Have Benavides and Sarmiento been secretly coordinating their attack on Walters?

Apparently Council Member David Benavides called the Santa Ana City Clerk, Maria Huizar, this Friday, in the morning at about 10 am, to instruct her to add an item to the agenda for the Council meeting set for this coming Tuesday, regarding the review of Santa Ana’s City Manager Paul Walters.  Click here to contact Huizar if you would like to confirm this.  You may also call her at 714.647.6520.

About a half hour later his colleague, according to my sources, Council Member Vince Sarmiento, made the same call, using the same language, to Huizar.

Later that day, at about 3 pm, Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero reportedly called with the same message but he also instructed the Huizar to revise the agenda item to include the possible dismissal of Walters.

Then Benavides and Sarmiento each supposedly called Huizar again to also ask her to include the exact same language regarding Walter’s possible dismissal.

Finally, at 4:58, Council Member Michele Martinez is purported to have called Huizar too – with the very same language and agenda item request.

So here is the question – how did all of these Council Members arrive at the same action and end up using the same language, with regard to the agenda item in question, if they weren’t secretly – and illegally – coordinating their actions?

The Brown Act allows for limited interactions between the Council Members – but the Council majority appears to be acting in clear violation of the Brown Act.

I am told that the lot of them, and then Council candidate Roman Reyna, also gathered at Sarmiento’s home last year, right before the Council election filing deadline, to has out who was going to be their chosen candidate to run against Mayor Miguel Pulido.  You may recall that at the time both Tinajero and Benavides had pulled papers to run for Mayor.

Supposedly the President of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association (SAPOA), John Franks, was at that meeting and he reportedly pledged to back the consensus mayoral challenger – who turned out to be Benavides.  I am told that Martinez then promised the sun, moon and the starts to Franks and his union.  Franks was true to his word – but Benavides got his butt kicked by Pulido on Nov. 6.

I am shocked that Sarmiento would risk losing his law license by allegedly engaging in these blatant Brown Act violations.  In fact I am told that many letters are on the way to the FPPC and the O.C.D.A., requesting an immediate investigation of this crew.

In the end this is what it probably all boils down to.  The Council majority seems to have gotten in bed with the police union and now that union’s contract is up for consideration.  The City of Santa Ana is broke but remember that Tinajero, at a campaign debate two years ago, said then that we would eventually have to think about raising our taxes, via a citywide assessment, to pay for the cops.

Walters is standing in the way of the Council majority.  They allegedly promised a big, irresponsible raise to the police union and Walters is not going to let them bankrupt our city.  So he has to go – even if doing this results in a Council recall election.

Santa Ana Spring?  No.  Just a bunch of witless, greedy politicians who want more power and will wreck anyone who stands in their way.  It might however be time for a REAL Santa Ana Spring.  These ridiculous Council members clearly must go!  The revolution starts at Tuesday’s Council meeting…

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.
Art Pedroza

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.

View Comments

  • What it's sad in all this circus, how come the police union is shaping the lives of the City residents. These people work for the citizens of Santa Ana and not the other way around. Additional language should be added to prevent union from endorsing and contributing $$$$$ to political candidates for favors. These same issue have drowned this great City for the past decade or more. All the politicians running on smoke by the backing up one union. The structural deficit has not been solved and with this attitude will only sink this City in to further economic crisis. But, maybe this is what is needed and to wake up the vast majority to care a little more about the City. It is unfornunate that only a minute portion cares. The rest either are transient, visitors and or are afraid to voice their opinion. Most other countries in the world suppress freedom of speech so, by not sayin anything and getting away with getting most basic services will suffice. The City lack open space for recreation but, invests heavily on Police services. They cut every other possible service but, serves police with hearty perks. So, stop your illusion of making Santa Ana better by adding more police and concentrate on educating the people to become better citizens. Invest in schools, technology and bring businesses that encompass the advancement of men. By redeveloping blight areas with more dwellings and stuffing more people in less space wil only create the opposite effect. People fight for space not for the lack off. Open you minds and start with one step at a time.

  • A old friend of MLK just sent me this Text.
    "When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also declare that the white man does not abide by the law in the ghettos".
    and then he phoned me and whispered this
    "His police makes a mockery of the law"
    Whitey-that is.

    Educate yourself KKK, I mean "CCC".

  • Right On Alex!
    Don't be blinded by superficial council political wars Santa Ana.
    I'm off to work now but will be back later to defend MLK from being exploited by these greedy pompous jerks.

  • Thanks to all the kids who came out to the Haz household to day and painted signs.

    we will be out EARLY tommorrow posting the RECALL MICHELE signs especially around the civic center.

    Hopefully, we can line bothe FLOWER and Civic Center tommorrow with people holding signs.

    Calls to the police department to ask about rules have not been returned. We expect protesters to be harrassed because the very people they are protesting are working as agents for the union: Benavides, Martinez, Sariamento.

    It will make Emily Benavide's happy to know that we by popular vote NOT to picket CARR MIDDLE SCHOOL. Mostly because our group felt she's got enough trouble raising two kids on her own, dealing with a deadbeat Dad/Husband. But, hey, he's got a Harley!

  • Dr. King would be proud of your blog Art. Dr. King would encourage all young people be they yellow, red, brown, black or white, to attend the council meeting and stand up for Paul Walters. His memory will not be mocked. He did not die in vain so come out for Paul.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9md0Fa5eik

  • You should ask Pulido to donate some of his personal funds to get you more bandwidth. NSA is too slow for the amount of the garbage you have on it.

  • Admin is too busy thinking of his new midnight propaganda article to clean up his garbage.
    MLK Rest in Peace.

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