consists of more than a few dozen people.  The most hotly contested development in Santa Ana – the One Broadway Tower, was approved by the voters, yet today a handful of opponents continue to tie this project up in court – even though the project will provide almost three thousand good-paying jobs to union contractors.  How ironic.

The people involved in OCCORD are also allied with the folks who are suing to stop the Transit District development in Santa Ana, although it would have provided a substantial amount of affordable housing.  Again, how ironic, as affordable housing is supposedly one of OCCORD’s missions.

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 City Council pushing for transparency, whether Ream likes it or not

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Politics, Santa Ana 11 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council majority has about had it with City Manager Dave Ream and his staff.  One Council Member I spoke to this week said that it was time for Ream to move on.

What set this off?

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez complained at a recent Santa Ana City Council meeting that city staff was hiding information from the City Council regarding spending.

Alvarez requested memos, which lay out contracts and loan programs worth more than the city’s $25,000 limit. She declined to comment further; other council members either did not return phone calls or said they were still reviewing the memos and could not comment, according to the O.C. Register.

It is highly ironic that failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua and his Anaheim Amigos held a press conference this month demanding transparency when that is exactly what Alvarez and her Council majority are about to deliver.  They surely won’t get any credit from Amezcua and his band of malcontents.

This could all be bad news for Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream, whose staff has been involved in under-informing the City Council about spending.

Community Redevelopment Director Cynthia Nelson in particular has come under fire for spending hundreds of thousands of city dollars without letting the City Council know who was getting the money.

Alvarez said millions may have been spent by Nelson – much of it for facade improvement in the City’s downtown, according to the Voice of OC.

One of Ream’s assistants told me this week that there were no problems with city spending – and she was not too happy with Alvarez’s questions.  But other Council Members have about had it and I think they mean it.  If I were a betting man I would wager that heads may be rolling soon…

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 press conference turns out to be a giant waste of time

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 16 Comments

I attended the Los Amigos press conference today, which was held in their usual meeting place – a German restaurant in Anaheim.  As I expected, it was a giant waste of time.  I wrote about their complaints yesterday.  You can read that post by clicking here.

And I was not surprised to see that failed mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua was pulling all the strings.  He and his assistant kept pulling the Chairman of Los Amigos, Amin David, aside, ostensibly to whisper directions to him.

The press conference was conducted by my friend Francisco Barragan, who did a good job with very weak material. Essentially he is asking the Orange County Grand Jury to investigate the Santa Ana City Council, but none of his charges are at all salient.  They are all groundless.

I had the opportunity to ask questions and I took advantage of that.  Amezcua, of course, got up and left the room as soon as I started asking questions.

I asked if Barragan was aware that Assemblyman Jose Solorio was on the Santa Ana City Council in 2002, when the severance package with now retired City Attorney Joe Fletcher was negotiated.  He was not.  I asked if he intended to investigate wht Solorio did on that Council.  His reply was that Los Amigos was asking for everyone to be investigated – but he only called out Mayor Miguel Pulido and Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez by name.

Barragan also complained that SAPD Police Chief Paul Walters called voters, via a robo-call, during work hours.  I then asked if Barragan was aware that robo calls are made by computers and that Chief Walters was not personally on the phone with the voters.  He appeared to be flustered by that question.

He then played the audio of the robo call, wherein Walters asked why Amezcua was insisting that he was endorsed by Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, when she in fact endorsed Mayor Pulido.  That is a legitimate good point.  Sanchez did NOT endorse Amezcua.  Barragan insisted that she “supported” Amezcua, but if you look up the word “endorse” in a dictionary, you will find it is synonymous with the word “support.”  This complaint was just more splitting hairs by Los Amigos!

It should be noted that former LAPD Chief William Bratton publicly endorsed L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the last time he ran.  So did L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca.  Public safety officials often lend their support to politicians.  Walters did nothing wrong and he did not deserve to be slandered by Los Amigos.

At one point, Voice of OC reporter Adam Elmahrek mentioned that Supervisor John Moorlach said that back-pay for public employees was illegal.  Of course Barragan agreed.

I then asked Barragan if that means Los Amigos is against the back-pay pensions that the O.C. public employees received a few years ago – that of course is what Moorlach’s comment, which Elmahrek took out of context, was about.

And again Barragan was quite flustered by my question.  I felt bad for him.  He is a good man and deserves better than to be publicly used by the likes of Amezcua.

Finally, Barragan refused to take any more of my questions, so I left.  I was courteous and professional but nevertheless one of those in attendance asked if I was there as a reporter or as an activist.  I said both.  I was there as a reporter and as a twenty year resident of Santa Ana.

The people of Santa Ana voted in November to keep Mayor Pulido in office.  It is sad to see the Los Amigos bunch wasting our time with a public display of sour grapes.  Even O.C. Register reporter Doug Irving noticed that.  He asked Barragan if Los Amigos would still be holding this press conference if Amezcua won.  Barragan said yes, but we all knew right away that this was all about Amezcua spending a quarter million and still getting rejected by the voters.

Pulido keeps it positive at swearing in ceremony

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

While failed Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua and about 15 of his unhappy followers froze outside, the Santa Ana City Council Members and Mayor Miguel Pulido were sworn in on Tuesday evening.  Later on they convened at the Bowers Museum for more festivities.

For Council Member Michele Martinez the evening was special.  She asked Jeff Bishop, an administrator at the SAUSD, to swear her in.  Some years ago he decided to work with her rather than expel her from Santa Ana High School.  As we all now know, his decision directly led her to where she is today.  Martinez wrote about this on her blog, where she also mentioned her mother, who recently passed away.

Pulido laid out a list of priorities that included more jobs, a mass-transit line through downtown, more street trees and a renewed focus on health. He described Santa Ana as a “magical place.”  “At the end of the day,” he said, “if things are working well, you’re seeing good results, then we’re doing our jobs,” according to the O.C. Register.

Congratulations to all the Council Members and to Mayor Pulido.  Kudos to Pulido for keeping his message positive.  What a contrast between his message and Amezcua’s “discontented vigil.”

I look forward to working with our City Council to find ways to better ways to serve the public.