New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Angelica Amezcua

The Santa Ana City Council members make new commission appointments

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Cecilia Aguinaga, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento, Water 1 Comment

The Santa Ana City Council members appointed themselves to various commissions at their meeting tonight.

There was a struggle behind the scenes in recent weeks as Councilman Roman Reyna, who has struggled to maintain a real job aside from his part-time City Council job, lobbied for commission appointments with fatter paychecks. He seems to have won as he did end up receiving two very plum appointments.

Here are the new commission appointments:

Roman Reyna – the OC Water Board and the OC Vector Control District Board
Angie Amezcua – the OC Fire Authority Board
David Benavides – The Toll Roads Agency Board (TCA)
Sal Tinajero – the OC Sanitation Board

Continue reading→

Man stabbed in Santa Ana’s Ward 3

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A man was stabbed Friday afternoon in Santa Ana, police said. at Fairview and Seventeenth streets in Santa Ana. When the police arrived, they found a man stabbed several times in the upper torso, Sgt. Don Humphrey said, according to the O.C. Register.

For some reason the man did not cooperate with the police. He admitted that someone stabbed him but that was it. He was taken to an unnamed hospital for treatment. Continue reading→

Man with shotgun threatens women at the 1200 block of N. Harbor Bl.

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Crime, Guns, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A man was reportedly running around at around 7 pm, with a shotgun in the 1200 block of North Harbor Boulevard, in Santa Ana, on Thursday, threatening at least two women, police said, according to the O.C. Register.

One woman told the police that she was approached by a man who pointed a shotgun at her, in the 1300 block of North Bewley Street – he ran away after she screamed loudly.

Later a man who was at the 1200 block of North Harbor Boulevard told the SAPD that he saw a fellow with a shotgun pursuing another woman into a business parking lot. Continue reading→

Bacerra booted off the Santa Ana Planning Commission

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, David Cavazos, Eric Alderete, Miguel Pulido, Phil Bacerra, Santa Ana, Sean Mill 12 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council voted 4-3 tonight to not accept Phil Bacerra’s reappointment to the Santa Ana Planning Commission. Bacerra got in hot water earlier this year when he stubbornly refused to turn in required Planning Commissioner Communication Disclosure Forms. According to the City Attorney, Bacerra took over four months to finally turn in the forms. All of the other Planning Commissioners turned in their forms right away.

Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides, who tried to reappoint Bacerra to the Planning Commission, responded by falsely claiming that Planning Commissioners Eric Alderete and Sean Mill have not turned in proper financial disclosure forms. However the City Attorney and the City Clerk quickly shut him up by asserting that Mill and Alderete are, and have been, in compliance. Continue reading→

Two men shot in Councilwoman Amezcua’s Ward 3, at 800 N. Jackson St.

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Crime, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: SAPD Homicide Detectives investigate shooting death

On Friday, 12-12-14, at approximately 7:11 PM officers responded to the area of 800 N. Jackson (in Ward 3, which is represented by Councilwoman Angie Amezcua) reference a male who was shot. When officers arrived, who found two adult males that had sustained gunshot wounds. OCFA Paramedics responded and transported both males to UCI Hospital for treatment. One of the males subsequently died from his injuries.

Homicide detectives were called to the scene. A preliminary investigation revealed both victims were standing in front of a residence when two unidentified males approached and engaged them in a conversation. Several shots were then fired at the victims. Continue reading→

The new City Council majority won’t include Reyna and Benavides

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, David Cavazos, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

While none of the Santa Ana City Council incumbents lost in the November General Election there is still major change coming to our City Council. You might recall that former Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero withdrew his support for Councilman David Benavides, prior to the General Election. Now Tinajero has joined forces with the new Mayor Pro Tem, Vince Sarmiento. In short, the adults are now running the Santa Ana City Council.

Tinajero and Sarmiento are working to form a new City Council majority with Council Members Angie Amezcua and Michele Martinez. The latter has at times joined with Reyna and Benavides. But if Martinez wants to survive in politics she will now dump them and work instead with Sarmiento and Tinajero.

If Martinez decides to be obstinate then Tinajero and Sarmiento have another option. They can form a Council majority with Amezcua and Mayor Miguel Pulido. Continue reading→

Poll – Who should be Santa Ana’s next Mayor Pro Tem?

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 5 Comments

Is Councilman Benavides capable of running a Santa Ana City Council meeting?

Apparently our current Mayor Pro Tem, Sal Tinajero, is going to vacate the position and allow one of the other Santa Ana Council Members to become our new Mayor Pro Tem, at the next City Council meeting coming up on Tuesday.

Mayor Pro Tem is largely a ceremonial title but in the event that our Mayor, Miguel Pulido, is absent from a City Council meeting, or he either arrives late or has to leave early, the Pro Tem would step up and run the meeting. Continue reading→

It’s time for a new City Council majority

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Phil Bacerra, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 3 Comments

Transparency really matters to Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero. It is why he split from Councilman David Benavides’ “Team Santa Ana” in the recent City Council election. Benavides steadfastly refused to compel his Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra to fill out the mandated Communication Disclosure forms until Tinajero threatened to remove Bacerra from his Commission.

Tinajero had the votes to dismiss Bacerra and Benavides knew it. Mayor Miguel Pulido and Council Members Vince Sarmiento and Angie Amezcua would have likely backed Tinajero.

Now that the election is over it is time for our City Council to get back to work trying to improve our city however Council Member Michele Martinez reacted in typical chola fashion after the election, when she told the Voice of OC that “When I was fighting the mayor before, the gloves were on, now the gloves are off — its bare knuckles.” Continue reading→

Councilwoman Martinez says she won’t mind if she isn’t reelected in November

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mirna Velasquez, Orange County, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 27 Comments

Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, told NBC News this week that she “will not mind if she isn’t reelected in November.” She was interviewed after this week’s City Council meeting had to be canceled after a punk in a “F*ck the police” hat wouldn’t leave.

“As I sat here and listened to all the comments, it’s really disheartening. People want to come here and threaten us,” said Martinez. “At the end of the day let me tell you I can go to sleep at night, so I don’t care if you feel that I have not done a job that you’ve asked me to do.”

The sad reality for Martinez is that she has been pandering to the FTP crowd for some time – but as she saw on Tuesday night they are insatiable. They are anarchists and nothing she or any other politician does is going to mollify them. Continue reading→

Team Santa Ana falls apart as Benavides declares war on Tinajero

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Alex Padilla, Angelica Amezcua, Gangs, John Palacio, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mirna Velasquez, Planning, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua 21 Comments

Team Santa Ana Broken

Team Santa Ana appears to be finished as Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides posted a snarky picture of the Team Santa Ana walk piece with Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero’s face covered up. The picture was posted on Benavides’ Facebook page, Twitter account and Instragam account before he came to his senses and deleted the entries. The damage however was already done. The Santa Ana Spring is over.

What happened? This all goes back to the ongoing ruckus on the Santa Ana Planning Commission where Commissioner Phil Bacerra has dug in his heels and steadfastly refused to turn in his communication disclosure forms. All of the other Planning Commissioners have done so but Bacerra had to be threatened by the Santa Ana City Council’s Ethics Committee, which consists of Tinajero and Councilwoman Angie Amezcua, before he finally turned in what I am told are heavily redacted disclosure forms that may not in fact be all that accurate.

Why do these forms matter? It all comes down to transparency. The public deserves to know who the Planning Commissioners are talking to about city business. Why did Bacerra drag his feet for so long before finally turning in the forms, after being threatened with removal from the Planning Commission? That is the crux of the matter. Has Bacerra been shaking down those who have business with the Planning Commission for donations to the Benavides reelection campaign? Is this why Benavides has been running interference for Bacerra? Continue reading→

Bacerra now facing ouster from the Planning Commission over refusal to fill out disclosure forms

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, Phil Bacerra, Planning, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 68 Comments

The Santa Ana City Council’s Ethics Committee, which includes Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero and Councilwoman Angie Amezcua, met tonight to discuss the fate of Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra, who was appointed by Councilman David Benavides.

Bacerra has steadfastly refused to fill out the communications disclosure forms that all of the other Santa Ana Planning Commissioners filled out a long time ago. He even told Tinajero, in a prior conversation, that he didn’t need to.

But the Santa Ana City Attorney says that Bacerra does have to – retroactively back to March of this year. And he now has until Oct. 2 to turn in his forms. If he doesn’t then the next step will be an 85A motion on the next City Council agenda that will call for his removal. And believe me the votes are there to do that – Bacerra can only count on support from Benavides and Councilman Roman Reyna. Continue reading→

Why would two Planning Commissioners vote against transparency?

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Bruce T. Bauer, Eric Alderete, Phil Bacerra, Planning, Santa Ana, Sean Mill 39 Comments

Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra

Why would two Santa Ana Planning Commissioners vote against transparency? That is what happened at tonight’s Santa Ana Planning Commission meeting when Planning Commissioners Phil Bacerra and Bruce Bauer voted against disclosure of communications by Planning Commissioners regarding agendized projects with third parties such as business owners and residents

Now why in the world would Bacerra and Bauer opt to hide in the shadows? This is particularly disturbing when you consider that Bacerra was appointed to the Santa Ana Planning Commission by Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides. You may recall that when Benavides ran for Mayor in 2012 he made transparency the cornerstone of his campaign. What happened? Continue reading→

Three Council Members seek to ban medical marijuana collectives

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2014 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, Civic Affairs, Crime, David Benavides, Drugs, Marijuana, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 24 Comments

Three Santa Ana City Council Members, including Michele Martinez, David Benavides and Angie Amezcua have placed an 85A item on the agenda for this Tuesday’s City Council meeting, regarding medical marijuana.

These Council Members would like to place a measure on the November General Election ballot that would allow voters to vote against the sale of medical marijuana by collectives/dispensaries. Continue reading→

Updated: Bruce Bauer nominated to the Santa Ana Planning Commission

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Bruce T. Bauer, Civic Affairs, Planning, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Update: The Santa Ana City Council voted tonight to approve the appointment of Bruce T. Bauer to the Santa Ana Planning Commission. We know he will do a great job!

Good news for Santa Ana’s bike trail enthusiasts. Bruce T. Bauer, an attorney and a leading proponent of completing the Santiago Creek Bike Trail, has been nominated to the Santa Ana Planning Commission by Council Member Angie Amezcua. His nomination will be voted on by the Santa Ana City Council at tonight’s Council meeting.

Amezcua’s previous appointee to the Planning Commission, Joel Crespo, resigned to take a job with a law firm up north, from what I have heard. 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→