New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: roman reyna

Councilman Reyna to launch his mayoral campaign today

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Entertainment, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Santa Ana Councilman Roman Reyna, looking to unseat ten-term Mayor Miguel Pulido in the November election, will kick off his mayoral campaign Saturday pledging to stamp out “backroom deals” and increase City Hall transparency, according to the Voice of OC.

Reyna’s fundraiser features most, but not all, of his Council colleagues and will be held at Original Mike’s, at 100 South Main St., in Santa Ana, at 11 am today, Saturday, June 7. Be careful. Original Mike’s received three health violations in April, including “Lack of/Unsanitary/Condition Walls/Floors/Ceilings.” And they received six health violations in March, including “Evidence of Vermin Activity/Presence of Animals/Insects.” Yum!

He is holding the fundraiser on Garage Sale weekend so most of his supporters likely won’t be there. Continue reading→

Who will run for Santa Ana Mayor if Pulido opts to retire in November?

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 2 Comments

I am hearing from several sources that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is quite serious about defending himself as he is investigated for various issues stemming from campaign finances and real estate shenanigans. He is telling friends that his priority is his legal defense – so what if he ends up retiring from politics and not running again in November? Who will run?

First term Santa Ana Councilman Roman Reyna is in but no one is taking him very seriously. If Pulido pulls out you can expect much bigger names to jump in.

I am told that former Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez, an Assistant Orange County District Attorney who currently serves on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees, is already planning to run. Continue reading→

Will the Council try to find a better candidate than Reyna to oppose Pulido?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 6 Comments

As I was driving to work today I heard the allegations against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido on talk radio. Just like that the story has jumped from the Voice of OC to the L.A. Times to talk radio.

Is it any surprise then that now the local TV stations have picked up the story? Click here to check out the CBS version of the scandal.

Will this story stick? Will this damage Pulido in the long term? Who knows? November is many months away. But if this does become a major chink in Pulido’s armor, are his enemies on the Santa Ana City Council prepared to take him out? Continue reading→

If Reyna was smart he would run against Daly in 2014, not Pulido

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Tom Daly 7 Comments

By now you have likely heard that apparently Councilman Roman Reyna is going to run against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido in 2014. I can assure you that Pulido is not sweating the prospect of beating Reyna. But if Reyna was smart he would be running for a much bigger – and more winnable – office.

Assemblyman Tom Daly was elected to represent Orange County’s most Latino Assembly District, the 69th, last year when the previous incumbent, Jose Solorio, termed out. Daly ran last July in the Open Primary and was contested by a gaggle of Democrats that included Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, labor hack Julio Perez, and befuddled auditor Francisco “Paco” Barragan. When the dust settled the three Latino candidates did what everyone expected them to do – they knocked each other out. Continue reading→

Poll: Will you vote for Reyna or Pulido for Mayor in 2014?

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, David Benavides, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Roman Reyna and Carlos Bustamante

Multiple sources have confirmed tonight that Santa Ana Councilman Roman Reyna will be running against Santa Ana Mayor in 2014.

Who will you vote for? Be sure to vote in our poll, above. Continue reading→

Will Councilman Roman Reyna challenge Mayor Miguel Pulido in 2014?

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, David Benavides, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 10 Comments

Santa Ana City Councilman Roman Reyna, who was elected to his first term, in Ward 5, last year, is apparently going to run against popular Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido in 2014, according to a city insider.

Reyna, who touts that he is an “Orange County Department of Education Case Manager,” on his city bio, has previously worked at the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Agency, the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club, and the Santa Ana YMCA. He served one term on the Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education, before running for the Santa Ana City Council, when longtime incumbent Claudia Alvarez termed out. Continue reading→

Yes, we paid to send three Councilmen to Portland to look at streetcars

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Planning, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Transportation, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

Can you believe it? Our city is broke but on August 28, 2013, “officials from Santa Ana conducted a one-day site visit to learn more about the highly successful transit and streetcar system in Portland, Oregon.”

That’s right. We paid to send a bunch of Council Members and city staffers to Portland, Oregon, to look at their light rail system. Now why in the world would our city leaders do this? Well, they allege that “Out of the 15 systems currently operating and the 40 under design or construction throughout the country, Portland’s has been seen as a model that reflects the Transit Vision for Santa Ana’s proposed streetcar system.”

But is that true? Does Portland really have anything in common with Santa Ana? Continue reading→

Council Members MIA from yesterday’s Santa Ana Peace March

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Churches and Religion, Crime, David Benavides, Gangs, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana 10 Comments

More than 100 people from about 25 churches and community organizations marched on Saturday morning in a quest for peace in Santa Ana’s neighborhoods, according to the O.C. Register.

What was missing from this Santa Ana Peace March? Apparently none of the Santa Ana Council Members showed up. Click here and see for yourself – the Register did not capture any Council Members in their photo coverage of this event. And Pastor Ariel Meza, who coordinated this event, also did not mention the Council Members on his Facebook page, nor do they appear in the pictures that he took. Continue reading→

Poll – Who is the worst Santa Ana City Council Member?

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

We recently took a look at the official City Calendars of each of our Santa Ana City Council Members. Now it is time to vote! Which one of our Council Members is the very worst of the bunch?

Continue reading→

Councilman Reyna completely missing from his own Ward in June

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 6 Comments

We have been looking this week at the publicly posted official calendars of our City Council Members, for the month of June, 2013. So far we have determined that Council Members David Benavides and Angie Amezcua are barely present in their own Wards, while Council Member Michele Martinez is staying pretty active in her own Ward. And we were disappointed by Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero, who was only active on ten days in June. Now we turn to the calendar of Council Member Roman Reyna, who represents Ward 5.

He met with a “Jack Tohn,” of Wells Fargo, on June 3. Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $85 million to settle civil charges that it falsified loan documents and pushed borrowers toward subprime mortgages with higher interest rates during the housing boom, in 2011, according to the Huffington Post. I could find no reference to a “Jack Tohn” online except for a former American Idol contestant named “Jackie Tohn.” Continue reading→

Early Cinco de Mayo celebration with Amezcua, Reyna and Solorio?

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Entertainment, Jose Solorio, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Angie Oliver Amezcua

If your idea of celebrating Cinco de Mayo involves hanging out with politicians, then this event is for you. RSCCD Trustee Jose Solorio, who just got elected in November last year and is now running for the 34th State Senate District, that will open up in 2014, will join Santa Ana Council Members Angie Amezcua and Roman Reyna, at Original Mike’s, on Friday, May 3, 2013, from 5 to 7 pm. Apparently they want to meet you. Continue reading→

It turns out that Reyna is just a temp at the O.C. Dept. of Education

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Orange County, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Councilman Roman Reyna at meeting

Santa Ana Council Member Roman Reyna’s official city bio says he is an “Orange County Case Manager at the Orange County Department of Education.” We questioned that hire as Reyna has a high school diploma – not a college degree.

We contacted several Trustees of the O.C. Department of Education and one of them sent us this answer: Continue reading→

Santa Ana Cesar Chavez Celebration & Youth Leadership Conference set for 3/30

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Entertainment, Labor, Latinos, Santa Ana 2 Comments

SANTA ANA COUNCILMAN ROMAN REYNA AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEE JOSE SOLORIO INVITE PUBLIC TO CESAR CHAVEZ CELEBRATION AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Variety of family activities planned in honor of the farm worker labor leader

SANTA ANA – Santa Ana Councilman Roman Reyna and Community College Trustee Jose Solorio invite the public to the 13th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Celebration and Youth Leadership Conference on Saturday, March 30, 2013, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Santa Ana College amphitheatre located at 1530 W. 17th Street (at Bristol Street) in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Could Roman Reyna be the next Carlos Bustamante?

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Al Mijares, Carlos Bustamante, Orange County, Republican Party, Rob Richardson, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD 9 Comments

Roman Reyna and Carlos Bustamante

Funny how history has a habit of repeating itself. A few years ago a Santa Ana Councilman got a job as an Orange County middle manager. He proceeded to get promoted repeatedly, despite an obvious lack of talent. And eventually he was arrested for allegations of sexual harassment and sex crimes, as well as public theft. His name was Carlos Bustamante.

Bustamante was recruited to the County of Orange, reportedly, by Assistant OC CEO Rob Richardson, who is a Trustee on the Santa Ana School Board. Both are Republicans as well.

Now we come to find out that Councilman Roman Reyna, who has even less education than Bustamante did, with naught but a high school diploma, has scored a job as a Case Manager at the Orange County Department of Education, according to Reyna’s city bio. Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes: Will Michele Martinez take a job in Sacramento?

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Al Mijares, Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Education, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Vince Sarmiento 11 Comments

Michele Martinez whining

Adios Martinez?

Inside sources tell me that Santa Ana Council Woman Michele Martinez, who lost badly last June in her bid for the 69th Assembly District, is considering a job in Sacramento, so she might end up there after all. I am told that she will resign from the City Council if she gets this unknown job.

Martinez is actively involved in SCAG, the Southern California Association of Governments, and NALEO, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials. It is as such feasible that she might be leaving our city for a job in the state capitol. Continue reading→