New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: fppc

Land swap results in an FPPC fine but no criminal charges for Mayor Pulido

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 11 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido has agreed to pay $13,000 in fines to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) stemming from a personal land deal with a city contractor, according to the O.C. Register.

The fines stem from a land swap wherein Pulido traded a parking lot next to his brother’s muffler shop to auto parts provider Rupen Akoubian, who runs a NAPA auto parts store located next to the parking lot in question. Akoubian swapped a home in Westminster for the parking lot so he could expand his business. Continue reading→

Janet Nguyen campaign donors are under investigation by the FPPC

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Crime, Jose Solorio, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana, Vietnamese 1 Comment

Folks in Little Saigon know they have to bribe Janet Nguyen with bags of money

The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating nearly a dozen people for political money laundering in connection to campaign contributions to county Supervisor and state Senate candidate Janet Nguyen according to Thy Vo and Nick Gerda at the Voice of OC.

The FPPC has issued 11 subpoenas to donors who made contributions to the political committee Friends of Supervisor Janet Nguyen between 2011 and 2012, as part of an investigation involving political contributions made in the name of persons other than the true contributor, according to court records, according to the Voice of OC. Continue reading→

The OCDA slaps down the Santa Ana City Council and the City Attorney

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, OCDA, Sonia Carvalho 1 Comment

The Orange County District Attorney’s office slapped down the Santa Ana City Council and the Santa Ana City Attorney today after the City Council threatened to out a confidential report on their investigation into a real estate deal between Mayor Miguel Pulido and a city contractor, according to the Voice of OC.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Michael Lubinski outlined the DA’s position in a letter sent today to City Attorney Sonia Carvalho. Lubinski claims Carvalho backtracked on her own confidentiality request regarding the city’s report, which was referred to the DA’s office over six months ago.

“I do not understand your change of position,” Lubinski writes. “The disclosure of confidential reports is premature and should not be released until our investigation has concluded to ensure justice.” Continue reading→

City Council’s ongoing attack on Mayor Pulido comes up empty again

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, OCDA, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 10 Comments

Tinajero, Martinez and Benavides

Santa Ana City Council members voted Tuesday in closed session to release to the public the city attorney’s report on Mayor Miguel Pulido’s property swap case on Sept. 30 if District Attorney Tony Rackauckas or the state’s political watchdog don’t file criminal charges against the mayor by then, according to the Voice of OC.

What is this all about? In 2010, members of the Pulido family traded a parking lot they owned to Rupen James Akoubian, owner of NAPA Orange County Auto Parts, in exchange for a house in Westminster. According to the public assessor’s appraisals, the fair market value of the house was more than twice as much as the Pulidos’ lot, according to the Voice of OC.

The family later transferred the house solely into the mayor’s name, and he ultimately sold it for nearly $400,000, netting a $197,000 profit. Meanwhile, Akoubian’s store received a $1.35 million, no-bid city contract to supply auto parts to the municipal vehicle fleet.

So did Pulido break any laws? Let’s look at this point by point: Continue reading→

The L.A. Times piles on Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 7 Comments

Santa Ana’s longtime mayor is under investigation for his relationship with the owner of the Santa Ana location of NAPA Auto Parts, to whom the mayor sold a piece of downtown property and then voted in favor of giving an exclusive city contract, according to the L.A. Times.

We have heard all this before from the Voice of OC. Here is what it boils down to – an auto parts business owner in Santa Ana swapped a home in Westminster for a parking lot owned by Mayor Miguel Pulido’s father. Pulido later sold the home for a $197,000 profit. Continue reading→

Alvarez and Sarmiento lost money while serving on municipal boards

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 6 Comments

The Liberal OC blog’s Chris Prevatt feels that it is an FPPC violation for Council Members to vote to appoint themselves to municipal commissions and boards that pay a stipend. Prevatt, a high school grad who did not complete college, has purposefully misinterpreted Government Code §§ 87100 which states:

No public official at any level of state or local government shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use his official position to influence a governmental decision in which he knows or has reason to know he has a financial interest.

The question is whether or not a stipend constitutes a “financial interest.” Does it? I don’t think so. This law was meant to stop people from getting onto boards so they could vote in a way that would benefit them financially. Getting compensated for your time does not, as such, constitute a “financial interest.” In fact, I can prove that Alvarez and Sarmiento LOST money by serving on these boards. Continue reading→

Is FPPC complaint selectively targeting Latino officials?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Blogs, Carlos Bustamante, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Latinos, Orange County, Politics, Racism, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 20 Comments

Glenn Stroud - Complainer in Chief

When Santa Ana resident Glenn Stroud, at the urging of Liberal OC blogger Chris Prevatt, filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission against Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez and Councilmember Vincent Sarmiento it was no doubt a case of “selective” complaining. The question is did Stroud and Prevatt selectively target the two because they are Latino?

The complaint filed last week alleges that Alvarez and Sarmiento violated state law by voting for their own appointments to the Orange County Water District Board and the Transportation Corridor Agency respectively. Elected officials voting on their appointments to such boards has been going on for years and it happens in communities across the state including right here in Orange County. Stroud and Prevatt ignored history and the others and simply zeroed in on two Latino Democrats. Continue reading→

Jill Arthur’s son receives a $25K donation for college, from Judge Jim Gray

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

Chase Arthur

Chase Arthur, Picture Courtesy of the O.C. Register

Santa Ana External Affairs Director Jill Arthur was in the news today as the O.C. Register revealed that an anonymous donor stepped up to help pay for her son Chase Arthur’s first year of college, at the exclusive Santa Clara University.

The donor’s name was revealed when Jill had to file paperwork with the state FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission) due to her job and that of her husband, Craig Arthur, an Orange County Superior Court Commissioner (that means he is essentially a judge).

The donor is my good friend Jim Gray – a retired Orange County Superior Court Judge who is well known for his books about legalizing drugs. He is also a Libertarian and he has run for Congress. Today he writes a column for a local newspaper. Continue reading→