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Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: charles hart

Can two Latinas in Santa Ana save the OC GOP from itself?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Brett Franklin, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Democratic Party, Latino Leaders, Latinos, Lupe Moreno, Myriam Tinajero, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 11 Comments

Now OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh is singing a different tune – in the wake of the overwhelming defeat of the Republican Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, by President Barack Obama. I saw Baugh on Rick Reiff’s post-election TV show and he admitted that the GOP better figure out immigration. That is the message that both Iglesias and Onofre are now espousing as well.

Iglesias was victorious in her campaign for the SAUSD School Board. In fact she defeated two Democrats – Valerie Amezcua and Myriam Tinajero, who were supported by liberal SAUSD Trustee John Palacio and by the unions. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Clerk announces the 2012 Nov. 6 election results

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Brett Franklin, Charles Hart, David Benavides, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, George Collins, Karina Onofre, Lupe Moreno, Measure GG, Miguel Angel Briseno, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: 2012 UNOFFICIAL LOCAL SANTA ANA ELECTION RESULTS

SANTA ANA, CA (November 7, 2012) – In an effort to keep Santa Ana residents informed about the local election, the following information is provided. As of 11/07/2012 at 8 am, the Orange County Registrar of Voters Office has released the following results. Please note that this information is UNOFFICIAL until certified on December 11, 2012. For complete election information, please go to http://www.ocvote.com/results.

Santa Ana Mayor, Vote Count Percentage: Continue reading→

Santa Ana Election results – Pulido far ahead and Amezcua winning in Ward 3!

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Bond Measures, Brett Franklin, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Chapel, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Eric Alderete, Estela Amezcua, George Collins, Jose Hernandez, Mark McLoughlin, Measure GG, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows, Steve Rocco, Thomas Gordon, Tony Tapia, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

Two winners – Mayor Miguel Pulido and President Barack Obama

As expected, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is winning handily tonight.  The O.C. Voter Registrar has posted the early returns, which are absentee ballots. Here are some of the evening’s highlights:

  • Mayor Miguel Pulido has a whopping 7,454 votes – David Benavides only has 3,676 votes.  George Collins is nipping at Benavides’ heels with 2,523 votes
  • In a shocker, the unknown schoolteacher Angelica Amezcua is leading in Ward 3, with 6,637 votes, while Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Eric Alderete has 5,097 votes and former Council Member Brett Franklin has 4,172 votes.  It is early yet but if this trend continues then Franklin has a good shot as the Latino vote in Ward 3 is clearly split.  There are however three candidates splitting up the white vote – Charles Hart, Shane Barrows and Steve Rocco. Continue reading→

A look at the Santa Ana Council candidates campaign finance reports

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Brett Franklin, Charles Hart, David Benavides, Elections, Eric Alderete, Karina Onofre, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 12 Comments

The Santa Ana City Clerk, Mary Huizar, sent me the Santa Ana Council and Mayoral candidates’ new campaign finance reports today.  You can read them all by clicking here.   The reports are a heck of a read – for one thing it looks like Ward 3 candidate Eric Alderete raised more money than all of the other candidates.

Here is a rundown of the reports’ highlights: Continue reading→

The O.C. Lincoln Club rejects most of the Santa Ana Republican candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Elections, George Collins, Karina Onofre, Lupe Moreno, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 3 Comments

The Orange County Lincoln Club PAC has endorsed Tea Party Republican Charles Hart for the Santa Ana City Council, even though he is a government worker, but ignored small businessman George Collins, the OC GOP-endorsed candidate for Santa Ana Mayor, and Lupe Moreno, the Minuteman who is also running for Santa Ana Mayor. 

They also inexplicably blew off newly minted Republican Karina Onofre, who is running for Ward 5 against the DPOC-endorsed Roman Reyna, but they did endorse Cecilia Iglesias for the SAUSD School Board.  Continue reading→

Politicians, ninjas and a bear show up at the 2012 Fiestas Patrias parade

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Eric Alderete, Jose Solorio, Karina Onofre, Latinos, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, mexico, Miguel Pulido, Patriotism, Politics, Republican Party, Rob Richardson, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 9 Comments

The Santa Ana 2012 Fiestas Patrias parade ran for about an hour and a half today, starting at 4 pm.  I got there a few minutes late and missed Mayor Miguel Pulido, who was apparently riding in a Wells Fargo stagecoach, but I caught everyone else.

Above you wil find a slideshow of the politicians and the floats, and everything else.  The parade featured men on horseback, someone in a bear costume, native dancers, and even a couple of ninjas. 

Here are some of the high, or low lights to look for: Continue reading→

The new Santa Ana Council majority will crumble after the election

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Charles Hart, David Benavides, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 16 Comments

If there is one thing I can guarantee going into the November elections, it is that the current Santa Ana City Council is destined to crumble.  Already the coalition that is backing Council Member David Benavides is showing signs of cracking.

We exposed this week one of Benavides’ supporters after she reached out to the Charles Hart Ward 3 campaign – a slap to the face of Eric Alderete, the Ward 3 candidate who has sided with the crumbling majority.  Alderete has already distanced himself from Team Benavides. Continue reading→

Benavides’ supporters caught betraying his ally, Alderete

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Charles Hart, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Eric Alderete, John Palacio, Miguel Pulido, Myriam Tinajero, Politics, Republican Party, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua, Vince Sarmiento 32 Comments

Valerie Amezua, David Benavides and company – but no Eric Alderete

Santa Ana mayoral candidate David Benavides and his supporters would like us to think that he represents some kind of revolution, but in truth he is working with Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects – the mostly Republican, angry, older anti-Latino busy bodies that ran City Hall for far too long.

The Usual Suspects are the folks who passed laws against drying your laundry in the backyard; who limited garage sales to four per year; who worked to get rid of jobs – targeting those who deliver printed marketing materials to homes and those who stand on street corners twirling signs to build up local businesses.  These are the gentrifiers who bemoan the fact that Santa Ana became a Latino majority city and who put bear locks on their trash cans to keep the homeless from collecting their bottles and cans. Continue reading→

The Republicans who are trying to take back Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Brett Franklin, Carlos Bustamante, Cecilia Iglesias, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, George Collins, Janet Nguyen, Jerry Hayden, Karina Onofre, Loretta Sanchez, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics, Republican Party, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Thomas Gordon, Tom Daly, Tony Tapia, Valerie Amezcua Leave a comment

Robert Hammond, promoting the GOP

Orange County’s Democrats are generally clueless, but this past June they were particularly out of sorts.  They inexplicably gave Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen a free pass, allowing her to focus on electing her fellow Republican, and gay-basher, Robert Hammond as he won a seat on the O.C. Department of Education’s Board of Trustees.

And the Democrats managed to fumble away Orange County’s most Latino seat, allowing it to go to Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly, who has since been charged with sexual harassment in the workplace.  If they had gotten behind Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez she might have prevailed in June.  Instead organized labor put up their guy, Julio Perez, splitting the Latino vote and allowing Daly to prevail. Continue reading→

SAUSD Trustee candidate Iglesias endorsed by the OC GOP

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Charles Hart, Education, Orange County, Republican Party, Robert Hammond, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Thomas Gordon 8 Comments

I am not sure why exactly SAUSD Trustee candidate Cecilia Iglesias returned to the Republican Party, but she did and tonight she was rewarded by the OC GOP Endorsement Committee with an endorsement.  The value of that endorsement aside, what she had to go through to get that endorsement is worth reviewing.

Here is a blow-by-blow account courtesy of the OC Political Blog: Continue reading→

Eric Alderete to hold another fundraiser, but this time in Los Angeles

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Brett Franklin, Charles Hart, Democratic Party, Elections, Eric Alderete, Lawyers, Politics, Santa Ana, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows 12 Comments

Santa Ana Ward 3 candidate Eric Alderete is hosting another fundraiser – but this time it is going to be held in Los Angeles, not in Santa Ana, at the offices of mega-corporate law firm DLA Piper.

Here are the event details, courtesy of Facebook: Continue reading→

Will SAUSD Trustee John Palacio run for Santa Ana’s Ward 3?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Brett Franklin, Carlos Bustamante, Charles Hart, Democratic Party, Elections, Eric Alderete, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Shane Ramon Barrows 9 Comments

Editor’s Note: This picture is not doctored. This is John Palacio.

I am hearing from multiple sources today that SAUSD Trustee John Palacio is inexplicably considering running for our City Council’s Ward 3.  There are already several candidates including Planning Commissioner Eric Alderete, who has the support of almost the entire City Council (Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez has not endorsed anyone yet); O.C. middle manager Charles Hart, a Republican; former Santa Ana City Council Member Brett Franklin, who has Mayor Miguel Pulido’s endorsement; Park Santiago resident Shane Ramon Barrows, a cop in Irvine; former Orange School Board Member Steve Rocco, and Ana Rebecca Valencia-Verdin, a friend of current Ward 3 Councilman Carlos Bustamante, who lives in Floral Park.

Palacio was first elected to the SAUSD School Board in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010. He was appointed Board President in 1998, re-appointed in 1999 and served again in 2001.  He is involved in the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund, but I am not sure in what capacity as his name does not show up on their financial reports.   Continue reading→

Steve Rocco becomes fifth candidate to announce for Ward 3

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, Democratic Party, Eric Alderete, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Shane Barrows, Shane Ramon Barrows, Steve Rocco 10 Comments

It looks like Steve Rocco is back.  According to Santa Ana neighborhood leader Connie Hamilton, Rocco has pulled papers to run for Ward 3 on the Santa Ana City Council.  He previously ran for Ward 3 back in 2008.

Here is a rundown of the many races Rocco has been involved in over the years:

  • Nov 7, 2000 – Ran against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido.  Got 5,733 votes according to Smart Voter.
  • Nov. 5, 2002 – Ran against Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee John Hanna.  Got 19,247 votes according to Smart Voter.
  • Nov. 2, 2004 – Ran against Phil Martinez for the Orange Unified School District’s Board of Education.  Rocco won this race with 33,503 votes according to Smart Voter.  Red County blogger Matt Cunningham admitted afterwards that he voted for Rocco rather than vote for his Latino Democrat opponent. Continue reading→

Irvine police officer Shane Barrows running for Santa Ana’s Ward 3

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, African Americans, Carlos Bustamante, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, Democratic Party, Eric Alderete, irvine, Politics, Santa Ana, Shane Ramon Barrows 13 Comments

Are you ready for yet another candidate for Santa Ana’s Ward 3?  Park Santiago resident Shane Ramon Barrows has pulled papers for the City Council, but he says he won’t be accepting political contributions.  I never do either when I run for office, so I can appreciate that.

Barrows is joining an already crowded race that features Orange County middle manager Charles Hart, who lost badly in his run for Mayor two years ago; former Council Member Brett Franklin; and Planning Commissioner Eric Alderete, who has to be considered the early favorite as the only Latino in the race.  Most folks believe that the Ward 3 incumbent, Carlos Bustamante, will not stand for reelection, as he is facing serious felony charges of sex crimes and public theft. Continue reading→

Pulido scrambling to stop a mayoral term limit ballot measure

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Charles Hart, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Eric Alderete, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana, Shane Barrows, Term Limits, Vince Sarmiento 8 Comments

Sources at City Hall are telling me that Mayor Miguel Pulido is working overtime to stop an attempt by the Santa Ana City Council to draft a term limit measure that will eventually end his career as Mayor of Santa Ana.

The City Council appointed an Ad Hoc committee to consider term limits.  The term limit committee includes Council Members Michele Martinez, David Benavides and Vince Sarmiento. That committee will present their findings to their colleagues at the next Santa Ana City Council meeting.  It is thought that the committee will show up with a prepared ballot measure that the voters will be able to consider in the November general election. Continue reading→