Did you notice how out of control Santa Ana Council Woman Michele Martinez appeared at the last Council meeting? I have been hearing for some time that she has become unhinged and has taken to making ridiculous demands at City Hall. Diva? You bet.
And now she has done it again. According to my sources, she blew a gasket this week when her pals at the SEIU whined about the Santa Ana Park Rangers getting axed. Continue reading
UPDATED: Reportedly Paul Walters is going to negotiate an exit from Santa Ana’s City Hall and won’t be returning to the SAPD. I am told that he cares too much about the rich history of the SAPD and is afraid that if he returns to there the Council will undermine him and hurt the department. Best of luck to Walters, who deserved better than this, after 42 years of service to the people of Santa Ana.
“The Santa Ana City Council was scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the terms of its separation from City Manager Paul Walters, which could include a request for a public hearing on behalf of the fired administrator,” according to the L.A. Times. Continue reading
The Santa Ana City Council has agendized a clsoed door session to take place tonight at 5 pm. The topic? Dismissing City Manager Paul Walters. Details below.
This is a chance to show up and let them have it again – if they allow for any public comments. If not, at least we can bring signs and picket. This Council needs to know that we are not happy with their dismissal of our great City Manager, Paul Walters.
Meeting details: Continue reading
Should Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and local community leaders demand an appeal of the Santa Ana City Council’s decision to fire City Manager Paul Walters – seven months after they voted unanimously to hire him?
My sources report that the Council is allegedly working overtime to discredit Pulido and Walters – in case there is a public hearing to review the Council’s decision to fire Walters.
While the Council Members said nice things about Walters at the close of Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the attack they are supposedly preparing is beyond belief. My insiders tell me that the Council is trying to find proof that former Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez had an affair some years ago, with Walters. Continue reading
Update: Confirmed. The Santa Ana City Council voted 6-1 to fire City Manager Paul Walters.
The Santa Ana City Council is still in closed session but one of our readers, in the audience, was tipped off moments ago that they have voted to do the unthinkable – they are going to fire City Manager Paul Walters even though he saved our city last year from a budget crisis created by the previous City Manager, Dave Ream, and the Council.
This is by no means the end of this story. The Council will have to agendize this for a future meeting. But they have the votes to see this through. Continue reading
Carolina Sarmiento, of El Centro Cultural de Mexico, penned a ridiculous op-ed over at the union-funded Voice of OC, ripping our Santa Ana City Manager, Paul Walters, and demanding a national search for a new City Manager. Obviously she timed this to coincide with tonight’s scheduled City Council meeting as the “Gang of Five” may be terminating Walters – with no cause to be sure.
Here are a few excerpts from Sarmiento’s delusional missive. Note that she is essentially trying to pin the problems in our city, which stem from poverty, on Walters – this dear readers is class warfare, right from the writings of Karl Marx: Continue reading
From the Save Paul Walters blog
Is the Santa Ana City Council majority undermining their relationship with all of their city employees by going after their City Manager Paul Walters? That is exactly what Adam Probolsky, an Orange County political consultant and pollster, suggested in a column posted today at the Voice of OC.
While Probolsky did not finger the attack on Walters specifically, he did suggest that “Demonizing public employees might be good for a sound bite, but it’s an ineffective management approach.”
Here is Probolsky’s column, in its entirety. Let’s hope the Santa Ana City Council’s bullies take the time to read it: Continue reading
An online petition has been created, to save Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters. You may click here to sign it – the petition will be delivered to each of the Santa Ana City Council Members via email.
Here is the letter you will be sending to the Council Members: Continue reading
To the members of the Santa Ana City Council and the citizens who voted for them.
It is shocking and disappointing that our elected officials are attempting to remove Mr. Paul Walters as City Manager when he successfully salvaged the city budget preventing bankruptcy. Mr. Walters is an extremely valuable asset to Santa Ana on many fronts including his years as Santa Ana’s Chief of Police. As Chief he made Santa Ana safer which makes the city a more desirable place to buy homes, build homes, and open business. The Statistics are facts that speak for themselves. (See below statistics) Continue reading
Have Benavides and Sarmiento been secretly coordinating their attack on Walters?
Apparently Council Member David Benavides called the Santa Ana City Clerk, Maria Huizar, this Friday, in the morning at about 10 am, to instruct her to add an item to the agenda for the Council meeting set for this coming Tuesday, regarding the review of Santa Ana’s City Manager Paul Walters. Click here to contact Huizar if you would like to confirm this. You may also call her at 714.647.6520.
About a half hour later his colleague, according to my sources, Council Member Vince Sarmiento, made the same call, using the same language, to Huizar. Continue reading
Where were Sarmiento’s complaints before the majority took power?
I continue to be amazed by the lame excuses our Santa Ana Council Members are making with regard to their ongoing attempt to fire our successful City Manager, Paul Walters. Here are the latest nuggets from the Council, from the O.C. Register:
The Santa Ana Council Majority has placed an item, 1C, on the agenda for the next Council Meeting, on Jan. 22, that reads:
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE AND/OR
POTENTIAL DISMISSAL/RELEASE pursuant to Government Code Section
54957(b)(1)
Title: City Manager
This is it folks. They are going to move to fire our City Manager, Paul Walters. They apparently did not learn a thing from the last Council meeting, on Jan. 7, when dozens of local residents and business leaders, including OCTA Chairman Greg Winterbottom, SAUSD Trustee and Local Attorney Jose Hernandez, and Com Link Chair Evangeline Gawronski, ripped them a new one for threatening to fire Walters. Imagine how many folks will turn out for next week’s meeting? Continue reading
Maybe Michele Martinez needs a time machine so she can vote again for a new City Manager?
So this is what it has come down to. The two or three defenders of the Santa Ana City Council majority are now pleading on the blogs, anonymously of course, for a new national search for a new City Manager even though we already have one and he was selected unanimously by the Council. And they gave him a contract that pretty much backfires on them if they can him.
The reality folks is that the Council Majority is desperate to take complete power at City Hall and that is not going to happen as long as Paul Walters is at the helm. Note that former Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is gone now. She was the one who kept these guys from breaking the law. The good news is that now she can come after them as an Orange County Deputy District Attorney – and that is just what it might come down to. Continue reading
What to do? Our Santa Ana City Council majority has lost it. Now Council Member David Benavides is back from his travels – apparently he flew to India with his church. And so they are ready to resume their horrible attack on our City Manager, Paul Walters. What is driving this? Who knows? Hatred of our popular Mayor, Miguel Pulido? Pressure from the police union, which wants a big contract? Apartment developers who want to build high density units that Pulido won’t allow? Who knows?
What we do know is that it might well be time to strike back. And one way to do that would be to start a recall – and remove these miscreants from our Council. But who to recall? Michele Martinez? That would be a good start. She certainly has been the vortex of the Walter attacks. Benavides? He allowed his supporters to attack Pulido’s kids during his failed mayoral campaign. Vincent Sarmiento? He almost lost in November to a total unknown. Sal Tinajero? He already survived the recall of his pal Nativo Lopez, from the SAUSD School Board, back in the day. Can he survive another one? Roman Reyna? He seems to be going along with the Walters lynch mob…
Here is your chance to be heard! I have set up the poll below so that you may vote to recall one of the Council Members, or more, or all of them, or perhaps none of them. You decide! Continue reading
You can now express your support for our great City Manager, Paul Walters, on a new blog and on a new Facebook page. And be sure to show up to the next Santa Ana City Council meeting, on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 5 pm, to speak up for Walters. Bring signs and tell your friends and neighbors.
Our ridiculous Santa Ana City Council majority continues to wage war on Walters, who saved our city from a horrible budget crisis last year. Why isn’t the Council focusing on the problems our city faces? Where are their good ideas? These insane people would rather bring down one of Orange County’s best public administrators than work to improve Santa Ana. Continue reading