There might be a perfectly good reason for the recent trip to China by SAUSD officials, including former Superintendent Rick Miller, Deputy Superintendent Dave Haglund and School Board Members Valerie Amezcua and John Palacio. But since the district did not announce the visit, we have no idea what these folks are doing in China.
Who paid for this junket? Why? Continue reading
Today was Women’s Equality Day but we have not made much progress in Santa Ana. Our local education unions endorsed three men for the SAUSD School Board election in November. They did not even bother to interview the women in the race.
Now I cannot blame the Santa Ana Educators Association (SAEA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA) Chapter 41 for not backing SAUSD School Board incumbent Cecilia Iglesias. She is a conservative who believes in school choice and wants to spend the district’s money on hiring more teachers and more teacher’s aides instead of just paying the teachers more. So of course the education unions don’t like her.
But what about the other women who are running for the SAUSD School Board? Continue reading
SAUSD School Board Candidate Bruce Bauer is hosting his campaign kickoff event on Monday, August 8, 2016, from 6 to 8 p.m., at 1135 W. Riviera Drive, in Santa Ana.
Please RSVP to rsvp@bauer4sausd.com or send a text to 949-293-5311. Continue reading
Beatriz Mendoza is hosting a fundraiser for her SAUSD School Board campaign on August 4, 2016, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the home of Joe Casas, at 1102 W. Riviera Drive in Santa Ana.
RSVP at 714-213-3873. This campaign event is free to students and alumni of Madison, Lathrop, and Century High School. Continue reading
SAUSD’s Valerie Amezcua Joined NALEO Educational Fund and Latino Policymakers in Nation’s Capital for Policy Institute on School Governance
Two-day event equipped Amezcua and more than 40 other Latino officials with the skills and information needed to advance student success in their communities
(Santa Ana, CA) – Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education Clerk Valerie Amezcua joined the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, the nation’s preeminent Latino leadership organization, and more than 40 other Latino school board members and trustees from across the country for the group’s National Policy Institute on School Governance.
The two-day Institute, held from March 15-16, 2016 in Washington D.C., focused on providing Latino public servants with the enhanced capacity and governance skills needed to become effective advocates for their students, families and communities. During the event, Amezcua and other participants had the opportunity to engage with leading education experts from the public, private and non-profit sectors who tackled pressing education policy and governance topics. Continue reading
For Immediate Release: September 29, 2015
Contact: Dave Jacobson, (818) 943-2348, Shallman Communications
CORREA ADDS MARTINEZ, PALACIO, AMEZCUA & HERNÁNDEZ TO ENDORSEMENT LIST
Santa Ana City Councilwoman & Santa Ana Education Leaders Unite Behind Correa in CA-46
SANTA ANA, CA– On the heels of winning a statewide endorsement from the California Small Business Association (CSBA), today former State Senator Lou Correa’s campaign for Congress rolled out endorsements from several Santa Ana leaders, including the following:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 17, 2014
Contact: Derek Humphrey
Cell: (951) 805-4167
VALERIE AMEZCUA WINS RACE FOR SANTA ANA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD
Santa Ana, California – Valerie Amezcua has won a seat on the Santa Ana Unified School District Board. Final election results posted by the Orange County Registrar of Voters show Amezcua placed second in a field of eight candidates. The results are expected to be certified tomorrow.
“I’m humbled by the support our campaign received from families throughout the Santa Ana Unified School District,” said Amezcua. “I would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to all of the candidates that volunteered their time and talents to advocate for improving our schools. I look forward to working with Boardmember John Palacio and the rest of my new colleagues in helping to move our district forward.” Continue reading
Mayor Pulido’s daughter kept tabs on the election results on Election Night
I met with Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido last night at his Election Night Party. He was relieved that he was winning but was worried he wouldn’t garner more than 50% of the vote. His 11-year-old daughter was checking the election results on her IPad last night. She has quite an interest in politics – and perhaps she will be running for office after she finishes college.
Pulido ended up with 50.7% of the vote while his challenger Roman Reyna only mustered 6,778 votes, or 33.6% of the vote. The unknown third mayoral candidate, Mark I. Lopez, netted 15.8% of the vote – likely from those who couldn’t bear voting for the other two candidates.
The bad news for Pulido was that his team of City Council challengers – Alex Padilla, Mike Gonzalez and Mirna Velasquez, all lost. If there is any good news it is that the incumbent who did the worst was David Benavides. While his colleague Michele Martinez got less votes than Benavides she had three opponents while Benavides squared off against one challenger – Padilla. Continue reading
The early returns are in with regard to today’s General Election. So far the incumbents are leading in all of the Santa Ana City Council races. It is early yet but in what should prove to be a low turnout election this first batch of votes can foreshadow the evening’s results. These are the early absentee votes – representing the most frequent voters.
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is thoroughly trouncing Councilman Roman Reyna, with over 52% of the vote versus only 32% of the vote for Reyna. Clearly Reyna’s campaign was undone by his unwise decision to hang out with gang bangers.
In Ward 2 the incumbent, Michele Martinez, is leading with 53.8% of the vote in a crowded field. Shockingly Gilad Salmon is in second place with 21.3 % of the vote. Not surprisingly the sole Republican in the race, salsa dancer Rene Gomez, is in dead last with 9% of the vote. Continue reading
This voter guide addresses the Orange County local and legislative races as well as the State and Local ballot measures.
Santa Ana City Council
Mayor:
Endorsed Candidate: Mayor Miguel Pulido
Other Candidates: Roman Reyna, Mark I. Lopez
Note: Even Reyna’s friends and allies admit that he is not a capable candidate for Mayor of Santa Ana. This will be Pulido’s final term and in the next two years we need to recruit better candidates than the likes of Reyna, who has only served two years on the Santa Ana City Council. Continue reading
Team Santa Ana appears to be finished as Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides posted a snarky picture of the Team Santa Ana walk piece with Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero’s face covered up. The picture was posted on Benavides’ Facebook page, Twitter account and Instragam account before he came to his senses and deleted the entries. The damage however was already done. The Santa Ana Spring is over.
What happened? This all goes back to the ongoing ruckus on the Santa Ana Planning Commission where Commissioner Phil Bacerra has dug in his heels and steadfastly refused to turn in his communication disclosure forms. All of the other Planning Commissioners have done so but Bacerra had to be threatened by the Santa Ana City Council’s Ethics Committee, which consists of Tinajero and Councilwoman Angie Amezcua, before he finally turned in what I am told are heavily redacted disclosure forms that may not in fact be all that accurate.
Why do these forms matter? It all comes down to transparency. The public deserves to know who the Planning Commissioners are talking to about city business. Why did Bacerra drag his feet for so long before finally turning in the forms, after being threatened with removal from the Planning Commission? That is the crux of the matter. Has Bacerra been shaking down those who have business with the Planning Commission for donations to the Benavides reelection campaign? Is this why Benavides has been running interference for Bacerra? Continue reading
Everlena Oliver, a retired SAUSD teacher, has pulled papers to run for the SAUSD School Board in November. According to her Linkedin profile she graduated from Santa Ana College and CSUF, with degrees in nursing, and was a Mild Moderate Specialist Educator at the SAUSD for over 16 years. She retired with pay and benefits of $98K a year according to Transparent California.
Oliver’s experience could serve the district well as the SAUSD has repeatedly been caught screwing up on Special Education. Ironically one of the other candidates, longtime incumbent John Palacio, has a son who grew up in Special Education at the SAUSD.
Other SAUSD candidates thus far include: Continue reading
Valerie Amezcua
This fall’s Santa Ana School Board race is shaping up to be perhaps the most interesting local election in awhile.
Candidates for the SAUSD School Board who already announced that they are running in November include Shuntele Andrews, a retired Valley High School teacher; Cecilia Aguinaga, a community activist who serves on the OC Vector Control Board; Eric Alderete, an attorney and Planning Commissioner; and Valerie Amezcua, a Supervising Probation Officer at the Central Youth and Family Resource Center in the City of Santa Ana.
Two SAUSD School Board Trustees are up for reelection – John Palacio and Audrey Yamagata-Noji. Both have been in office far too long. I hear Yamagata-Noji may be retiring from the School Board. I have not heard that about Palacio. I suspect he will run again. He almost has to. He says he is a political consultant but who would hire him? He needs the pay and benefits he gets from the SAUSD. Continue reading
Valerie Amezcua
Rumor has it that longtime SAUSD School Board Member Audrey Yamagata-Noji is finally going to retire this year. That means her seat will open up this November. The other incumbent who is up for re-election is John Palacio.
Cecilia Aguinaga has already started campaigning. I heard today that Valerie Amezcua, who like Aguinaga has run unsuccessfully before for the SAUSD School Board, will also be in the race. And local businessman Mike Dalati appears to also be running in what is quickly turning into a crowded race. Continue reading
I had a long talk this afernoon with a Santa Ana insider who had some amazing chismes for me. I was expecting that perhaps Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido would run for the Orange County Supervisorial seat that is currently held by Janet Nguyen, but apparently Councilman Vincent Sarmiento has decided to run, and Pulido is not going to oppose him.
But the biggest shocker was that Measure D may be in trouble – and that it could be reversed if it is challenged in court. That was the measure that extended the term limits of the Santa Ana Council Members by four years, from 8 years to 12. That measure was on the ballot in a special election but apparently it should have been put in front of the voters in a general election. What this means, if it does get wiped out, is that several Santa Ana Council Members will be termed out – including Michele Martinez and Sal Tinajero. Continue reading