New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: cecilia aguinaga

Exclusive – mosquito spraying in Santa Ana delayed

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Cecilia Aguinaga, Civic Affairs, Disease, Environment, Health and Medical, Orange County Vector Control District, Santa Ana 13 Comments

OC Mosquito Spraying Map

Spraying to kill mosquitoes in Santa Ana has been delayed and will not take place this Monday morning, according to Santa Ana’s Trustee on the Orange County Vector Control District, Cecilia Aguinaga. I spoke to her and to the director of the Vector Control District this morning. They explained that they cannot do misting of the insecticide they want to use if there is no wind and the prognosis for Monday calls for very little wind.

I asked them why Santa Ana is being sprayed and not other cities and they explained that our city is apparently a real problem with regard to mosquitoes – but only in a swath of the central part of the city, in four areas outlined in the map above. They also said that eventually the district will spray in other cities as well but that 60% of the problem is here in Santa Ana.

The areas to be sprayed run from Euclid on the West to Tustin Ave. on the East with a cluster of homes ranging from First St. on the North to Warner on the South, in between Harbor and Bristol. The majority of the areas being sprayed are in Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero’s Ward 6 and Councilman Vince Sarmiento’s Ward 1. Continue reading→

Eight candidates now running for the SAUSD School Board

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angie Rosario Cano, Cecilia Aguinaga, Education, Everlena Oliver, Mike Dalati, Politics, Rigo Rodriguez, SAUSD, Shuntele Andrews Leave a comment

Mike Dalati

More candidates jumped into the crowded race for the SAUSD School Board today. One of them was Mike Dalati, a Democrat who ran in the June Primary Election this year for OC Auditor-Controller. He lost but got over 30,000 votes, according to Smart Voter. He says that he is a Tax & Accounting Professor with H&R Block in Santa Ana and an Adjunct Professor at ORT Jewish College in Los Angeles.

Valerie Amezcua finally filed her papers. She is running as a “Probation Officer/Parent.” She has lost twice in previous campaigns. You have to believe that the title of “Probation Officer” is a real problem for Amezcua given how many people in our city likely don’t like probation officers. Continue reading→

Another retired teacher is running for the SAUSD School Board

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Audrey Noji, Education, Everlena Oliver, John Palacio, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD 1 Comment

Everlena Oliver, a retired SAUSD teacher, has pulled papers to run for the SAUSD School Board in November. According to her Linkedin profile she graduated from Santa Ana College and CSUF, with degrees in nursing, and was a Mild Moderate Specialist Educator at the SAUSD for over 16 years. She retired with pay and benefits of $98K a year according to Transparent California.

Oliver’s experience could serve the district well as the SAUSD has repeatedly been caught screwing up on Special Education. Ironically one of the other candidates, longtime incumbent John Palacio, has a son who grew up in Special Education at the SAUSD.

Other SAUSD candidates thus far include: Continue reading→

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→

Teacher’s union taking a big interest in the 2014 SAUSD School Board election?

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Audrey Noji, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Education, Eric Alderete, John Palacio, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Shuntele Andrews, Valerie Amezcua 1 Comment

Valerie Amezcua

This fall’s Santa Ana School Board race is shaping up to be perhaps the most interesting local election in awhile.

Candidates for the SAUSD School Board who already announced that they are running in November include Shuntele Andrews, a retired Valley High School teacher; Cecilia Aguinaga, a community activist who serves on the OC Vector Control Board; Eric Alderete, an attorney and Planning Commissioner; and Valerie Amezcua, a Supervising Probation Officer at the Central Youth and Family Resource Center in the City of Santa Ana.

Two SAUSD School Board Trustees are up for reelection – John Palacio and Audrey Yamagata-Noji. Both have been in office far too long. I hear Yamagata-Noji may be retiring from the School Board. I have not heard that about Palacio. I suspect he will run again. He almost has to. He says he is a political consultant but who would hire him? He needs the pay and benefits he gets from the SAUSD. Continue reading→

Fundraiser for Cecilia Aguinaga’s School Board campaign set for 6/5

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Cecilia Aguinaga, Education, Entertainment, Santa Ana, SAUSD 4 Comments

Cecilia Aguinaga, a leading candidate for the SAUSD School Board election in November, is hosting a campaign fundraising reception on June 5, from 5 to 7 pm, at The Avocado restaurant located at 2525 N. Grand Ave., in Santa Ana.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Santa Ana Councilman Vincent Sarmiento are headlining the fundraising reception. Continue reading→

Candidates for the SAUSD School Board beginning to emerge

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Education, Eric Alderete, John Palacio, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua Leave a comment

Valerie Amezcua

Rumor has it that longtime SAUSD School Board Member Audrey Yamagata-Noji is finally going to retire this year. That means her seat will open up this November. The other incumbent who is up for re-election is John Palacio.

Cecilia Aguinaga has already started campaigning. I heard today that Valerie Amezcua, who like Aguinaga has run unsuccessfully before for the SAUSD School Board, will also be in the race. And local businessman Mike Dalati appears to also be running in what is quickly turning into a crowded race. 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→

Palacio to blame for Amezcua’s loss in the SAUSD School Board race

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Editor Posted in 2012 Elections, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, David Benavides, Education, Estela Amezcua, John Palacio, Myriam Tinajero, Politics, Republican Party, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Term Limits, Vince Sarmiento 15 Comments

Valerie Amezcua

Regardless of whether or not you are a supporter of Valerie Amezcua, the daughter of failed Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua, you have to feel bad for her. She almost won a seat on the SAUSD School Board four years ago, barely losing to Roman Reyna, who vacated that seat this year and is now moving on to Ward 5 on the Santa Ana City Council.

Two years ago Amezcua had a chance to run again, and to build on her success in the 2008 election. But SAUSD Trustee John Palacio, who now considers himself to be a political consultant, got in the way. He prevented her from running out of fear that she might beat him. There were only two seats up in 2010, Palacio’s and that of his fellow incumbent, Audrey Noji. Palacio ended up keeping everyone out of that race, except for me. I was sickened to see that no Latinos were challenging Noji so I ran and lost by only 1,400 votes, with no campaign budget. Palacio ended up endorsing Noji. Continue reading→

UPDATE: Aguinaga won’t be running for the SAUSD School Board after all

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Education, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Women 11 Comments

UPDATE: Cecilia Aguinaga will not be running for the SAUSD School Board after all this year. She was considering it but family committments are taking precedence this time around and she is concerned that too many candidates are running. I ran into her tonight at the fundraiser for Santa Ana City Council candidate Eric Alderete. Aguinaga received a nice ovation when Council Member Sal Tinajero introduced her to the audience. If she runs in 2014 she will surely be a top candidate for the SAUSD School Board.

My two favorite Cecilias have pulled papers to run for the SAUSD School Board. Cecilia Aguinaga and Cecilia Iglesias are both political veterans and more importantly they are moms – and our School Board definitely needs more moms!

Aguinaga almost won back in 2006, losing to Audrey Noji by less than a thousand votes according to Smart Voter. She ran again in 2008 and was just barely edged by Valerie Amezcua, by 2.5% of the vote, according to Smart Voter. This time I think she can pull it off. Continue reading→

Updated: Verino and Amezcua to run for the SAUSD School Board

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Editor Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, Democratic Party, Education, Republican Party, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Sergio Verino, Valerie Amezcua 20 Comments

Valerie and Al Amezcua

UPDATE: Valerie Amezcua has pulled papers to run for the SAUSD Board of Education. She last ran for the SAUSD School Board in 2008, when she lost by less than a hundred votes to Roman Reyna. Reyna is running for the Santa Ana City Council in November and is walking away from the SAUSD School Board. Amezcua had a chance to run for the SAUSD School Board in 2010, but she declined to do so.

Amezcua is the daughter of local attorney Al Amezcua, who challenged Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido in 2010, losing badly. Al and Valerie both served on the Measure G Campaign Committee – helping to pass a bond measure that raised our taxes for dubious purposes (the SAUSD School District remodeled their district offices after Measure G passed). Both of the Amezcuas also supported liberal union hack candidate Julio Perez in the Open Primary, for the 69th Assembly District. Perez spent a small fortune on that race, as did his labor allies, but he lost to a Republican, Jose Moreno, who spent almost nothing on his campaign. Continue reading→

Who will run for the Santa Ana School Board in November?

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in Democratic Party, Education, Elections, Latinos, Politics, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Vietnamese 21 Comments

SAUSD Trustee Audrey Noji always finds a way to win in November…

Two of the Santa Ana Unified School District’s (SAUSD) Trustees are up for reelection in November – Audrey Noji and John Palacio. Both have been in office for many, many years.

Noji recently spoke at my 13 year old’s graduation from middle school. She spoke in three languages – English, Vietnamese and Spanish. Palacio spoke too, but only in English.

The SAUSD has been reeling for years. Most of our high schools and many of our other schools are on the State of California’s low performing list.

So far only one challenger has pulled papers – me. As a teacher and safety consultant I should have a decent shot at replacing one of the incumbents. Click here to see my campaign website.

So who else will be challenging Noji and Palacio?

So far it looks like the incumbents have managed to shut down all challengers. I spoke to Alfredo Amezcua, a candidate for Mayor of Santa Ana. He said his daughter Valerie, who ran for the SAUSD School Board in 2008, is not running this time. I also spoke to Palacio and he said the same thing.

What about Gloria Alvarado and Cecilia Aguinaga? They too ran in 2008. So far neither has filed.

Irene Ibarra already told me she is not reprising her 2008 campaign. Nor do I expect Mike Gonzalez, a local businessman who ran in 2008, to run again.

What about Gregory Barraza? He too has not pulled papers. He also ran in 2008.

I have heard rumors that a Vietnamese candidate might file. If that happens it will make it very hard for Noji to be reelected.

I expect a high Vietnamese voter turnout in November, due to Assemblyman Van Tran’s presence on the ballot, as a candidate for the 47th Congressional District. Noji is clearly going after that vote.

It is very likely that the voters will reject both incumbents because of the poor performance of the SAUSD over their tenure.

Will other candidates emerge? Maybe, but the filing deadline is coming up on Friday, Aguust 6. We will keep our readers updated as the new candidates jumpt into the race.