O.C. Mayors demand Federal Coronavirus relief funding based on population

SANTA ANA – The mayors of 31 Orange County cities submitted a joint letter today to the Board of Supervisors requesting that the County of Orange secure funding from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund and quickly allocate it to cities based on their population.

“Through the quick distribution of this vital funding, cities will be able to greatly expand the number of testing sites serving our communities, secure and distribute personal protective equipment, provide our law enforcement and first responders with appropriate equipment, provide increased services to our residents in need, and work with community based organizations to help ensure the public health and safety of all our residents,” the letter states.

The $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund was established under the federal CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27. The Fund is designed to provide financial assistance to local governments with a population over 500,000. No Orange County city alone meets that criteria, but the County of Orange does, based on a total population that includes all local cities.

The letter from the Orange County mayors requests that the money be allocated to every city in the county proportionally to each city’s population. The total amount to be divided among the cities was based on preliminary analysis conducted by the National Association of Counties (NACo), which estimated Orange County could receive almost $556 million from the Relief Fund.

This rare collaboration among nearly all of Orange County’s mayors was initiated by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido.

“Local governments are on the frontlines of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Pulido said. “We must be united not only in our efforts to protect public health, but also in advocating for the resources we need to continue this fight.”

The letter was signed by:

• Mayor Mike Munzing, City of Aliso Viejo
• Mayor Harry Sidhu, City of Anaheim
• Mayor Marty Simonoff, City of Brea
• Mayor Fred Smith, City of Buena Park
• Mayor Katrina Foley, City of Costa Mesa
• Mayor Richard A. Viczorek, City of Dana Point
• Mayor Cheryl Brothers, City of Fountain Valley
• Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald, City of Fullerton
• Mayor Steven R. Jones, City of Garden Grove
• Mayor Christina Shea, City of Irvine
• Mayor Tom Beamish, City of La Habra
• Mayor Peter Kim, City of La Palma
• Mayor Bob Whalen, City of Laguna Beach
• Mayor Janine Heft, City of Laguna Hills
• Mayor Laurie Davies, City of Laguna Niguel
• Mayor Noel Hatch, City of Laguna Woods
• Mayor Neeki Moatazedi, City of Lake Forest
• Mayor Richard D. Murphy, City of Los Alamitos
• Mayor Brian Goodell, City of Mission Viejo
• Mayor Mark A. Murphy, City of Orange
• Mayor Ward Smith, City of Placentia
• Mayor Bradley J. McGirr, City of Rancho Santa Margarita
• Mayor Dan Bane, City of San Clemente
• Mayor Troy Bourne, City of San Juan Capistrano
• Mayor Miguel A. Pulido, City of Santa Ana
• Mayor Schelly Sustarsic, City of Seal Beach
• Mayor David J. Shawver, City of Stanton
• Mayor Allan Bernstein, City of Tustin
• Mayor Robbie Pitts, City of Villa Park
• Mayor Tri Ta, City of Westminster
• Mayor Beth Haney, City of Yorba Linda

The letter is available at www.santa-ana.org/OC-Mayors-Letter.

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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