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Tag Archives: Claudia Alvarez

Vincent Sarmiento to run for the 69th Assembly District

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

State Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-69) has reportedly convinced Santa Ana City Councilman Vincent Sarmiento to run for the 69th Assembly District in 2012, when Solorio will term out.

Sarmiento was appointed to the Santa Ana City Council when Solorio resigned to go to Sacramento.  Now, I am told, Sarmiento will return the favor, as the Santa Ana City Council will appoint Solorio to replace Sarmiento, in Ward 1.

I am told Solorio will have a tough time getting four votes from the current Santa Ana City Council  – he can rely on David Benavides, Carlos Bustamante and Mayor Miguel Pulido, but Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is no fan of his, nor is Council Member Sal Tinajero.  Council Member Michele Martinez will be the all-important swing vote.

Julio Perez, the political director of the OC Labor Federation, was considering running for the 69th, according to various sources, but that is now unlikely.  Sarmiento should be able to raise a lot of money, with Solorio’s support.

The 69th is a predominantly Democratic district.  That may change via redistricting but until that happens, Sarmiento will be the presumptive victor, should he win in the Democratic Party’s primary, as the OC GOP has not been able to challenge for the seat since the days of former Assemblyman Jim Morrissey, who infamously hired a Democrat to run his campaigns.

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…

Can Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez run for two more terms?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Our reader, Cook, has often said that Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is eligible to run for two more terms.  The thinking is that Measure D, which extended City Council term limits to three successive terms, also reset the clock for the incumbents who were in office when Measure D prevailed.

What this means is that Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is not terming out in 2012.  Instead she will be able to run for two more terms.

I scoffed when Cook first mentioned this, but I am now hearing that folks in City Hall agree with him.   Get ready for two more terms of Mayor Pro Tem Alvarez!

This is of course bad news for SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna, who was clearly getting ready to run for Alvarez’ Ward.  That option is now off the table.

Will anyone challenge Alvarez?  She has won with the most votes of any candidate every time she has run for the City Council.

If Alvarez can run for two more terms, it means she will be able, most likely, to continue to manage the Council Majority.  They have done incredible work this past year – bringing real change to City Hall and to our City Commissions.  I hope they can continue as a Majority in 2012!

Santa Ana’s progressive City Council majority may not be in charge for long

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 21 Comments

A few folks in Santa Ana have been mighty perplexed about the current City Council majority.  I would definitely include failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua in that number, along with former Mayoral candidate Thomas Gordon, and many former Santa Ana City Commissioners – who were give the boot by the current City Council majority.

You need four votes on the City Council in order to get anything done.  Currently the majority on the City Council is made up of Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez, along with Council Members Michele Martinez, Vincent Sarmiento and Sal Tinajero.  Mayor Miguel Pulido primarily goes along with the majority, although at times they differ.  Council Members David Benavides and Carlos Bustamante are sitting at the little kids’ table – utterly bereft of power and influence at City Hall.

But that could change in 2012.  Alvarez will be terming out.  I am not sure what she intends to do at that point.  She could run for Mayor, or for the SAUSD School Board.  Or she could walk away and concentrate on her job as a O.C. Deputy District Attorney.

Current SAUSD Trustee Romany Reyna is an ally of Benavides.  Reyna previously ran for the Council seat held by Alvarez and now all he has to do is wait for her to term out and run again.

I have however heard that Reyna is having second thoughts, as well he should.  If he runs for the Council in 2012, he will vacate his School Board seat.  If he loses his Council race he will be done in local politics.  I don’t know that he is willing to take that chance.  It depends on who ends up running against him for Alvarez’ seat on the City Council.

If Reyna does run for the Council, and he wins, and Bustamante is re-elected, they will surely team up with Benavides and likely with Mayor Pulido – and the new City Council majority will be quite different from the current majority.

Both Reyna and Benavides are religious conservatives.  Bustamante is a Republican.  Pulido is more moderate than that bunch, but he has been pulled to the left by the current Council majority.  There is no telling what this new right-leaning majority might do, once empowered.

Pulido will also face a few challengers in 2012, including the aforementioned Amezcua.  Past Republican Assembly candidate Otto Bade also told me recently that he intends to run for Mayor in 2012.  Bade lost his concession this year at the Santa Ana Zoo, where his La Perla restaurant will be replaced by a Knowlwood’s restaurant.

I think Amezcua and Bade would ally with the new, conservative faction if either one of them were to prevail against Pulido.

I also think that failed Mayoral candidate Charles Hart intends to run again in 2012.  Hart was recently appointed to the Republican Party of Orange County’s Central Committee, representing the  69th Assembly Caucus.  If he were to somehow win in 2012, perhaps as a result of a Latino vote split, I think he too would end up allying with the new, conservative faction.

To make matters worse for Alvarez and company, Councilman Sarmiento is likely to be running for Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s seat in the 69th Assembly District.  Sarmiento will be tough to beat.  As such, he will be vacating his City Council seat – and the Council majority will have to find someone to fill that spot.  That will happen after the November election, so if the new faction takes over, guess who will be appointing Sarmiento’s replacement?

And that’s not all.  I fully expect at least one or more of the other Council Members to run against O.C. Supervisor Janet Nguyen.  Either Sal Tinajero or Michele Martinez would have good odds of beating Nguyen, unless she redistricts her seat and adds more Vietnamese voters to it, while weakening the Latino vote, which she just might do.

So where does all this leave the people of Santa Ana?  It leaves us two years for our Council majority to get the job done, before they dissolve and/or get replaced.  That is a small window and it is closing fast.

If the majority fails to replace itself, the fact is that many of the ousted and bitter former City Commissioners will be back and business as usual will return to City Hall.  Imagine that – in two short years our progress might well be stopped and reversed.  That is a chilling thought.

Mayor Pro Tem Alvarez to speak at Com Link meeting about graffiti on Jan. 27

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Entertainment, Gangs, Graffiti, Neighborhood Associations, Public Safety, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Santa Ana Communication Linkage Forum (Com Link) is hosting a meeting on Thursday, January 27th at 7 p.m. with an agenda focusing on: Graffiti Abatement and Code Enforcement Issues in Santa Ana.

The meeting will be held at the Community Room of the Santa Ana Police Department, which is located at 60 Civic Center Plaza. Parking will be validated. Park at the city parking structure next to the SAPD building.

Speakers will include:

  • Hon. Claudia Alvarez, Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem (will speak at 7 p.m.)
  • Raul Godinez, II, the Executive Director of Public Works, at the City of Santa Ana
  • Mona Ruiz, SAPD Graffiti Detective

You can socialize and network with other involved Santa Ana residents from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Committees will make their reports at 7:10 p.m.  The speakers will make their presentations at 7:40 p.m.  The neighborhood associations will make their roll call at 8:15 p.m.

The Board of the Communication Linkage Forum (Com-Link) is pleased to share the attached Arts and Culture material for
http://www.aplaceforart.org/

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…

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.

Who will run for the Santa Ana City Council in 2012?

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 7 Comments

This year’s Santa Ana City Council elections were a mixed bag.  On the one hand, mayoral challenger Alfredo Amezcua proved he could run a serious campaign – but he lost badly to Mayor Miguel Pulido, despite spending a quarter million, from what I hear.

The Council incumbents won handily.  Michele Martinez and David Benavides ran unopposed.  Sal Tinajero was challenged by Nam Pham and Helen Martinez.  They were not competitive.

But 2012 will be a different bag altogether.  Vice Mayor Claudia Alvarez is termed out.  Councilman Carlos Bustamante will be running for his third term – but this time he figures to draw heavy competition, after he was caught campaigning for Republican Assemblyman Van Tran, who challenged Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.  And Councilman Vince Sarmiento might leave the Council and run for Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s seat in the 69th A.D., creating an open seat on the Council.

Amezcua could run for Mayor again, but he ought to consider challenging Bustamante, who has been in cruise control for a few years.  If Amezcua does that, he might pick up support from folks who support Pullido but want Bustamante, who is the last Republican on the Santa Ana City Council, off the Council.

Who else might challenge Bustamante?  Well, how about past Assembly candidate Armando de la Libertad, who lives in the new CityPlace center?  He is very popular and he is very well connected in the O.C. business community.

Guess who else lives in Bustamante’s ward?  Popular SAUSD Trustee John Palacio, an ally of Amezcua.  Palacio just won a new term on the SAUSD School Board.  He would have a free shot at Bustamante’s seat.

What about Alvarez’ Ward?  The obvious leading candidate would have to be SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna, who ran for the City Council before.  He works at the new Santa Ana YMCA and previously worked at the Boys and Girls Club.  He knows a lot of families in town, and he is also popular in the faith community.  He would be a formidable challenger, if he could raise enough money.

But it is unlikely that Tinajero, Martinez and Councilman Vince Sarmiento would back Reyna.  The danger for the progressive Council majority would be that Reyna would team up with Benavides, Pulido and Bustamante (if Bustamante won reelection) and form a new conservative Council majority.

Then again, who knows?  It is still very early in the game.  Alvarez’ ward includes the Artesia-Pilar and Washington Square Neighborhood Associations.  Both are full of activists and community leaders, including past SAUSD candidates Gloria Alvarado, Cecilia Aguinaga, Oscar Garza and Irene Ibarra, and past Rancho Santiago CCD candidate Lynette Verino, as well as former Councilman Tom Lutz and his wife Nancy, who lost to Alvarez many years ago.  And I think that Amezcua’s daughter Valerie might live in this Ward too.  She also ran for the SAUSD Board a couple years ago.

If Sarmiento leaves the Council to run for Solorio’s seat he might well end up running against AUHSD Trustee Jordan Brandman – and Solorio may go with Brandman instead of backing Sarmiento.  Of course Solorio will have to be careful as he may end up running against Supervisor Janet Nguyen in 2012.

So who might run for Sarmiento’s seat?  Community leader Jim Walker did pretty well in 2008, when he challenged Sarmiento.  He might run again.  But most likely we will see a number of Commissioners and Neighborhood leaders run for this Ward.

What about Pulido?  He won handily, again, this year.  I doubt anyone will challenge him this time, except for perhaps Amezcua.  Oh, you might see a few underdog candidates arise, but no one is going to defeat Pulido.  And don’t forget that 2012 will be a presidential election year.  Pulido will be helping Obama – and that means Obama will be helping him.  Game over for anyone who wants to take on Pulido…

Exclusive video of this year’s Santa Ana’s Fiestas Patrias Parade

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Arts and Culture, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, immigration, Independence, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Latinos, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, mexico, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento, Working Families Leave a comment

Yesterday’s Fiestas Patrias parade, in Santa Ana, was perhaps the best one yet.  A huge crowd lined Main St., many in folding chairs.  Kids blew on horns and waved Mexican flags.  You could feel the fervor in the air.  They were all there to celebrate two hundred years of Mexican independence.

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido rode in a stagecoach provided by Wells Fargo, along with his fellow Grand Marshal, Mexican Consul Alejandra García Williams.

Santa Ana Council Members Vincent Sarmiento, David Benavides and Carlos Bustamante were there, riding in cars in the parade, as was Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez.

Also in the parade were Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, State Senator Lou Correa, Assemblyman Jose Solorio, and Supervisor Janet Nguyen.

The parade featured high school bands, the Santa Ana ROTC, caballeros on horseback, cultural organizations – displaying Ballet Folklorico and Native dances (in full costume) and representatives from many Mexican states.  It was quite a spectacle.

I had to take two separate videos.  Part one is above and part two is below.  You can see many of the politicians in part two, but the local electeds are in part one.  Click here to see more pictures I took at the event.

Pictures taken at the Santa Ana Fiestas Patrias Parade

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Latinos, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, mexico, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento, Working Families Leave a comment

Click here to see our exclusive videos taken at the Santa Ana Fiestas Patrias Parade.

The Fiestas Patrias Parade in Santa Ana today was a huge success.  Massive crowds lined Main St. as a procession of politicians, high school bands, cultural organizations and representatives of many Mexican states marched by.  Included also were many participants on horseback.  It was quite a show!

Those in attendance showed a lot of appreciation for the participants.  They enthusiastically applauded when many of the politicians passed by.  Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez got the biggest ovation.  She literally ran by as she shook a lot of hands.  State Senator Lou Correa walked by as well, shaking hands and speaking to his many fans.

Other politicians who were warmly welcomed included Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, and Council Members Claudia Alvarez, Vincent Sarmiento, and David Benavides.  Carlos Bustamante was also in the parade.  Sal Tinajero could not be there as he had to fly to a high school debate tournament yesterday.

In contrast, Republican Supervisor Janet Nguyen was barely welcomed as she zipped by in a car that appeared to be driven by her husband, Garden Grove Planning Commissioner Tom Bonikowski.

I did shoot several videos.  They are uploading now.  I hope to have them up by tomorrow.

Why I am voting for Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Elections, Latinos, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 14 Comments

Mayor Miguel Pulido, with Angels owner Arte Moreno, and Council Members Vince Sarmiento and Michele Martinez

I have spent years fighting the folks at Santa Ana’s City Hall, and have been, quite frankly, brutal in writing about our Mayor, Miguel Pulido and our City Council.

The high point of the “revolution” was beating Pulido’s hand-picked candidates, Tino Rivera and Jennifer Villasenor, in 2006.  Michele Martinez beat Rivera, in Ward 2, and Sal Tinajero beat Villasenor, in Ward 6.  Both benefited from vote-splits that occurred when other challengers took votes away from Pulido’s picks.

The low point, for me, was when Tinajero allied with the Pulido majority.  I was not pleased, to say the least.

In 2008, Martinez inexplicably challenged Pulido.  I found out later that Alfredo Amezcua put her up to it.  He later denied it, but the source of that tidbit was Supervisor Janet Nguyen, with whom Amezcua is still allied.

The Janet Nguyen alliance with Alfredo Amezcua is most disturbing

I have a real issue with Amezcua’s alliance with Nguyen.  She already took over the Garden Grove City Council.  She got her carpetbagging former Chief of Staff, Andrew Do, elected in 2008.  She got her husband, Tom Bonikowski, appointed to the Planning Commission – even though he owns a restaurant that has been cited by the O.C. Health Department too many times to count.  She is planning, I hear, to run Bonikowski for the Garden Grove City Council, in 2012.  Hell will freeze over before I will let her take over the Santa Ana City Council as well!

After Martinez lost, she, like Tinajero, joined the Pulido majority.  I had long since buried the hatchet with Tinajero.  I came to see that he had no choice.  Nor did Martinez.  If they wanted to be effective Council Members they had to count to four – four votes on the Council.  Sans those votes they could not accomplish anything.

Since Martinez’ defeat however something unusual has happened.  She has pulled the Pulido majority to the left.  Tinajero has been a huge part of that as well, as has Councilman Vince Sarmiento.  And Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez has concurred.

One more down, one to go…

The result has been the unprecedented expulsion of the Usual Suspects from City Hall.  One by one the Usual Suspect City Commissioners have been booted off their Commissions, or asked to leave.  After Monday’s meeting, only one will remain, their Queen Bee, Julie Stroud.

The Pulido majority passed a resolution honoring Harvey Milk Day.  They passed a resolution condemning Arizona’s racist SB 1070 law.  And they refused to join Councilman David Benavides in honoring Lupe Moreno and her Minutemen.

Amezcua was lockstep with Pulido all those years I was fighting City Hall.  Even in 2008, he drove to Pulido’s election night party, in a limo, abandoning Martinez.  Only now, as the Pulido faction finally has come into good form, is Amezcua launching his ridiculous attempt at change.  Why change the Council now that they are doing good things?

As our recent post about Amezcua and his alliance with Janet Nguyen indicates, he has built a strange coalition of Latino activists, xenophobes, Usual Suspects and Republicans.  That is no change I want anything to do with!

Charles Hart?  No bueno…

Nor am I inclined to vote for the Usual Suspect Charles Hart.  I have supported George Collins in the past, but I think he is running just to get a few of his issues out, during the debates.  And I am not comfortable with his views on immigrants.

Ultimately our next Mayor has to be able to count to four – four votes on the Council.  None of the challengers will be able to do that.  The only one who can is Pulido.

The City of Santa Ana is at a crossroads.  Our city has a massive structural deficit.  Businesses are closing in droves.  Now more than ever we need a Council that can take action, not one that will be hamstrung by clueless hacks.

So after all these years I am voting for the only candidate that is at all reasonable and effective.  Miguel Pulido.  Be disappointed if you want, but I have always fought for the betterment of our working people.  We cannot take a chance now on a gasbag like Amezcua.

The Pulido majority helped me move the Santa Ana Zoo free day to the third Sunday of the month

Will I agree with everything Pulido does?  No.  But I have found him and the Council to be very accessible.  Many of the my proposals have been implemented this year.  They changed the free day at the Santa Ana Zoo to a Sunday, at my request.  They swept the brush at Santiago Park and conducted a decoy sweep that resulted in the arrest of numerous perverts.  They are considering my dog park proposal.  They have started to use the Google language translator widget on their city website.  All of these were my ideas – and they were open to them.

Pulido and his team know that if I don’t like their position on an issue they will be hearing from me.  And I know they will take my comments seriously.  What more can I ask for?

This Council majority is advancing affordable housing; supporting new developments that will bring jobs to our city; and doing what they can to serve our residents even in these tough times.  For those reasons and more Pulido has my vote, as do Council Members Martinez and Tinajero.  I will not be wasting my vote on Benavides, although he does not face an opponent.  He, like Amezcua, is allied with the Usual Suspects.  Some people never learn…

Panel to feature Sanchez, Martinez and Alvarez in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Aug. 24

Posted on by Posted in Business, Education, Entertainment, Latinos, Loretta Sanchez, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana, Women Leave a comment

You are invited to a panel discussion on Tuesday, August 24, from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm, that will focus on the economy, business and education, hosted by Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. This impressive panel will discuss challenges and solutions that many Latinos are facing in Orange County.

The panelists are: Santa Ana Mayor Pro-Tem, Claudia Alvarez; City of Santa Ana, Council Member Michelle Martinez; City of Santa Ana, business owner Teresa Saldivar, Teresa’s Jewelers; Ana Steaffens CEO/President of KidWorks and Erlinda J. Martinez, Ed.D., President of Santa Ana College.

Written questions will be taken from the audience the last 15 minutes of the program. The program will begin promptly at 3:15pm , check-in is at 2:45pm.

Please RSVP to Javiera Catagena at (714) 621-0102.  Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Location: Rancho Santiago Community College District, in Boardroom 107, located at 2323 N. Broadway St., in Santa Ana.

Will Vietnamese voters determine the next Mayor of Santa Ana?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Democratic Party, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana, Vietnamese, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

Alfredo Amezcua, the local lawyer who is challenging Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido in November’s General Election, has gathered up essentially the same coalition that backed Councilwoman Michele Martinez when she took on Pulido, in 2008.  We know how that worked out.

So the question is, how will Amezcua grow this coalition such that he will be able to prevail over the better-funded longtime incumbent, Pulido?

Amezcua has succeeded in gaining some support from Santa Ana’s NIMBY community, which closely parallels the folks known as Santa Ana’s “Usual Suspects,” but their influence is waning, as is their number.

The only demographic that is growing in Santa Ana is that of Vietnamese voters, who have been moving into town in droves over the past few years.  The bad news for Amezcua is that Pulido has been reaching out to Viet voters for some time.

Councilman Vince Sarmiento has helped Pulido reach out to this community, as has Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez.  Sarmiento appointed businessman Kenneth Nguyen to the Parks and Recreation Commission.  My sources tell me that Nguyen is very connected with the business community in Little Saigon, where he wields a lot of influence.

Take a look at the picture above this post.  Pulido and his runningmates actually got their signs posted on a Buddhist Center, on the West side, that is very popular in Santa Ana’s Viet community.  I am guessing they won’t be allowing Amezcua’s signs on their property this year.

To make matters worse for Amezcua, it is very likely that Viet voters will be voting en masse in November, some to support Assemblyman Van Tran, as he runs against Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, and others to support Sanchez herself.  I expect that State Senator Lou Correa and Assemblyman Jose Solorio will also be actively courting the Viet vote. 

I don’t expect Correa to take sides in the mayoral race.  But Solorio will – he is a staunch ally of Pulido.  As for Sanchez, who knows?  She generally is for herself, for sure, but doesn’t generally do much for other candidates, although she did endorse Martinez in 2008.

Amezcua has concentrated most of his early campaign efforts in the Latino community.  Will he be able to mount much of a campaign in the Viet community too?  We’ll see.  Unless he has folks like Kenneth Nguyen helping him, that may be an impossible task.

Viet voters already put Supervisor Janet Nguyen in office.  Will they now go all in with Pulido as well?  We’ll have to see about that.  Amezcua is known to be friendly with Supervisor Nguyen.  Pulido?  Not so much.

Santa Ana City Council approves the Transit Zone project unanimously

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, public works, Real Estate, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Transportation, Vince Sarmiento, Working Families 1 Comment

The Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously tonight to approve the Transit Zone project.

Council Members Michele Martinez, David Benavides, Carlos Bustamante and Sal Tinajero voted in the affirmative.  Miguel Pulido, Claudia Alvarez and Vince Sarmiento did not vote, due to conflicts of interest.  Sarmiento and Alvarez were there, but left the room for the vote.  Pulido did not come to the meeting.

The SACReD folks and a few Usual Suspects showed up to oppose the project.  They broke into sarcastic clapping as the meeting drew to a close.

Martinez was very passionate in her comments.  She said if the vote cost her reelection, so be it.  She also said, “Have faith that we will stay committed to what we are voting for tonight.” Continue reading→

If Mayor Pulido goes down, get ready for Mayor Claudia Alvarez!

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Courts, Democratic Party, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 12 Comments

“Los Amigos, a community organization that serves Latinos, asked the Orange County grand jury to look into Mayor Miguel Pulido’s connections to a business that twice received key approvals from the city,” according to the O.C. Register.

Pulido’s worst nightmare has come true.  He has confided to friends that he is in fear of a grand jury investigation – and here it is.

Pulido’s mayoral opponent, Alfredo Amezcua, is a longtime member of Los Amigos.  But I truly doubt that Amezcua will be allowed to become our next Mayor – even if Pulido goes down.

I expect that Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez will run for Mayor if Pulido opts to retire from the City Council.  And if Pulido is forced out of office, Alvarez will be appointed to fill out his term, by the other Council Members. Continue reading→