Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: city council

Vote no on Measure X – which will make Santa Ana’s sales tax the highest in the County

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

The City Council of Santa Ana has placed a tax increase measure on the November ballot, Measure X, that would increase sales tax in Santa Ana by 1.5 percent. If it passes, Santa Ana taxpayers and anyone who shops in Santa Ana would be paying the highest sales tax in Orange County, according to the OC Taxpayers Association.

The city is upside-down financially, with shortfalls estimated to grow from $10 million this fiscal yearto a nearly $40 million per-year shortfall in the 2021 fiscal year, in a series of deepening gaps, according to the Voice of OC. Continue reading→

Santa Ana City Council forum and Mayoral debate set for Sep. 19

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Connie Hamilton, Connect-to-Council

714-745-1692 (phone/text)/connect-to-council@earthlink.net

CONNECT-TO-COUNCIL HOSTS “AN EVENING WITH THE CANDIDATES”, A FORUM AND DEBATE FOR THE SANTA ANA VOTERS

Santa Ana, CA- Connect-to-Council, a Santa Ana non-profit organization, will host, a candidates’ forum and debate for the Santa Ana voters. This will take place at the Delhi Center on September 19, 2018. The council candidates have been invited to participate in a council candidate forum, then a mayoral candidate debate will immediately follow.

Wednesday September 19, 2018 6:00-8:00 p.m. Continue reading→

Santa Ana City Council Ward 6 candidate Mendoza dropped her frivolous lawsuit against Velasquez

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Claudia Alvarez, Courts, Jose Solorio, Mirna Velasquez, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics Leave a comment

Nelida Yanez

Nellie Mendoza drops frivolous suit – may need to pay attorneys fees

Santa Ana City Council Ward 7 candidate Nellie Mendoza (formerly Yanez) dropped her lawsuit against her opponent,  Mirna Velasquez, on Tuesday. Perhaps she did so because she finally realized that she had no case!

Mendoza alleged that Velasquez was not a resident of Santa Ana Ward 6. However, Mendoza acknowledged in her complaint that Velasquez has lived in Ward 6 since at least her registration date of November 21, 2017. Not only did she register in the district more than 30 days before filing but Velasquez moved into the Ward on November 1, 2017 per her response. So there was no merit to the 1st cause of action by Ms. Mendoza. Continue reading→

Ward 6 candidate Velasquez hits back at her opponent Mendoza with an Anti-SLAPP motion

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Courts, Mirna Velasquez, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Nelida Yanez

Mirna Velasquez, Candidate for Ward 6, responds to Nellie Mendoza lawsuit with an Anti-SLAPP motion for attorney fees

Santa Ana City Council Ward 6 candidate Mirna Velasquez responded to Nelida Mendoza lawsuit about her ballot designation and residency with facts and an Anti-Slapp motion for Attorney Fees.

Mendoza alleged that Velasquez was not a resident of Santa Ana Ward 6. However, Mendoza acknowledged in her complaint that Velasquez has lived in Ward 6 since at least her registration date of November 21, 2017. Not only did she register in the district more than 30 days before filing but Velasquez moved into the Ward on November 1, 2017 per her response. So there was no merit to the 1st cause of action by Ms. Mendoza. Continue reading→

Two of Santa Ana’s City Council candidates are suing to remove their competitors from the ballot

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Jose Solorio, Mirna Velasquez, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Phil Bacerra, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana Leave a comment

There are only two candidates running for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4 – former Ward 5 Councilman Roman Reyna and former Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra. They are both in hot water.

Bacerra has apparently retained well-known political lawyer Mark Rosen and they have sued to have Reyna removed from the ballot on the grounds that he apparently registered to vote four times in recent weeks, all at different addresses. It seems that Reyna kept picking addresses that are not in Ward 4.  Continue reading→

Bacerra’s council campaign in tatters as he gets booted from the Santa Ana Planning Commission

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Drunks for Phil Bacerra for the City Council

Phil Bacerra’s campaign for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4 is now in tatters as he got booted from the Santa Ana Planning Commission tonight.

Bacerra put himself in this position when he turned on the Santa Ana City Councilman, David Benavides, who had appointed Bacerra to the Planning Commission in the first place. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council has canceled all public hearings regarding Ward redistricting

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: Notice to Residents: Cancellation of Public Hearing to Consider Ward Re-Boundaries

The Santa Ana City Council has canceled the Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries. The Hearings were originally scheduled for May 1, May 3, May 15, May 19 and June 5, 2018.

The purpose of these Hearings was to allow interested persons to provide input on ward boundaries, community of interest and comment on proposed draft maps before the City Council for consideration. The City Council was unable to hold a formal public hearing on May 3, 2018 due to lack of quorum and at the May 15, 2018 City Council Meeting, the Clerk of the Council announced that the process was being suspended due to impending litigation. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority confirms that they are still trying to illegally extend their term limits

Posted on by Posted in Ballot Measures, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Update on Santa Ana Special Municipal Elections for June 5, 2018

On March 1, 2018, an Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council met to discuss Ward Boundaries and Ward Based Elections, otherwise known as by-district elections. The Ad Hoc Committee recommended that staff prepare the required resolutions for placing a Charter Amendment on the June 5, 2018 Statewide Primary Election for consideration by the City Council at the next regularly scheduled City Council Meeting of March 6, 2018. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council to discuss the homeless crisis at a special meeting on Friday

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council is conducting a special City Council meeting this Friday, March 30, 2018, at 9 a.m., at their Council chambers, located at 22 Civic Center Plaza.

The first half of this meeting is a closed session during which time the City Council will talk about their plans to illegally place a ballot measure on the June Primary ballot so they can extend their term limits.

The second half of the meeting gets more interesting. They are going to allow the public to comment as the City Council considers what they are calling a Short Term Homeless Plan. 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→

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→

Santa Ana’s City Council doles out cash to special interests as they slide towards bankruptcy

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana 1 Comment

By the O.C. Register’s Editorial Board

Santa Ana city officials have long struggled to be responsible stewards of public money — and with many of the decisions they’ve made this year, they seem to only be moving further away from that basic expectation.

In July, the Santa Ana City Council approved a $510.7 million budget packed with add-ons and reliant on one-time funding. The following month its members approved the first city-wide project labor agreement in Orange County, a union giveaway expected to add millions of dollars in avoidable costs to city multi-trade construction and specialty contracts. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority will vote to overpay a sub-par new City Manager on Tuesday

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Politics, Santa Ana 8 Comments

This week’s Santa Ana City Council meeting agenda includes item 25H – Approval of the Agreement to hire Raul Godinez as our City’s new City Manager, as we wrote about earlier in the week. You can read the staff report regarding Godinez here.

The Santa Ana City Council majority, comprised of Council Members Michele Martinez, Vince Sarmiento, Sal Tinajero and David Benavides, is going to vote to pay Godinez a package worth over $500K a year. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority is planning on paying their new City Manager over half a million a year

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Raul Godinez, Santa Ana 2 Comments

It is bad enough that the Santa Ana City Council majority – comprised of Council Members Michele Martinez, Vince Sarmiento, Sal Tinajero and David Benavides – is planning on hiring Raul Godinez to be our new City Manager, after he washed out as the El Monte City Manager. Now my sources are reporting that the City Council wants to pay Godinez over $500,000 a year in pay and benefits!

That would be quite a raise for Godinez, who is currently in charge of Public Works at the tiny City of Lynwood, which is paying him $174,294.50 in total pay and benefits, according to Transparent California. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council explains why they are funding legal services for detained immigrants

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, immigration, Lawyers, Politics, Santa Ana 5 Comments

City of Santa Ana

Community: First Step Towards Legal Representation Program for Detained Immigrants / Primer Paso Hacia Programa para Inmigrantes

On Tuesday, May 16, 2017, the Santa Ana City Council took the first step toward establishing a legal services program for Santa Ana residents facing deportation. By a vote of 4-2 (only Council Members Juan Villegas and Jose Solorio voted No), the City Council directed staff to further pursue all five options presented in a staff report to assist detained immigrants in deportation proceedings who cannot afford an attorney.

The five options included: Continue reading→