Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: Gisela Contreras

No the teacher’s union has not endorsed Carolyn Torres for the SAUSD School Board

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Carolyn Torres, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Education, Elections, Gisela Contreras, Santa Ana, SAUSD 1 Comment

You would think that SAUSD School Board candidate Carolyn Torres had the endorsement of our local teacher’s union, the SAEA, given the ads her campaign is running on Facebook. But that is actually not correct! They are not supporting her.

In fact the SAEA (Santa Ana Educators Association) is backing former Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides. (Apparently the SAEA is sitting out this campaign, which is incredibly lame!).

Former Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides has been endorsed by current SAUSD School Board Members Valerie Amezcua and John Palacio.

While Torres is a teacher she is also not exactly a savory candidate, as we divulged in a previous post.

Benavides is not a teacher but he was once married to a SAUSD teacher who has won multiple teaching awards and his kids have all gone to local schools. He also is the head of a local non-profit, KidWorks, which does a lot of good in the community, primarily serving our young people.

Iglesias incidentally is backing Gisela Contreras, a local parent who supports school choice and advocates for family values.

The candidates are set for the SAUSD Special Election on Nov. 5

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Carolyn Torres, Cecilia Aguinaga, David Benavides, Gisela Contreras, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

The candidates are set for the upcoming SAUSD School Board Special Election, which will be held on Nov. 5, to replace Cecilia Iglesias, who was elected to the Santa Ana City Council.

The candidates include:

  • Cecilia Aguinaga – a Realtor who has run for the SAUSD School Board a few times before. Aguinaga has served on various City Commissions over the years. She currently serves on the Santa Ana Housing and Redevelopment Commission.
  • David Benavides – a former Santa Ana City Councilman who now heads up a non-profit, Kidworks.
  • Gisela Contreras – a parent/businesswoman who is endorsed by Iglesias.
  • Carolyn Torres – a 7th grade teacher who has very liberal views.

I am surprised that Benavides is running and disappointed that Angie Cano is not running. Cano has come close to getting elected to the SAUSD School Board in a couple previous races.

This Special Election will be held concurrently with the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4 Special Election, which will replace Benavides’ old friend Roman Reyna, who had to quit the City Council after he got caught fudging his campaign paperwork.