Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Sal Tinajero

Why do Santa Ana’s overpaid local politicians keep trying to raise our taxes?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, John Palacio, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Valerie Amezcua 2 Comments

If you see a meth addict begging for money outside a McDonald’s and you give him twenty bucks chances are that he will buy one item off the restaurant’s dollar menu and spend the rest of the money on drugs. Local governments act the very same way. No matter how much tax money they take from us they always find a way to blow most of it and then come back to us for more money.

That is precisely what is happening in Santa Ana right now. The Santa Ana Unified School District has already begged us for millions twice before with two previous bond measures. Now they are back with their hat in hand begging for millions more – even though other area school districts are finding ways to improve their facilities without passing bond measures. 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’s latest attempt to extend their term limits got punked again

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council Majority

The Santa Ana City Council Majority – which now includes Council Members David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Vince Sarmiento and Sal Tinajero, tried once again yesterday to illegally extend their term limits by trying to place a last-minute district election measure on the June ballot.

They were previously punked by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido when he refused to sign off on their vote to place the measure on the June ballot. A judge recently forced Pulido to finally sign those papers but the June election ballot submission deadline had already expired.  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 Santa Ana City Council majority will sue to illegally extend their term limits

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, Courts, David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council Majority – David Benavides, Sal Tinajero, Vince Sarmiento and Jose Solorio

The Santa Ana City Council majority decided at their last-minute special meeting today to sue Mayor Miguel Pulido for not placing their illegal district election measure on the June Primary Election ballot, according to an inside source.

Apparently our City Attorney, Sonia Carvalho, hired an outside counsel to help her aid the City Council majority, which is currently comprised of Council Members David Benavides, Sal Tinajero, Vince Sarmiento and Jose Solorio, come to this awful decision. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority will try again on Monday to illegally extend their term limits

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

The Santa Ana City Council majority – David Benavides, Vince Sarmiento, Sal Tinajero and Jose Solorio

The four clowns on the current Santa Ana City Council majority are going to try again to illegally place a district election measure on the June Primary Election ballot this Monday, at a last minute special City Council meeting set at 1:30 p.m.

The agenda for this meeting notes that this will be a conference with legal counsel regarding a threat or anticipated/potential litigation. Well that is true as the City Council majority got caught violating the Brown Act last week as they secretly texted each other to discuss the special meeting that was supposed to be held on Friday. 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→

OC Democrats who don’t live in Santa Ana want to bring the needle exchange back to DTSA

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Drugs, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Should Santa Ana allow the Needle Exchange to operate again in the Civic Center?

Once again, people who do not live in Santa Ana are trying to tell our city what to do. After operating in the Civic Center for 2 years, the Orange County Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP) was denied a permit to continue giving out free needles in the Civic Center every Saturday. In January, the city decided that finding needles in our Civic Center, library, parks, and neighborhoods was a public safety issue, and could no longer allow the program to put resident’s and city worker’s safety at risk. 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→

Hundreds of SAUSD students are participating in a speech and debate tournament today

Posted on by Posted in Education, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

Hundreds of students to participate in SAUSD Speech & Debate Middle School Tournament Jan. 20

The program has grown to serve 600 students and sent a delegation to the National Speech and Debate competition for the first time in 2017, where five students placed nationally.

Hundreds of students from the Santa Ana Unified School District’s (SAUSD) national award-winning Speech and Debate team will showcase their skills during the upcoming Speech & Debate Middle School Tournament this weekend. 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→

Tinajero named state educator of the year by National Speech & Debate Association

Posted on by Posted in Education, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana Leave a comment

News Release: Santa Ana Unified’s Sal Tinajero Named State Educator of the Year by National Speech & Debate Association

Tinajero was selected from more than 5,000 member coaches and teachers across the country because of his unwavering commitment to speech and debate education

Sal Tinajero, a Program Specialist for the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), has been named the 2017-2018 California Educator of the Year by the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA).

Tinajero was selected from more than 5,000 member coaches and teachers across the country because of his unwavering commitment to speech and debate education, and because his passion for speech and debate has enhanced the quality of education in California and beyond, according to NSDA. Continue reading→

Santa Ana to host a national speech and debate championship in 2019

Posted on by Posted in Education, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: Santa Ana Selected to Host National Forensic Association Tournament – Speech and Debate Championship – in 2019

SANTA ANA – The City of Santa Ana, in collaboration with the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) and Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, has been selected to host the National Forensic Association (NFA) Tournament, a national Speech and Debate championship, from April 18, 2019 to April 23, 2019.

The National Forensic Association is an academic association dedicated to providing leadership in intercollegiate speech and debate education in the United States. Thousands of competitors from between 75 and 125 colleges and universities attend the national tournament each year with hopes of clinching the championship. Continue reading→

Meet Councilman Tinajero at tonight’s Connect-to-Council event in Ward 6

Posted on by Posted in Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Connect-to-Council is hosting a Ward 6 event tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. featuring Santa Ana Councilman Sal Tinajero, at the Salvation Army, located at 1710 W. Edinger Ave., in Santa Ana.

Current resource information will be provided at this meeting on topics such as: Continue reading→

Recall election campaigns against S.A. Councilmen Benavides and Tinajero approved

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A Santa Ana City Hall insider confirmed today that Santa Ana City Clerk Maria Huizar has accepted the signatures to mount a recall election against Santa Ana City Councilman David Benavides. She had previously approved a recall election against Councilman Sal Tinajero.

The forces that are working to recall Benavides and Tinajero have money and they have volunteers. Now we will find out if Benavides and Tinajero can defend themselves. It will likely be very difficult for them to raise money. Continue reading→