When Jerry Brown came to Santa Ana, to speak at the O.C. Labor Day event, he first stopped to visit at Mayor Miguel Pulido’s home. Now that both Brown and Pulido have won, the Voice of OC blog is speculating that Brown might appoint Pulido to a state position, possibly in energy or a cabinet-level position involving the environment. Pulido confirmed this with the Voice of OC.
It is true. This might happen. Pulido might also get a call from President Barack Obama.
So what if this happens? Well, for one thing, this does not mean that mayoral runner-up Alfredo Amezcua would be next in line. The system doesn’t work that way. Instead, the City Council majority would appoint the next Mayor. That would likely be Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez, who has shown in the past that she is very capable of running the City Council meetings when Pulido has been away.
This would open up Alvarez’ Council seat, in Ward 5, for an appointment as well. This is ideal as the Council majority will not give that position to SAUSD Trustee Roman Reyna, who many think will run for that seat in two years. Who would it be? I don’t know. But Alvarez better get busy looking for someone right away.
Even if Pulido stays put, Alvarez is terming out in two years. And it is very likely that Council Members Vincent Sarmiento and/or Sal Tinajero will run for the 69th Assembly District, as incumbent Assemblyman Jose Solorio will be termed out in 2012. I would guess that Sarmiento will be the one as Tinajero really enjoys his job as a school teacher and debate team coach.
Council Member Carlos Bustamante has to run again in two years. This time he is sure to be challenged by a well-funded Democrat. Bustamante campaigned vigorously for Republican Assemblyman Van Tran this year, when Tran challenged Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. The Democrats won’t soon forget this. Bustamante is toast.
So what about Amezcua? He may run for Mayor again in two years, but he will get trashed again if he challenges either Pulido or Alvarez. I think he is done in politics. He may still face prosecution for running for the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees while not living in the Area he ended up representing.
Who else might run for Mayor in two years? Well, how about Solorio? He is going to be termed out. He could run for Mayor, and then serve for two years and run for State Senator Lou Correa’s seat, in the 34th Senate District, in 2014, when Correa is going to term out.
Solorio could also run for the Board of Supervisors, and challenge incumbent Janet Nguyen, in 2012. I would love to see that come to pass. I think he would wipe the floor with her.
One thing is for sure, a lot of change is coming to the Santa Ana City Council, whether we are ready for it or not.
UPDATE: According to the Santa Ana City Clerk, if Pulido leaves, then Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez will replace him and the City Council will have thirty days to appoint a replacement.
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Wow what an interesting shift. I think both Sal and Vince are strong candidates for the 69th. Sal a former teacher of mine back in 1998 was till this day the best teacher I have ever had. He has many awards even as early as last year when he was awarded the California Golden Bell. He has won four elections in a row and even beat the machine establishment in 2006. Sal has proven he can win. He is also an amazing speaker that can motivate people to get out and campaign for him. I know I would.
Vince, is a successful attorney with friends with deep pockets. He has become a good voice of reason in the city. He is very poised and he like Sal is bi-lingual. He is a graduate of two of California's finest universities; Cal and UCLA school of law. He has both a strong educational base and he is a very respectable attorney. In watching him I think he will do well in debates and be able to raise the money against other opponents.
I love Claudia Alvarez because she is direct and gives you an honest answer. People are tired of politicians who put on a smile and tell you they can fix everything. Claudia tells you the truth and puts people on the stand at city meetings. She is a succesful DA and has a great educational base graduating from Loyola with a law degree. She will run a tight ship in Santa Ana and she is not going to cave to political pressures. She has great name I.D. from two runs for the assembly and four runs at the council. She can win in Santa Ana with or without the machine. I believe this because all of the concervative people in Santa Ana don't realize that Latinos in SA are more in line with the politics of this council and not the old white people that used to run SA.
Let us not forget Michelle Martinez; she beat the machine too. Now she is a college grad and she is in major organizations around the state and she has a group of young people whom she is grooming. Michelle will one day be an assemblywoman, mayor, or supervisor but she has maybe one more term to get herself prepared for those seats. No one is talking about David? He is probably the weakest on the council he graduated from Biola and is a real estate loan broker. He has isolated himself and from what I hear he needs to start new relationships with others on the council; but I don't know would you want a Mayor who gives awards to Lupe Moreno or Thomas Gordon or the Stroud's? I think David Benavides needs to decide either you support helping immigrants or you support helping those who want to deport them and arrest them for taking soda cans out of garbage cans. Pick one but you can't say you support our poor Latino population and then carry the agenda of people like Lupe Moreno; even I know that and I'm 26.
My pick would be Sal, Vince, Claudia for Mayor or Assembly and Solorio for Supervisor