Is it any surprise to anyone that Santa Ana Council Member David Benavides chose to break the news that he is running against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido on the Republican OC Political blog? That is exactly what I have come to expect from Benavides.
When Benavides was first elected, back in 2006, he had a great story to offer. He had come to Santa Ana as part of a ministry and he decided to stay here and put down roots. But he very quickly was compromised by Santa Ana’s racist old guard – the Usual Suspects. Mostly old and angry Republicans they brought him up through the Neighborhood Association movement – which pretends to represent the people of Santa Ana but realistically represents at most 1% of our community – and is heavily subsidized by our tax dollars. He declared on his Smart Voter page that he was the winner of the “Neighborhood Hero Award,” the penultimate badge of honor for these metiches.
Once elected Benavides quickly went about appointing Mexican-bashers to our City Commissions. While the Council has since gotten rid of most of them, some remain to this day. And Benavides is still their champion. He in fact gave a bunch of them awards a couple of years ago, for their service on the Santa Ana 4th of July committee, which was chaired by notorious Mexican-basher Lupe Moreno. One of Moreno’s Minuteman allies showed up to the 4th of July event and called a Santa Ana resident a “wetback.” How did Benavides respond? He gave awards to Moreno and her pals. It was so disgusting that the rest of the City Council got up and walked out rather than honor these haters.
Even after the City of Santa Ana took over the 4th of July event Benavides’ Usual Suspect allies continue to serve on that event’s committee. And sure enough Benavides shows up every year to speak at the event – alongside his best friend on the City Council, Republican Council Member Carlos Bustamante. Yes, the same Bustamante who was recently arrested for various felony sex crimes and public theft. And yes, Benavides is the only Council Member who has continued to refuse to demand that Bustamante resign from the Council.
Does Santa Ana need a change at Mayor? Not if that change is Benavides. I will never support him for any office – not as long as he continues to serve the Usual Suspects. Mayor Pulido wisely tossed them aside a few years ago – but Benavides continues to cling to them. God only knows why.
Can Benavides beat Pulido? Consider that Benavides has never had to run a tough race in his life. He easily beat the overmatched Nelida Yanez in 2006 (with Pulido’s support). And in 2010, Benavides ran unnoposed. Can he raise money? Who knows? Can he raise an army of volunteers? Sure, but half of them will be Usual Suspects.
And what exactly does Benavides stand for? According to his new campaign website his issues include:
- Fighting gangs and graffiti. (Response – aren’t we already doing that?)
- Supporting our Neighborhood Associations (Response – Why? They don’t represent the majority of our residents – and we are the only city in the County to subsidize these busybodies!)
- Create more open space and youth programs (Response – How? How is Benavides going to pay for all this? Will he try to pass a parks assessment and raise all of our property taxes?)
- He wants to create a Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement (Response – More bureacracy? Really? How is he going to pay for this? Don’t we already have several city staffers working in community affairs? This is an obvious bone to the Usual Suspects)
- Create a a Mayor’s Business Improvement Task Force comprised of local businesses (Response – again, how is he going to pay for this? Why not just support getting rid of the Downtown PBID – a tax that is ruining many small businesses in Downtown Santa Ana?)
- Streamlining business and development application processes to assist the expansion of new and existing businesses into Santa Ana (Response – great idea. He has been on the Council for six years – why hasn’t he already proposed this? What are his concrete ideas – or does he even have any?)
- Launching a City of Santa Ana branding campaign highlighting all that Santa Ana has to offer to local residents, businesses, and visitors (Response – more grandstanding. How is he going to pay for this? Didn’t we already spend millions of redevelopment dollars to accomplish this? Wasn’t this the point of the Artists Village? Why is this even a priority? Don’t we have bigger fish to fry?)
- Embracing Santa Ana as a place for arts and culture and promoting our city as a regional destination place (Response – We have already spent MILLIONS promoting the arts and culture in our city – and shouldn’t we be more worried about serving our residents – not folks who don’t live here but come to our town just to get drunk?)
Sigh. What a load. Any fool on Com-Link could have drafted these pipe dreams. I don’t see one original – or even realistic – idea coming from Benavides. Nor do I expect to.
The guy is a realtor and mortgage specialist. That’s it. Say what you will about Pulido, but he is an engineer and he has served for years on the boards of the OCTA and the AQMD, becoming an expert in transportation, energy and infrastructure. He isn’t perfect but Pulido has a vision for our city. His plans to install a light rail system that will traverse the poorest areas in our city is a game-changer. Benavides has not one concrete idea – just a bunch of regurgitated Usual Suspect malarkey. No thanks. I will be voting for Pulido again this November. Change is good – but pointless, needless change is just a waste of our time.
“Does Santa Ana need a change at Mayor? Not if that change is Benavides”…….. Hmmmmmmm
Here you go again Art!
Does California need a change at Governor? Not if that change is Meg Whitman…. so we ended up with pro union communist Brown taxing us to death.
Are you happy?
As to your usual suspect crapola, you and Mill and Pulido were part of that group too!
Benavides was only one who opposed Pulido and his puppets, but your hate and racism does not allows you to see that.
I think that Benavides would made good Mayor if he could kick out evil Walters!
He voted for Walters to take over as city manager.
Change for change’s sake is ill-advised. Meg Whitman is destroying HP now. And Brown at least got rid of redevelopment.
“He voted for Walters to take over as city manager”……Hmmmmmm
As I recall it was you Art who was reassuring everyone here that Walters managerial position is only temporary until they find a replacement, in spite my telling you that you have been brainwashed by Pulido.
So is your wisdom needed in your upcoming candidacy?
As to HP you do not understand corporate business. It is not like running state where Unions having 100% power. You have never employed one single person so you have no clue about any business or employment.
In contrast, I had as much as 20 employees and was CEO of Digital Media Inc. for almost 10 years.
Sure Brown got rid of redevelopment but sucked us in his high speed Browndoggle costing us billions. Your kids will pay for it ant will tel you — dad you were an idiot to support Brown and Obama.
Art, if every Mexican thinks like you I am not surprised that they are perpetually in poverty.
I have also employed people. And I did not support Obama. I voted for the Libertarian candidate.
If you would do what you claim that you have done you wouldn’t sound so stupid time to time.
Not sure what the heck you are talking about Stanley. You know I voted Libertarian in 2008. I even had a Bob Barr sticker on my car. I wi8ll be voting Libertarian again in November. No way I am voting for Obama or “Mitt the Twit.”
Well spoken Art. Kind of sad music in the background too don’t you think? What ever happened to “Happy Days are Here again” or “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow”? But maybe it is fitting for what will be a very sad campaign. He brags on his video that the “people” were so happy with his work that he was re-elected….Really Daviiiid? You ran unopposed the second time! You live in the worst looking district in S.A. and all the people living there have given up hope or they would have run against you. So if you want your neighborhood to look just like Davids..the area around Valley High School, then vote for the guy who says “Santana” but counts Barbara Coe and Lupe Moreno as personal friends. If Al Amesqua put a quarter million bucks into his campaign for Mayor and got his back side kicked, how is the guy who wanted to sell the Artist village to his church going to get a smell? Thanks for being the only news agency to keep us posted on these issues. Kudos to your staff as well.
You do have to wonder if Benavides, who has a real estate license, was going to profit from that move…
At the end of the video he also THANKS our current Mayor for all of the great things he has done in Santa Ana! Who’s the political campaign genius who came up with that idea? So which is it David…should we Thank Mayor Pulido or toss him out? Should be fun watching him fly this politcal plane into the proverbial mountain! I’d support Sal Tinajero for Mayor when the time is right for him and his family but not this clown.
If Sal had run that would have been entirely different, I agree.
The video is totally schizophrenic. Don’t be surprised if Benavides takes it down.
“Don’t be surprised if Benavides takes it down”…… Hmmmmmm
Same like you do too often?
And if not maybe you should!
Maybe it is a false flag operation.
Orchestrated by Pulido.
I was expecting a coup attempt, but not by Benavides. He is definitely change I can’t believe in!
Of course there is always a chance that after a couple of days, when people realize that this is the candidate invented and brought to you by Alberta Christy and Rosie Avila, Daviiiid will do a “Mike Garcia” and say that for the good of his job and family he will not run.
There is always the risk that he loses by so many votes he makes it impossible for him to run ever for higher office again. (Which is why I’m sure Martinez, Tinajero, and Sarmiento are telling him to go for it!)
Beware of all non-secular Dictators. The Dictator you know is better than mystery Dictators you don’t know.
“Beware of all non-secular Dictators. The Dictator you know is better than mystery Dictators you don’t know”….. Hmmmmmmm
Notwithstanding your plagiarism above it appears that you have even adopted my “Bumpers” style too.
What an original artist you are….. where is your muse?…… drowned in alcohol.
If the “Neighborhood Hero Award” is the penultimate badge of honor for these metiches, then what is the ultimate one?
Getting appointed to a City Commission.
“Getting appointed to a City Commission”…… Hmmmmmm
Like X-Usual Suspect Sean Mill?
Sean has never been a Usual Suspect, nor have I. We have been fighting for the poor and for immigrants for many, many years.
“Sean has never been a Usual Suspect, nor have I”….. Hmmmmmm
Sure, you both were part of SantaAnaCitizens aka Usual Suspects you have served on the ComLink and I called you Trojan Horse Candidates. I have initiated Santa Ana code of ethics against commissioners Mill, Pedroza and Gordon by filing the brief with the council. Based on that brief and my oral presentation council drafted proposition and Claudia added her term limits to that.
Problem with you Art is that you always create your own realty as it is convenient for you, however, there are written records which speaks against you.
But, I am lazy to do dirty laundry to day.
No, you called Thomas Gordon a Trojan horse candidate. I did serve on Com Link, but why do you think I left them?
You are wallowing in past memories that have dimmed lo these many years.
“No, you called Thomas Gordon a Trojan horse candidate”……. Hmmmmmmm
Wrong!
I called Gordon a Dark Horse Candidate because he filed 1 day before the deadline to spoil my candidacy against Pulido in 2006 thanks to you and Mill.
Based on that you Mill and Gordon became Trojan Horse Candidates and I have endorsed Pulido in 2006 to get his power to get you all out of the commission which I have accomplished. Mill later-on weaseled himself back into his commission thanks to Tinajero where he is doing a mischief till present.
By then, I have dumped Pulido and Walters for their refusal to publicly condemn mother Susie Young Kim’s murder by SAPD and have essentially gave up on Santa Ana council politics since I believe that they are in a self destruct mode.
So get your Santa Ana history right Art.
When you got ten thousand votes against Pulido that didn’t mean you had that many supporters. You got the protest vote. And I can assure you that no one was trying to tank you in 2006. Quite frankly no one took you seriously then and little has occurred since that would change that viewpoint today.
What happened to Kim was a tragedy but unless you have some evidence to the contrary it looks like a “suicide by cop.”.Her behavior is otherwise inexplicable.
“When you got ten thousand votes against Pulido that didn’t mean you had that many supporters. You got the protest vote.”…… Hmmmmmmmm
As I said earlier Art you are making and living your own matrix.
The protest vote is probably most important vote you can ever get in the politics. The question is what will you do with that vote after you get it.
Hitler got his protest vote!
Obama got his protest vote because Bush was absolute idiot.
Schwarzenegger got his protest vote because Gray was absolute idiot.
Rocco got his protest vote because people were fed-up wit Orange School District idiots.
However, they all fumble the ball.
In contrast, my protest vote was not sufficient to go after it so I nave turn my candidacy into the greatest “Realty Show” ever which gave me more power with Pulido, Walter and the council that you and Mill enjoy right now…. not mentioning my enjoyment of it.
You see, they know that I am not for sale and can predict future which gives me their respect, therefore, they take me rather very seriously — contrary to your and Mill’s believe.
As I said earlier, I have ran out of the quarters to do my dirty laundry.
Good to see Dorthy and her fat buddy, are still consumed with NSA and it’s owner!
Meanwhile Beth Krumb gives away El Toro Marine base.
Mr. Editor/Admin,
So quick to jump out and attack. I sense some fear. Pulido is actually very beatable. You know that well. You can write all you want about how no one can beat him and that Benavides is no good. The fact is, the mayor’s time is up. There is no vision. You tag his legacy to a light rail system that has not even been funded!! He’s been mayor forever and all you can claim as his legacy is something that very well may never happen! That’s quite an indictment on Mr. Pulido’s record.
The ground swell is coming…adios Miguel.
Curious
This is why we have elections, so the voters can sort it out.
“What happened to Kim was a tragedy but unless you have some evidence to the contrary it looks like a suicide by cop”……. Hmmmmmmm
If it would be a suicide by cop, as you falsely allege it wouldn’t be criminally tried by DA. He would dismiss that right in the outset for a lack of the evidence.
Stop creating your own matrix or you will get lost in it.
Correction!
It was civil trial and the following testimony do not suggest your “suicide by cop” theory, Art.
“Is Mr. Galipo suggesting that officer Sontag hide behind his car and call 911?” he told jurors.
Jurors could not agree on the first question before them: whether Sontag’s use of force was excessive.
The panel was leaning 6-2 in favor of Kim’s family on that question, which Galipo said Wednesday bodes well for a retrial.
“We hope that the court will reset the trial in two to three months,” he said. “We’d like to get it concluded this year with a settlement or a retrial. I feel confident that if we retried the case, we would prevail.”
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/kim-307167-officer-sontag.html
HOWEVER, IF IT WAS A TRAGEDY THEN WALTERS AND PULIDO SHOULD PUBLICLY APOLOGIZE.
Um, I sounds like the cops won the case.
“Um, I sounds like the cops won the case”……. Hmmmmmm
Actually not!
Pulido dished out 2.5 million settlement.
Good part is that majority of murder by COP in Santa Ana is against the Mexicans so there goes you Sheriff Joe Arpaio aka Paul Walters keep defending him.
Pulido is hardly an expert on transportation. Being an OCTA Board Member doesn’t make you an honorary engineer. And you’d think Pulido would know better, after all this so-called experience AND after living through the CenterLine debacle, that a slow, at-grade streetcar from nowhere to nowhere is a BAD idea.
Pulido’s no financial expert, either, obviously considering the state of the city finances. If he was, he’s know that a streetcar won’t “pencil” either. He’s only building it as he’s got his greasy fingers into Measure M and getting someone else to pay for it. But most of all, of course, the streetcar is for the benefit of his buds at Cordoba. That’s just fraud, and Pulido IS very good at that.
Pulido earned an engineering degree. Benavides has voted lockstep with him on everything, for years.
Good point Art. How do you say, vote for change…I’m Daviiiiiiiiiid when Daviiiiiiiiid has voted with Pulido
99.999999999999999999% of the time?
Exactly…