New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: David Cavazos

The new City Council majority won’t include Reyna and Benavides

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, David Cavazos, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

While none of the Santa Ana City Council incumbents lost in the November General Election there is still major change coming to our City Council. You might recall that former Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero withdrew his support for Councilman David Benavides, prior to the General Election. Now Tinajero has joined forces with the new Mayor Pro Tem, Vince Sarmiento. In short, the adults are now running the Santa Ana City Council.

Tinajero and Sarmiento are working to form a new City Council majority with Council Members Angie Amezcua and Michele Martinez. The latter has at times joined with Reyna and Benavides. But if Martinez wants to survive in politics she will now dump them and work instead with Sarmiento and Tinajero.

If Martinez decides to be obstinate then Tinajero and Sarmiento have another option. They can form a Council majority with Amezcua and Mayor Miguel Pulido. Continue reading→

Why is City Manager David Cavazos demanding a raise when he already makes $800K a year?

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos, Santa Ana 11 Comments

Santa Ana City Manager David Cavazos is allegedly making $315,000 in annual salary, according to CBS News. Cavazos is also paid a massive $234,536.04 annual pension he engineered before he exited his previous job, in Phoenix. His Santa Ana pay is padded by an additional estimated $243,000 in perks and benefits including an electric car , moving expenses and a housing allowance. In all Cavazos is bringing home $800,000 a year!

You would think that Cavazos, a transplant originally from Chicago who claims his parents were Mexicans, would be happy with all of that money but my sources at City Hall are telling me that now he wants a 5.5% raise! U.S. Census figures show the median household income in Santa Ana is $54,000. Cavazos makes over $28,000 a month according to the City of Santa Ana’s published salary schedule. In two months Cavazos nets more than most Santa Ana families make in a year. And he still wants more of our money! Continue reading→

The City’s Measure AA is a huge Utility Users Tax increase!

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Ballot Measures, Business, Santa Ana, Taxes, Utilities 5 Comments

Measure AA is a tax increase

City administrators don’t lie all the time – they are sneaky and will lure you with half-truths and then lie to seal the deal. That is what the City of Santa Ana did this week when they issued a community advisory about their Utility Users Tax, which appears on our November ballot as Measure AA.

They started with the truth – The Utility Users Tax (known as the “UUT”) is a tax the City first adopted in 1975 on the usage of certain utility services (including electricity, gas, water, & telephone) within the City of Santa Ana. It is a general tax & used for general City services, such as police, fire, parks, library, planning and business inspection services & general administrative services.

Then came the half-truth – “The California Constitution (Proposition 218) requires an election to approve any change in local taxes. A rate decrease from the current 6% rate to a reduced 5.5% is being proposed. Pending legislation may inhibit local voters’ rights to maintain their ability to vote for a tax. The ballot measure would protect the City’s 3rd highest revenue source from future threats & preserve the City’s ability to deliver city services.” Continue reading→

Police Chief Rojas blames his own cops instead of dealing with the SAPD’s problems

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Carlos Rojas, David Cavazos, Paul Walters, Public Safety, Santa Ana 10 Comments

SAPD Chief Carlos Rojas and new recruits

Apparently our article about the low morale at the Santa Ana Police Department struck a nerve. SAPD Police Chief Carlos Rojas was reportedly so angry about it that he threatened to fire his police officers. I was told that he went to the daily briefings and told all of the officers and their supervisors that they have to stop talking to the press. He said that he had read what they were saying about him and demanded that they stop talking about him or the department or he would personally fire them – and no one could protect them because the police union was on his side.

Rojas reiterated that all media requests had to be directed to his hand-picked public information officer and that he had better not find out who was telling the press about internal issues. He also told them that low morale was their own fault. He said it was not his problem or the department’s problem…it was their own problem that they each needed to take care of themselves. Continue reading→

State of the City presentation set for July 17 at the OC Register

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Business, David Cavazos, Entertainment, Real Estate, Santa Ana, Sean Mill Leave a comment

A “State of the City” presentation for Realtors, local business owners and residents is set for July 17, 2014, at 9:45am at the Orange County Register, located at 625 N. Grand Ave., in Santa Ana.

Speakers include Santa Ana City Manager, David Cavazos, Shelly Landry-Bayle, the Santa Ana Housing & Neighborhood Development Manager and Ruben Mata of Mindset and Community Thinking.

Realtors can get in for free with a business card. The cost for others is only $5. All money collected at the door will be donated to the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club. Continue reading→

Why isn’t Sarmiento running for Mayor instead of Reyna?

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 6 Comments

With the promise of a grass-roots campaign, Councilman Roman A. Reyna has announced he is running for mayor to unseat Miguel Pulido, who he said has grown out of touch with the city’s needs, according to the O.C. Register.

It is true that Pulido is a bit out of sorts nowadays. He has no allies on the Santa Ana City Council. The Council took away all of his appointments. And the Governor, his friend Jerry Brown, got rid of redevelopment, a tool Pulido used many times over the years to reshape the City.

But is Reyna really an improvement over Pulido? I don’t think so. He is running because he has two years left on his Council term, so he can lose the mayoral race and remain on the City Council. But so can Councilman Vince Sarmiento. So why isn’t Sarmiento running for Mayor instead? Continue reading→

Santa Ana’s City Manager is pulling in almost $800K a year in pay and benefits

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos, Santa Ana 7 Comments

Santa Ana’s new city manager is under scrutiny for allegedly making nearly $800,000 in pay, perks and pension this year, according to Cristy Fajardo at CBS News.

CBS reports that:

David Cavazos is receiving a $315,000 salary, making him one of the highest-paid employees in the state. It’s the same amount he made before retiring as city manager of Phoenix, which is almost five times larger than Santa Ana.
He’s also collecting another estimated $243,000 in perks and benefits his first year in Santa Ana, including a car, moving expenses and a housing allowance.
Now, add his pension; Cavazos is collecting $234,536.04, according to Toni Macarrone, a City of Phoenix public information officer.
All in all, it totals to approximately $792,000. Continue reading→

So how will our new City Manager, Dave Cavazos, cut our city budget?

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos 14 Comments

Santa Ana’s new overpaid millionaire City Manager, Dave Cavazos, was hired in part, if you believe what the Council Members are saying, because he cut the budget at his last job, in Phoenix. But how is he going to cut Santa Ana’s budget when it has already been cut to the bone?

Our last City Manager, Paul Walters, saved the city from its last budget crisis, by outsourcing the Santa Ana Fire Department, to the Orange County Fire Authority. Will Cavazos have the cojones to outsource the Santa Ana Police Department to the Orange County Sheriff?

What else can he cut? Well here are a few items he should cut right away: Continue reading→

New City Manager’s huge contract blows up in the local media

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Benavides, David Cavazos, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana 8 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council’s incredibly ridiculous decision to make their new City Manager, David Cavazos, a multi-millionaire (when you add in his six figure pension from the City of Phoenix) has backfired in a big way – exploding on the airwaves of our local radio and TV stations. Arizona City Council candidate Keogh Parks piled on too, at a City Council candidates’ forum, according to KJZZ News.

Continue reading→

Why did the City Council agree to make the new City Manager a millionaire?

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos, Santa Ana 3 Comments

It is very hard to understand why the Santa Ana City Council would offer a contract to our new City Manager, David Cavazos, that will essentially make him a millionaire. What were they thinking?

Consider that in Santa Ana the per capita income, was $15,243 in 2010 and while it is projected to increase to $16,383 by 2015, according to the City of Santa Ana, the per capita income in California, is $29,634 and the per capita income in Orange County is $34,416, according to the U.S. Census. Continue reading→

New Santa Ana City Manager is set to be a multi-millionaire

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos, Santa Ana 8 Comments

New Santa Ana City Manager Will Get Big Salary and Pension

By ADAM ELMAHREK, Voice of OC

In addition to more than $550,000 in compensation in the coming year from Santa Ana, new City Manager David Cavazos is also set to begin collecting a six-figure annual pension from Phoenix, according to a report in the Arizona Republic newspaper.

The 53-year-old Cavazos worked at Phoenix City Hall for 26 years and was city manager for the last four, which puts him in line for an annual pension of at least $130,000, which means that his income in the coming year will at minimum be close to $700,000 and perhaps significantly higher. Continue reading→

Poll – is city manager candidate, Cavazos, being offered too much?

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos, Santa Ana 2 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council will vote Monday whether to approve a three-year, renewable contract with David Cavazos to lead city government, according to the O.C. Register.

Under terms of the contract, which includes automatic renewals, Cavazos would receive $315,000 in an annual base salary the first year, plus benefits, including moving expenses and a housing allowance. According to a city report, the estimated first-year cost of the agreement is $558,625, $515,395 in the second year and $515,895 in the third. Continue reading→

Santa Ana to hire new City Manager who previously managed Phoenix, AZ

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, David Cavazos, Santa Ana 12 Comments

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: City of Santa Ana Poised to Hire New City Manager

David Cavazos Served as City Manager for Phoenix; Helped Trim Budget, Revitalized Downtown

SANTA ANA, CA (August 1, 2013) – The Santa Ana City Council is unanimously poised to hire a city manager with over 25 years of experience and a proven record of success. The top candidate, David Cavazos, who in his current capacity as the City Manager of Phoenix, trimmed the city’s budget, streamlined its permitting process for businesses and helped revitalize its downtown area, is being considered for the city manager position.

The City Council will review and vote on his employment package on Monday, August 5, 2013, at the next City Council meeting. If approved, Cavazos will take over as Santa Ana’s top executive in mid-October. Continue reading→