Tue. Nov 26th, 2024

Santa Ana City Council

What to do?  Our Santa Ana City Council majority has lost it.  Now Council Member David Benavides is back from his travels – apparently he flew to India with his church.  And so they are ready to resume their horrible attack on our City Manager, Paul Walters.  What is driving this?  Who knows?  Hatred of our popular Mayor, Miguel Pulido?  Pressure from the police union, which wants a big contract?  Apartment developers who want to build high density units that Pulido won’t allow?  Who knows?

What we do know is that it might well be time to strike back.  And one way to do that would be to start a recall – and remove these miscreants from our Council.  But who to recall?  Michele Martinez?  That would be a good start.  She certainly has been the vortex of the Walter attacks.  Benavides?  He allowed his supporters to attack Pulido’s kids during his failed mayoral campaign.  Vincent Sarmiento?  He almost lost in November to a total unknown.  Sal Tinajero?  He already survived the recall of his pal Nativo Lopez, from the SAUSD School Board, back in the day.  Can he survive another one?  Roman Reyna?  He seems to be going along with the Walters lynch mob…

Here is your chance to be heard!  I have set up the poll below so that you may vote to recall one of the Council Members, or more, or all of them, or perhaps none of them.  You decide!

[cardoza_wp_poll id=6]

author avatar
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.

By 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.

41 thoughts on “Poll: Should any of our Council members be recalled over the Walters flap?”
  1. Funny how Dr. Lomeli thinks that you and I are the same person, as if it’s so crazy that more than one person (who actually lives in Santa Ana) would be concerned about the irresponsible behavior of the City Council.

    But, I am not certain recalling any of these idoits would help. tthey are beginning with Benavide’s narccicistic, uneducated, upward mobile self servants.

    I think the citizens need to continue doing what they did early this month when they spoke at the meeting in favor of Paul Walters.

    I think that the parade should continue into the next meeting, so we can see what kind of leaders we have. We KNOW Michele and Roman are too afraid to face the people, they ran. Azumeca and Benavide’s couldn’t be bothered to show up.

    Keep the heat on.

    1. First we need to get the reason why he was fired and did the reason violate his contract.If the reason is not a violation then the council should not be aloud to fire him or spend our money on a new hire.

  2. Meanwhile, benavide’s wife and kids sat in the COLD apartment in Orange, because he wouldn’t give Emily the key to Daisy Street. Thats a Christan!

  3. Hey, I need to sell this property we hold!

    My kids won’t ammount to much depsite the Villa park education. So we need to gentrfy Downtown SA NOW!

    Bridal shops and jewelers don’t bring in the money.

    IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!!!!!

    Oops one of the horses is hungry, gotta go out to the stables.

  4. You know what they say: “Follow the money”

    Maybe it’s time to post a “WHO IS DR. ART LOMELI” article.

    I know he thinks we are one in the same, but I wonder why he is so vehemetly against anything Pulido. What drives this guy? He ran illegally for the RSCCD seat from his estate in Orange, He sends his kids to Villa Park High, He’s a rich Doctor who has little in common with the people of Santa Ana, other than he takes the states money for fixing thier teeth.

    Maybe a closer look into Benavide’s, Matinez and Renya’s most VOCAL supporter is called for?

    Like David, he doesn’t defend himself, he just puts out hit’s.

    I know he is a friend and you were one time close, but the citizens of Santa Ana deserve better than a council being advised by a Dentist from Orange!

  5. I don’t think they will be recalling Mayor Pulido.
    He is a Capricorn, the most successful and persistent of all the zodiac signs. Strong leaders, passionate, and loyal.
    Other Famous Capricorns include:
    Mateo
    Joseph Stalin
    Mao Tse Tung
    J. Edgar Hoover
    Richard Nixon
    Al Capone
    Hermann Goring
    Martin Luther King Jr.
    Elvis Presley
    So it really does not matter if you are a good guy or a bad guy in the end.
    As long as you take names and kick ass.

    1. Lets see:

      Mateo…………….. mutilated his left ear
      Joseph Stalin……… stroke, poisoned
      Mao Tse Tung………. natural death probably poisoned
      J. Edgar Hoover……. causes of death are still open
      Richard Nixon……… impeached humiliated
      Al Capone…………. arrested, tax evasion dead in jail
      Hermann Goring…….. suicide
      Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
      Elvis Presley……… suicide

      Very troubling endings and criminal life.

    2. Really? You’re making decisions based on zodiac signs of when these people were born? Come on, please make more educated comments. Anyone who believes in this kind of vudoo might as well pull out a Quiji board,(excuse the mis-spelling as I have never used one, but I think you understand what I am saying if you have the understanding of a Zodiac sign is…)

  6. Of course Al Amescua is supporting Walters.
    He is Pulido’s controlled opposition
    As was David Benavides.
    You are all Bohos.

    1. Sure Mateo. You Occupiers know it all.

      Amezcua used to be Pulido’s right hand until they had a falling out. Pulido questioned the wisdom of Amezcua’s bank. He was right. It failed and was sold at a loss. Many people lost money but not Pulido.

      Amezcua is very bitter about that to this day. Not to mention that someone outed the fact that he was elected to the RSCCD Board although he did not live in the Area he was elected in. So he had to resign. More bitterness.

      As for Benavides, he turned on Pulido just as he was hitting his own mid-life crisis. He sold out to the police union and apartment developers and now there is Hell to pay.

      You guys are going to have to do better than these two yahoos if you want to beat Pulido.

  7. Ohh May God! Admin.
    You are getting all flustered over what the Occupiers know?
    Maybe Pulido gave Amescua and his SANTANA bank some advise after Pulido’s Fullerton Bank dealings got some critical coverage.
    You of all people were hip to that!
    Weren’t you now.?
    Put up or shut up!

  8. I thought you went to your sweet little Nighty-Night.
    huh?
    Can’t stop obsessing about your corrupt Santa Ana?

    What is wrong with you?
    I told you that you would be welcome at Occupy G.A.
    A little hazing never hurt nobody silly Propaganda Minister.
    You are such a passive agressive BULLY!
    You need some intervention from a STATE DOCTOR!
    They are short on Revenue and need more excuses to lock up Sick-O s like your sick-O SELF. Ypu SiCK SiCk mentally regressed Propaganda RE-tread.

  9. By the Way, I voted for Angelica Amescua as the best Re-Call candidate.
    She breaks my heart every time she acts like a big pussy and does not show up to her job as an elected council person.
    Good night to you! silly SANTANA.

  10. This appears to be a personalization of a process issue.

    WHY was the original City Manager search suspended?

    WHO suspended it? Why wasn’t the search re-opened as was announced at the time of suspension??

    Why can’t the search be re-started and Walters put his hat in the ring?

    If he is the best candidate for Santa Ana then his submitting to a fair and open City Manager search would prove it once and for all. Then we could all move forward without any doubt that Chief Walters is the best person for the job.

    These motions for recall seem to distract from the real issue that a legitamate Hiring Process was NOT undertaken.

    Chief Walters = Great Guy, Honored Officer of the Law & Dedicated Public Servant

    City Manager = The Best Fit for Santa Ana based on experience in managing similar size communities & demographics as well as having a winning Vision for Santa Ana’s future.

    Remember that the City Manager represents our City not only at the County, Regional and State level, but at the National one as well.

    Does Mr Walters have the vision and connections to take Santa Ana to the next level?

    Is he ready to discourse & fully engage our community about: sustainable development, new technologies, civic branding, educational opportunities, food insecurity, public art, homeless issues, zoning & business stimulation, cultural tourism and green space concerns? These are issues that matter to Santa Ana residents.

    Do Mr Walter’s years of focusing on crime, policing and penal issues limit his perspective when addressing our increasingly cosmopolitan issues?

    Does his Law Enforcement background bias his approach in dealing with Santa Ana’s social & civic challenges?

    Until we can all ask these questions in a calm and civil way without demonizing the discussion, there will be no peace in our city.

    Does anyone know who or why the original City Manager search was called off???

    Instead of focusing on the histrionic & misleading “Save Paul Walters” rally call, we should focus instead on coming together to “Save Santa Ana!”

    Together we can answer the above questions.

    United we can best serve Santa Ana!!

    1. The Council voted unanimously to hire Walters and no one has presented any evidence that he is not doing a great job. He saved us from a massive budget crisis that was created by the Council. And now they are coming after him as part of their campaign against our popular Mayor.

      When will this Council get back to doing what we elected them to do? They certainly aren’t working for the people of our city at this point.

    2. Nice speech, No Mas Drama.

      I bet you voted for Obama for president, he was a community organizer who was elected to the senate and had no experience or education at running a country. But an election is a nationwide search.

      Now tell me about the nice swampland in Florida.

  11. Why dont you add Miguel Pulido to this Poll? oh wait he pays you to write all of this thats why. If you are trully fair and the NSA Blog holds to what it was founded on you will add it to the recall list.

  12. Weak attempt at dodging questions Mr Editor.

    WHY was the City Manager search called off?

    WHO called the search off?

    Your personalization of this issue seems to indicate, you don’t want the people of Santa Ana to find out the real answers.

    ++ ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ++

    1. The search was called off unanimously by the city council because they had the best man for the job in place! Now for some unknown reason, they have changed their minds and put City Manager Walter’s in their cross hairs for reasons they have yet to explain.

  13. Why didn’t Santa Ana have a fair and open City Manager search?

    A 9-month search was started, but abruptly ended after a month. WHY??

    Below is a link to a story about the City of Newton’s City Manager search. Notice how a Law Enforcement official made it to the top 3 finalists:

    http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2013/jan/15/top-three-city-manager-finalists-announced/

    Like Santa Ana, Newton respects it’s police, yet doesn’t subvert a democratic process to find the best City Manager candidate.

    We can do the same. Santa Ana deserves no less.

    Lets prove once and for all WHO is the best choice for our City Manager.

    RE-OPEN the NATIONAL SEARCH or at least file an OPEN RECORDS REQUEST to see what happened with our City’s previous attempts to find a successor to our beloved David Ream.

    1. Bad example No Mas.

      Newton has 100,000 people; Santa Ana qudruple that. Newtons population is 97% native speakers. ours <5%.

      Santa Ana is the size of St. Louis, MO or Tampa, FL.

      Get real.

      YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

  14. “subvert a democratic process to find the best City Manager candidate.”

    What democratic process are you talking about? The council are the ones who get to make the choice and the council were the ones who made the choice. (The voters do not vote on the choice of city manager or city employees)

    1. “The council are the ones who get to make the choice”……. Hmmmmm

      Wrong!

      In the representative Republic the council member represents its constituency on the council.

      They must echo its constituency choice for each ward.

      That is why we cal it council members and not seven kings.

      Are you sure that you know your constitution cook.

      Only Benavides meats regularly with his constituency between the council meetings.

      1. My understanding of a republic is that we elect people who are responsible for making the choice.

        I don’t recall any requirement of council members to “poll” their constituency prior to any vote they make.

        And as voters, if we don’t like those choices, we can vote for another in the next election or have a recall.

        1. True Robin,

          But don’t elected officials have a responsibility to act in good faith in representing constituents?

          Not the police unions?

  15. Don’t be fooled by No Mas Drama and others of his/her ilk. A “National Search” is a way to get rid of Paul and put the Recreation Dept guy Moet in place on an “interim” basis. Money will be wasted on “national ” search and what do you know, Gerado the Rec leader who grew up in T.J. gets the job!

    Nice try “new majority”. That’s the oldest one in the book and our residents are not buying it.

    1. Does he have a college degree?

      He has been quite evasive about it in the past.

      This is a reasonable question.

  16. “Our Beloved David Ream”
    Didn’t he steal the Yost from the Olivos family and give it to the Chase Family for a “handshake”.

  17. The democratic process I refer to is the one where a City follows through with the National Search it committed to, suspended while promising to re-instate it, and then totally sidestepped. Handing over our City Manager position on a handshake is no better than your above referenced “shady transactions”.

    WHO called off the City Manager search?

    This answer is vital so that we can all make INFORMED DECISIONS about what really went on behind closed doors and why. If all is as you say, dearest Editor, then prove it. You’re an investigative journalist, and I’m curious to know the truth. Aren’t you?

    If all the Council Members voted, as you say, WHO PUT FORTH THE VOTE??

    Let’s have the answers:

    WHO called off the City Manager search??

    WHY was it called off??

    WHEN was it called off??

    As for the Rec guy, he would need to participate in a fair and open search too. It’s premature to speculate on any one individual until a thorough CM search is undertaken.

    As for our honored Police Chief, is he (as Fiala has stated) the leader who authorized crack cocaine to be manufactured at SAPD and then sold to children a block away from a Santa Ana middle school?

    Here’s the LA TIMES story:

    http://articles.latimes.com/1994-10-20/news/mn-52566_1_santa-ana-police

    In light of this article, I want to know more than ever:

    WHY was the City Manager search was called off??

    WHO called it off??

    WHEN was it called off??

    WHO put forth the vote to sidestep the search??

    ++ Can someone call for an OPEN RECORDS REQUEST to obtain these answers? ++

    1. Hello there Sandra, I mean, “No mas drama.” No more drama means exactly that so why are you raising a stink about this matter? Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d support a move to invalidate a decision already made about a city manager.

      Really, what do you think you’re achieving by commenting here? We’ve had this talk and you’re still going at it. Those questions that you are asking about who, when whatever called off a nationwide search for city manager are best aimed at your cousin, council member Vince Sarmiento. This is not the place to be asking and you know this.

      The last time we communicated you said you would ask him and get back to me. And? What does HE have to say?

      1. Well said Omar. Sarmiento and his pals unanimously selected Walters and gave him an ironclad contract. That’s on them! No mulligans…

  18. ” Can someone call for an OPEN RECORDS REQUEST to obtain these answers? ”

    If you think it’s so important why don’t you do it? I think most people are busy.

  19. Because NO MAS is Art Lomeli on behalf of his Master David Benavide’s…….You’d think a guy pulling down a million a year in Medi-cal scams would have better things to do then tounge a bad realtors sack.

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