Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: city council

An open letter to the Santa Ana City Council, by Tim Hirota

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 19 Comments

An open letter to the Santa Ana City Council… 

“I was not very excited or happy that Miguel didn’t want to do a nationwide search when we had the opportunity. He (Mayor Pulido) forced Paul on us.”  –  Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez

 “The reality is that maybe it’s time to take a leap of faith and bring in new people who can lead the city in a new direction” –  Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez 

Councilmembers of Santa Ana, since it seems clear that Michele Martinez has become the unofficial spokesperson for you, in the matter of the Walters “baby with the bathwater” termination, I’d like to comment on two statements she’s made during this flap. Continue reading→

Martinez blows up as Mouet allegedly dumps the Park Rangers

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Gerardo Mouet, Michele Martinez, Parks and Recreation, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Santa Ana Park Ranger

Did you notice how out of control Santa Ana Council Woman Michele Martinez appeared at the last Council meeting?  I have been hearing for some time that she has become unhinged and has taken to making ridiculous demands at City Hall.  Diva?  You bet.

And now she has done it again.  According to my sources, she blew a gasket this week when her pals at the SEIU whined about the Santa Ana Park Rangers getting axed. Continue reading→

Updated: Walters will accept a negotiated exit

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 41 Comments

Paul Walters Fired

UPDATED: Reportedly Paul Walters is going to negotiate an exit from Santa Ana’s City Hall and won’t be returning to the SAPD.  I am told that he cares too much about the rich history of the SAPD and is afraid that if he returns to there the Council will undermine him and hurt the department.   Best of luck to Walters, who deserved better than this, after 42 years of service to the people of Santa Ana.

“The Santa Ana City Council was scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the terms of its separation from City Manager Paul Walters, which could include a request for a public hearing on behalf of the fired administrator,” according to the L.A. Times. Continue reading→

Council to meet behind closed doors again tonight regarding dismissal of Walters

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Entertainment, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 17 Comments

Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters

The Santa Ana City Council has agendized a clsoed door session to take place tonight at 5 pm.  The topic?  Dismissing City Manager Paul Walters.  Details below.

This is a chance to show up and let them have it again – if they allow for any public comments. If not, at least we can bring signs and picket.  This Council needs to know that we are not happy with their dismissal of our great City Manager, Paul Walters.

Meeting details: Continue reading→

Exclusive: Santa Ana City Council votes to fire City Manager

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Paul Walters, Politics, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Angry David Benavides

Update: Confirmed.  The Santa Ana City Council voted 6-1 to fire City Manager Paul Walters.

The Santa Ana City Council is still in closed session but one of our readers, in the audience, was tipped off moments ago that they have voted to do the unthinkable – they are going to fire City Manager Paul Walters even though he saved our city last year from a budget crisis created by the previous City Manager, Dave Ream, and the Council.

This is by no means the end of this story.  The Council will have to agendize this for a future meeting.  But they have the votes to see this through. Continue reading→

Why is the Council blaming Walters for problems they created?

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Dave Ream, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 7 Comments
Council Member Vincent Sarmiento

Where were Sarmiento’s complaints before the majority took power?

I continue to be amazed by the lame excuses our Santa Ana Council Members are making with regard to their ongoing attempt to fire our successful City Manager, Paul Walters.  Here are the latest nuggets from the Council, from the O.C. Register:

  • “Some staff in particular only do the work of the mayor, and that’s been the culture of the city,” said Tinajero. Pulido has been mayor for 18 years, and worked for years alongside Walters’ predecessor, David Ream, and other top officials. (Our Response: Are you kidding? Tinajero worked with Ream too – in fact he essentially sold out after getting elected in 2006, when Ream arranged for Tinajero to serve on various well-paying municipal commissions!) Continue reading→

Council majority adds item to dismiss Walters to next week’s meeting agenda

Posted on by Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 37 Comments

Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters

The Santa Ana Council Majority has placed an item, 1C, on the agenda for the next Council Meeting, on Jan. 22, that reads:

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE AND/OR

POTENTIAL DISMISSAL/RELEASE pursuant to Government Code Section

54957(b)(1)

Title: City Manager

This is it folks.  They are going to move to fire our City Manager, Paul Walters.  They apparently did not learn a thing from the last Council meeting, on Jan. 7, when dozens of local residents and business leaders, including OCTA Chairman Greg Winterbottom, SAUSD Trustee and Local Attorney Jose Hernandez, and Com Link Chair Evangeline Gawronski, ripped them a new one for threatening to fire Walters. Imagine how many folks will turn out for next week’s meeting? Continue reading→

It is time to Save our City Manager, Paul Walters!

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Michele Martinez, Paul Walters, Santa Ana 63 Comments

Save Paul Walers FB

You can now express your support for our great City Manager, Paul Walters, on a new blog and on a new Facebook page. And be sure to show up to the next Santa Ana City Council meeting, on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 5 pm, to speak up for Walters.  Bring signs and tell your friends and neighbors.

Our ridiculous Santa Ana City Council majority continues to wage war on Walters, who saved our city from a horrible budget crisis last year.  Why isn’t the Council focusing on the problems our city faces?  Where are their good ideas?  These insane people would rather bring down one of Orange County’s best public administrators than work to improve Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Has the Council forgotten that they voted unanimously to hire Walters?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 40 Comments

Michele Martinez 9.6

The lame Santa Ana City Council Majority want us to believe that Mayor Miguel Pulido forced them to hire current City Manager Paul Walters, but they were all there at the City Council meeting on May 21, according to the meeting minutes, when they discussed the appointment of Paul Walters, who at the time was the Acting City Manager, in closed session.  It should be noted that three Council Members were late to that meeting – Vince Sarmiento, David Benavides and Michele Martinez.

Those Council Members are now accusing Mayor Miguel Pulido of violating the Brown Act, but what were they doing arriving late to that May meeting – and walking in together to boot?  Did they have an illegal “pre-meeting?” Continue reading→

Martinez and Reyna flee the Council meeting early to escape Walters’ fans

Posted on by Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Paul Walters, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 22 Comments

Michele Martinez and her pals

Martinez left early tonight.  Perhaps she had a party to get to?

Mission accomplished!  So many fans of Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters showed up at tonight’s Santa Ana City Council meeting that Council Members Michele Martinez and Roman Reyna got up and fled the meeting early, breaking quorum and rendering the meeting useless, as Council Member David Benavides was in Mexico and new Council Member Angelica Amezcua was a no-show again.

Martinez has been pestering Walters for years – accusing him of arresting her half brother when she ran for Santa Ana Mayor.  That is of course total BS as her half-brother has a different name and he was arrested for legitimate reasons – busting parole.  This year Martinez has taken her battle to another level – calling for Walters’ dismissal even though he saved our city from a budget disaster last year. Continue reading→

Will high gas prices doom Team Benavides as they call for tax increases?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Eric Alderete, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Taxes, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

“As early voting begins, Californians are dealing with a new cost crisis as gasoline prices explode upward all over the state. The five-dollar a gallon figure was crossed at a number of gas stations at the end of last week while other stations closed down for lack of supply,” according to Joel Fox, the Editor of Fox & Hounds and President of the Small Business Action Committee.

That could be bad news for Santa Ana Mayoral challenger David Benavides and his left-wing Council majority.  Benavides and his allies – Council Member Vince Sarmiento and Council candidates Eric Alderete and Roman Reyna, have all said, at a public candidates’ forum that they support every single tax increase measure on the Nov. 6 general election ballot, including Prop. 30, which “increases the sales tax, which is applied to gasoline sales,” according to Fox & Hounds.  Continue reading→

Is the Benavides Council majority’s Santa Ana discount drug program a wreck?

Posted on by Posted in David Benavides, Health and Medical, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana, Seniors 1 Comment

I posted a press release a few weeks ago from the City of Santa Ana touting a discount drug program that the Benavides City Council majority had crafted with a company called Paramount Rx.  This was supposed to be a discount card that Santa Ana residents could use at local pharmacies to save money.  But hold on, a new article by the California Health Report implies that this program has been a total bust.  While Paramount Rx claims that our residents have saved 31%, the anecdotal evidence says otherwise.  Here are a few excerpts from that article, by investigative health reporter Helen Afrasiabi:

A discount drug card offered by the city of Santa Ana to help shoulder the exorbitant costs of prescription drugs has left some users asking “where is the discount?”

Cary, North Carolina-based Paramount Rx was chosen by the city among a few dozen proposals reviewed to contract with local pharmacies and facilitate this discount. Continue reading→

The Orange County Labor Federation endorses Alderete for Ward 3

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Eric Alderete, Labor, Santa Ana 2 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 7, 2012

CONTACT: Carlos Valenzuela, PHONE: (858) 220-2090, EMAIL: 714valenzuela@gmail.com

The Orange County Labor Federation Believes Eric M. Alderete Is The Best Choice For Santa Ana City Council – Ward 3

Santa Ana, California – Eric M. Alderete’s campaign for Santa Ana City Council received a major vote of confidence from the Orange County Labor Federation with its recent endorsement of Alderete’s candidacy for the Santa Ana City Council – Ward 3.

The Orange County Labor Federation represents more than 200,000 working men and women and believes Alderete is the best and most capable candidate to honor working families. 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→

Questions our Santa Ana City Council candidates need to answer

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 20 Comments

UPDATE: This post has been read 299 times as of August 13, at 11:30 pm.  But only one Santa Ana Council candidate has been forthright enough to answer the questions posed below.  Remember that on Election Day – if candidates don’t want to tell us where they stand on the issues that matter then they don’t deserve our votes!

Santa Ana City Council candidates usually run on pithy slogans and empty posturing – but as our city continues to struggle with budget issues, having essentially kicked the budget can down the road, it is time for our Council candidates to face the music – and tell us what they think about the issues we face in our city today. Continue reading→