Tom Daly and Francisco Barragan

When SAUSD School Board Member Cecilia Iglesias ran for Congress back in 2010, she gathered over 10,000 signatures so that she could qualify for the ballot as an independent candidate. While she did not prevail in the election she showed us all that she was a viable candidate in Santa Ana, in a race that featured the powerhouse that is Democratic U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez and a former State Assemblyman, Van Tran, who was at the time still a dominant player in central Orange County.

Iglesias confirmed this when she ran for the SAUSD School Board in 2012, this time as Republican. While at the time I was unsure that she would do well in our city as a member of the GOP, she proved me wrong by becoming the top vote-getter in that election – she garnered more votes than two incumbents, Rob Richardson and Jose Alfredo Hernandez. That surely was a wake-up call for them as well.

Now Iglesias is challenging a Democrat, Tom Daly, who was elected to the 69th Assembly District in 2012 when three Latino Democrats split the Hispanic vote in that year’s Open Primary. Those candidates included Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez; labor organizer Julio Perez and an accountant named Francisco Barragan. While Martinez is still in power and Perez recently got appointed to a top labor post, Barragan has resorted to stalking candidates he doesn’t like, on their Facebook pages. Read more…