Sal Tinajero, the President of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, has opted not to run for reelection in the upcoming November General Election.
The reason for Tinajero’s exit is a mystery. Many expected him to run for Mayor of Santa Ana instead but now it appears he is taking a step back from politics for the moment.
Tinajero has endorsed former Santa Ana City Councilwoman and former SAUSD School Board Member Ceci Iglesias for his college board seat. This is a bit surprising as Tinajero is a liberal Democrat and Iglesias is a Republican. However they have known each other for years and both served on the SAUSD School Board together.
There are two other women running for Tinajero’s seat including former SAUSD Trustee Audrey Noji and former RSCCD Trustee and former Santa Ana City Councilwoman Nelida Mendoza. Mendoza has a history with Iglesias as she took Iglesias’ seat on the Santa Ana City Council after the local police union spent a fortune to recall Iglesias. The union got revenge after she refused to support a bloated and irresponsible police contract.
There is only one man running for the seat, attorney Andrew Linares, who ran for the SAUSD School Board previously. Linares also is a Council Aide to Santa Ana City Councilman Phil Bacerra.
With three women in the race you have to figure that Linares has a strong chance of winning. But Tinajero’s support for Iglesias could help her. Furthermore Noji and Mendoza are both Democrats and could cannibalize each other’s votes. It is worth noting that the RSCCD Board of Trustees is non-partisan but both the local Democrat and Republican Parties do get involved in endorsing candidates for these offices.
The Rancho Santiago Community College District includes Santa Ana College.
