There are no less than a half dozen candidates running for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 2 this November. But only one of them is openly gay – Paul Gonzales.
Just a few decades ago Santa Ana was a majority white city with City Councils full of Republicans. Today Republicans and white residents are the minority in this city. But is Santa Ana ready to embrace an openly gay City Councilman? Continue reading
The Santa Ana City Council Majority
Still mad about the cancellation of this year’s Santa Ana Cinco de Mayo event? Well guess what? It looks like that is the least of our worries. Apparently the Santa Ana City Council majority has driven our city to the brink of bankruptcy, according to the Voice of OC.
The Voice of OC quoted Deputy City Manager Robert Cortez about the situation. He said “the current situation is not sustainable.” However Cortez makes a whopping $294,881.41 in pay and benefits, according to Transparent California. The median annual Chief Executive Officer salary in Los Angeles, CA is $192,976, as of April 29, 2018, according to payscale.com. Cortez is making more than most CEOs and he is just the Deputy City Manager! Perhaps that is part of the problem in Santa Ana?
But that’s not all. Our current City Council majority also made all these financial mistakes in the past few years: Continue reading
City of Santa Ana
Community: NOTICE TO RESIDENTS: SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS TO CONSIDER WARD RE-BOUNDARY
The Santa Ana City Council will hold a series of Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries to comply with both the Federal and California law, including the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA).
The Ward boundaries were last modified in January of 2012. Since then, the City received correspondence asserting that the City’s current at-large electoral system, whereby council members are elected by all of the city electors, violates the CVRA because it allegedly does not allow Asians (a protected class) to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of Santa Ana’s council elections. Following receipt of this correspondence, the City Council decided to place a charter amendment on the November 6, 2018 General Municipal Election so that the electors of the City can decide whether to change the method of electing council members to a by-ward system where each council member is required to reside in the ward he or she represents and is elected solely by the electors of that ward. The City Council also decided to consider changing the Ward boundaries to ensure that they are consistent with Federal and State law, including the CVRA. This re-boundary process will consist of a number of public hearings to allow interested persons to give input on ward boundaries. Continue reading
The Santa Ana City Council Majority
The Santa Ana City Council meeting set for this Tuesday night, April 17, at 5:45 pm, will finally reveal what our City Council majority really intended by trying so desperately to change our election system from an at-large system to a ward-specific one.
Council members David Benavides and Vince Sarmiento have placed an 85 A item on the agenda to “Proceed with Ward Re-boundary process to be prepared for adoption before the start of the 2018 Candidate Nomination Period.” Continue reading
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 is moving forward with their lawsuit against Mayor Miguel Pulido as he has steadfastly refused to sign off on their illegal vote to approve a rushed district election ballot measure. Click here to read their Writ of Mandate.
Their plan was for Pulido to be served by the Santa Ana City Clerk and then go to court. The hearing has since been set for April 6. Continue reading
City of Santa Ana
Community: Santa Ana City Council Approves Resolution Urging Congress to pass the Dream Act of 2017
At last night’s council meeting, the Santa Ana City Council approved a resolution urging the United States Congress to immediately pass the Dream Act of 2017 and to protect immigrant youth and families from deportation. Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be rescinded. Upon rescission, more than 800,000 individuals would lose their DACA status and accompanying protections, including their eligibility to remain in the U.S. and their eligibility to work.
DACA is an immigration policy established by the Obama administration in June 2012 that permits individuals who entered the country illegally as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bruce Bauer, 949-293-5311 – bruce@bauer4sausd.com
GAVIN NEWSOM, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA, ENDORSES BRUCE BAUER FOR SANTA ANA SCHOOL BOARD
Santa Ana, CA – Demonstrating his potent force in the race for the Santa Ana Unified School District Board race, Bruce Bauer, currently the Vice-Chair of the City of Santa Ana Planning Commission collected yet another major statewide endorsement from California’s Lieutenant Governor, Gavin Newsom. Gavin Newsom is currently the Lieutenant Governor for the State of California and was elected to that position in 2010. Prior to Lieutenant Governor, Gavin Newsom was the Mayor of San Francisco. He is considered a top-contender for the 2018 governor’s race.
Responding to news of the endorsement, Bruce Bauer remarked: Continue reading
I attended the Latino Health Access City Council candidates forum tonight. Well part of it. After hearing their moderator, Voice of OC Editor Norberto Santana, harass Santa Ana City Councilman Roman Reyna and his Ward 5 challenger, Juan Villegas, I had to leave.
The problem is that Santana is anything but an objective moderator at these functions. As you can see in the video above Santana harangued the candidates when they refused to give the answer he wanted them to give. Continue reading
Ana Urzua Alcaraz and Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez
By: Ana Urzua Alcaraz, Courtesy of the Voice of OC
Learning about candidate Jose Solorio’s use of election funds to pay for his new apartment got me thinking about how many more people could use some funds to pay their owns rents this month.
Renters make nearly half of our City of Santa Ana, and in neighborhoods like Lacy, by the train station, it’s more like 94%. Homelessness lies at the feet of this housing crisis and has residents of my ward and others yearning for a solution. Housing insecurity is made real by an economic “recovery” that has not reached everyone equally. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bruce Bauer, 949-293-5311, bruce@bauer4sausd.com
SANTA ANA CITY COUNCILMEMBERS UNANIMOUSLY ENDORSE BRUCE BAUER FOR SANTA ANA SCHOOL BOARD
Santa Ana, CA – The Councilmembers of the City of Santa Ana have unanimously endorsed Bruce Bauer in the race for the Santa Ana Unified School District Board. Bruce Bauer is currently the Vice-Chair of the City of Santa Ana Planning Commission.
The City of Santa Ana City Council is composed of six members who are elected on a City-wide basis: Continue reading
Shane R. Barrows pictured above, in the middle
Shane Barrows, a police officer in Irvine who is raising his children here in Santa Ana, is running once again for Ward 3 on the Santa Ana City Council. That is the seat being vacated by Council Member Angie Amezcua, who was accidentally elected four years ago after she did not spend a dime on her campaign and did not walk precincts. She won that race, we believe, because she was the only woman on the ballot and she used the ballot title “teacher.” Her last name was also familiar to the voters as there is an unrelated Amezcua on the SAUSD School Board and defense attorney Alfredo Amezuca, also unrelated, ran for Mayor just a few years ago.
Here is Barrow’s bio: Continue reading
Santa Ana City Council Ward 3 candidate Ana Urzúa Alcaraz is kicking off her campaign on Sunday, Sep. 4, 2016, from 4 to 7 p.m. at 2801 Waverly St., in Santa Ana.
Ward 3 is currently held by Angie Amezcua, who was accidentally elected four years ago when she ran for the office but did not spend a penny on her campaign and did not campaign. She was the only woman on the ballot and her ballot title, “teacher”, did not hurt. Nor did her familiar-sounding last name. Continue reading
BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER AT ANTONELLO’S
Santa Ana City Council Ward 3 candidate Jose Solorio is hosting his annual birthday fundraiser at Antonello Ristorante on Wednesday, September 28, 2016, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Antonello Ristorante is located at 3800 South Plaza Drive, in Santa Ana.
Solorio is a former Santa Ana City Councilman and a former State Assemblyman. He currently works as a lobbyist at a law firm in Irvine. He is endorsed by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association. Continue reading
Santa Ana City Council Candidate Jose Solorio, who has moved into Ward 3, is hosting a Kick-Off Coffee Fundraiser on Friday, July 22, 2016, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at the Santa Ana Police Officers Association Hall, located at 1607 N. Sycamore St., in Santa Ana.
The Ward 3 seat opened up because Councilwoman Angie Amezcua is not running for re-election. That is no surprise as she didn’t campaign four years ago and yet somehow won the seat. She never seemed very enthused to be on the City Council. Continue reading