Does the City Council have a problem with the homeless and the LGBT?

One of our readers paid attention the other night when the Santa Ana City Council was deciding how to spend their Community Development Block Grant money.  Kidworks, a non-profit organization that recently hired Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides, asked for $45,000 in CDBG grants and the City Council gave them $56,000!

While Kidworks, and presumably Benavides, scored the City Council rejected these requests:

• Mercy House asked for $30,000 for homeless prevention and got zero dollars
• Serve the People asked for $30,000 to feed the homeless and got zero dollars
• The AIDS Services Foundation asked for $40,000 and got zero dollars
• The Delhi Center asked for $30,000 for AIDS/HIV prevention and got zero dollars
• The Gay and Lesbian Community Services asked for $20,000 and got zero dollars

We can only surmise that the City Council has a problem with the local gay community and with the homeless.  This is ironic since the City Council is comprised of all Latino and all Democratic Council Members.

We can only hope that Benavides recused himself when the City Council voted to fork over $56,000 to Kidworks.  And we must wonder if he got a “finder’s fee” for securing this money?

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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