Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: Michele Martinez

Mayor Pulido finally has a City Council majority he can work with

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, David Penaloza, Juan Villegas, Santa Ana 2 Comments

While voter turnout in yesterday’s General Election, here in Santa Ana, was very low the results worked out in favor of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who was easily reelected to what will be his last two-year term after he trounced his opponent, termed out City Councilman Sal Tinajero.

The successful City Council candidates, including Ceci Iglesias in Ward 6 and David Penaloza in Ward 2, are likely to ally with Pulido. Current City Council member Juan Villegas can be counted on as well. With Pulido that makes a four member City Council majority. Continue reading→

Would you hire the Santa Ana political candidates you are voting for?

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Angie Rosario Cano, Art Pedroza, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, David Penaloza, Education, John Palacio, Jose Solorio, Juan Villegas, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Paul Gonzales, Phil Bacerra, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

As voters we sometimes fail to recognize that electing someone to represent us on any elective body, such as the Santa Ana City Council or the Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education, is similar to hiring someone to work for us. We are entrusting these candidates to do right by the community.

But if you were hiring someone to work for you, would you consider the folks who are running for local office in Santa Ana this year? In that case what factors would you weigh in trying to determine who to support for local offices? Continue reading→

Are Santa Ana’s voters ready to elect an openly gay City Council Member?

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Crime, Elections, Irma Macias, Michele Martinez, Mike Gonzalez, Paul Gonzales, Sandra Pena, Santa Ana 4 Comments

There are no less than a half dozen candidates running for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 2 this November. But only one of them is openly gay – Paul Gonzales.

Just a few decades ago Santa Ana was a majority white city with City Councils full of Republicans. Today Republicans and white residents are the minority in this city. But is Santa Ana ready to embrace an openly gay City Councilman? Continue reading→

Who you will be voting for in November for the Santa Ana City Council and the SAUSD School Board

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Angie Rosario Cano, Art Pedroza, Ballot Measures, Bond Measures, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, David Penaloza, Education, Irma Macias, John Palacio, Miguel Pulido, Mirna Velasquez, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Paul Gonzalez, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Sandra Pena, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Valerie Amezcua 6 Comments

When I spoke with Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido earlier this week he was not yet sure if he was going to run for what will be his last two-year term. Since them Pulido has indeed pulled papers and he will be on the November 6 ballot. He will face off against termed-out Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero, who has been garnering a lot of media attention of late due to his leadership of the SAUSD Debate Team. The path for Tinajero was cleared when his colleague, Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez, opted to not run for Mayor after all. She too is terming out from the Santa Ana City Council.

No question about it – the Tinajero versus Pulido race will be the big contest in the General Election. But the race for Santa Ana’s Ward 2 will also be sure to garner a lot of attention as no less than six candidates have pulled papers. Here are the Ward 2 candidates: Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority will try to change our ward maps before they term out

Posted on by Posted in Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Santa Ana City Council majority

The Santa Ana City Council majority has voted to start drawing up plans to place a measure on the November ballot to change our City Council elections to a ward-specific model.

But that’s not all. Most of the Santa Ana City Council majority is going to term out in November. But now they want to change our ward maps before they leave City Hall. The last time they did this Councilman Sal Tinajero made sure to remove Asian voters from his Ward. What shenanigans will they be up to this time? Continue reading→

An early look at this November’s Santa Ana City Council candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, David Penaloza, Irma Macias, Laura Kanter, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mirna Velasquez, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Sandra Pena, Santa Ana 2 Comments

It looks like the Santa Ana City Council majority will not be able to put a district election measure on the June ballot after all. A judge ruled today that Mayor Miguel Pulido should have signed their paperwork submitting the district election measure to the O.C. Voter Registrar. But it is too late for that measure to make it to the June ballot, according to the O.C. Register.

What this means is that Council Members Michele Martinez, David Benavides and Sal Tinajero are going to term out this November. They will have to be replaced in the November election.

Here are the Santa Ana City Council candidates that I am aware of at the moment: Continue reading→

The OC Board of Supervisors decided not to move the homeless out of Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, homeless, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Homeless Solution Can Kicked Further Down the Road. Santa Ana Calls For Countywide Action on Homelessness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 27, 2018

Media Contact: Jorge Garcia, Assistant to the City Manager, (714) 586-6321

SANTA ANA, CA – Today, the Orange County Board of Supervisors reversed last week’s vote to designate three additional sites throughout Orange County as potential temporary homeless shelters. The action creates further delays in addressing a growing homelessness problem that the entire County is facing. The Board plans to revisit the matter in early April. Continue reading→

Santa Ana residents urged to speak at tomorrow’s Board of Supervisor meeting regarding the homeless

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Michele Martinez, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Urgent Call to Action: Santa Ana we need to stand up and say no more…. Enough is enough!

By: Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez

Santa Ana has provided the largest share of assistance by any city in the county.

The Civic Center is the living room of Orange County but unfortunately, it has become ground zero for the homeless population. This regional crisis is impacting the quality of life for all residents, employees and visitors of Santa Ana.

I want to encourage all Santa Ana residents to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting this coming Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at 9am and ask the board to adopt a comprehensive homeless policy that states, “The County supports the equitable distribution of facilities and services throughout the Region, so that no one jurisdiction or community is impacted by providing more than its fair share of facilities and services”. Continue reading→

The S.A. City Council majority got caught trying to illegally place a district election measure on the June ballot

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Elections, Jose Solorio, Juan Villegas, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

The Santa Ana City Council majority proved once again this week that they are a bunch of clowns as their efforts to illegally place a district specific elections measure on the June primary election ballot failed miserably, according to the Voice of OC.

The City Council majority, which included Vince Sarmiento, Sal Tinajero, David Benavides and their new pal Jose Solorio, voted on Tuesday, this week, to place this measure on the June ballot. But they once again underestimated Mayor Miguel Pulido, who proceeded to punk them in royal fashion. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority is trying to sneak through a major change to our local elections

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Education, Jose Solorio, Juan Villegas, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 2 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council majority is up to their old tricks again. This time they are trying to sneak through major changes to our local elections ordinance without much input from the public.

They are going to consider, at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, placing a ballot measure on the June Primary Election ballot that will change our City Council elections to district-specific elections instead of the current at-large model. Continue reading→

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez announces her campaign for Mayor

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SANTA ANA MAYOR PRO TEM MICHELE MARTINEZ ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR

Santa Ana, CA — Santa Ana City Councilmember and current Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez announced her campaign for Mayor of Santa Ana today. Martinez is currently serving in her third term on the City Council.

In announcing her campaign, Martinez released the following statement: Continue reading→

Did the City of Santa Ana ask you to approve a $1M subsidy to the Auto Mall?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

In November 2017, the city council approved a million dollar “loan” to the Santa Ana Auto Mall to build a new digital billboard next to the 55 Fwy. This million dollars would come from the city’s reserve fund meant to be used when the city doesn’t have enough money to operate which has happened the last 2 years. City Council members called it a “sales-tax loan” and said the million would be re-paid to the city by sales tax revenue from an increase in vehicles being sold at the Auto Mall over the next 10 years, according to the Voice of OC. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority will vote to overpay a sub-par new City Manager on Tuesday

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

This week’s Santa Ana City Council meeting agenda includes item 25H – Approval of the Agreement to hire Raul Godinez as our City’s new City Manager, as we wrote about earlier in the week. You can read the staff report regarding Godinez here.

The Santa Ana City Council majority, comprised of Council Members Michele Martinez, Vince Sarmiento, Sal Tinajero and David Benavides, is going to vote to pay Godinez a package worth over $500K a year. Continue reading→

Rojas filed a claim against the City of Santa Ana after he quickly angered his new bosses at BART

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Rojas, Crime, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Do you remember when former SAPD Police Chief Carlos Rojas quit the SAPD to go be the Chief at BART (the Bay Area Rapid Transit System in San Francisco and Oakland)? At the time Rojas said his new job was a “fun” challenge. “I’m excited and humbled to have been selected to lead such a progressive police department,” he said.

Well it did not take Rojas long to anger his new employers!

“Not long after Rojas started work in late May, he made the decision to stop issuing daily curated email reports on police calls at BART, which described in short paragraphs the reported crime and the department’s response, and instead, to send BART crime information to the free online tool, CrimeMapping.com,” according to the Mercury News. Continue reading→

Why did the Santa Ana Personnel Board vote to reinstate SAPD police officer Brandon Sontag?

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Marijuana, Santa Ana, Santa Ana Personnel Board 3 Comments

Lately, there has been a lot of fingering pointing at who is to blame for Officer Brandon Sontag being given his job back with the Santa Ana Police Dept. after being seen in a video of the Sky High marijuana dispensary raid?

So who is to blame for Officer Sontag getting his job back with the Santa Ana Police Dept?

The Mayor? NO!

Former Chief of Police Rojas? NO!

Santa Ana Personnel Board members? YES!!! Continue reading→