Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: Carolyn Torres

The candidates are set for the SAUSD Special Election on Nov. 5

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Carolyn Torres, Cecilia Aguinaga, David Benavides, Gisela Contreras, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

The candidates are set for the upcoming SAUSD School Board Special Election, which will be held on Nov. 5, to replace Cecilia Iglesias, who was elected to the Santa Ana City Council.

The candidates include:

  • Cecilia Aguinaga – a Realtor who has run for the SAUSD School Board a few times before. Aguinaga has served on various City Commissions over the years. She currently serves on the Santa Ana Housing and Redevelopment Commission.
  • David Benavides – a former Santa Ana City Councilman who now heads up a non-profit, Kidworks.
  • Gisela Contreras – a parent/businesswoman who is endorsed by Iglesias.
  • Carolyn Torres – a 7th grade teacher who has very liberal views.

I am surprised that Benavides is running and disappointed that Angie Cano is not running. Cano has come close to getting elected to the SAUSD School Board in a couple previous races.

This Special Election will be held concurrently with the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4 Special Election, which will replace Benavides’ old friend Roman Reyna, who had to quit the City Council after he got caught fudging his campaign paperwork.

Let the voters decide who should replace Iglesias on the SAUSD School Board

Posted on by Posted in 2019 Elections, Bruce T. Bauer, Carolyn Torres, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Education, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

When Ceci Iglesias got elected to the Santa Ana City Council she had to give up her seat on the Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education. Now her vacancy must be filled but the SAUSD School Board has bungled this.

Early on in the process I emailed the SAUSD Superintendent and asked for an application to fill the vacant SAUSD School Board seat. I never got a reply. Santa Ana City Commissioner Cecilia Aguinaga did the same and was also blown off. It is clear that the SAUSD School Board Member application process has been rigged from the start.

Bruce Bauer

There are now two candidates left that remain in consideration to replace Iglesias on the SAUSD School Board. They are Bruce Bauer, a lawyer who lives in the Floral Park neighborhood and Carolyn Torres, a school Teacher and community activist who grew up in Santa Ana.

Bauer contacted me after he lost an SAUSD School Board race a couple years ago to tell me that he had decided to come out of the closet. He was married a few years ago and he and his former wife raised two kids. Now he has become very vocal about standing up for the LGBTQ community. He is also very closely allied with current SAUSD School Board Chair Valerie Amezcua.

Torres is involved with Chicanos Unidos. She is, as mentioned above, a teacher. She has no previous experience running for office. Some in the community prefer her over Bauer because she is Hispanic. She is said to be opposed to charter schools however so is Bauer. She is also very liberal in fact she posted recently on her Facebook page that the U.S. Government assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Snopes debunked that notion. Can you imagine what crazy notions will come out of Torres’ mouth if she gets appointed to the SAUSD School Board?

The next School Board meeting will be held on January 22, when they could select a Provisional Appointment to replace Iglesias.

A Special Election should be held instead so the voters of Santa Ana can elect a person of their choice to take the vacant seat. The School District would have to pay up to $300K to hold a Special Election. That would be a small price to pay in our estimate to sustain the rights of the voters in our city.

In order for a Special Election to happen supporters must gather 1,500 signatures, I believe in about one month’s time frame.