Santa Ana Political Chismes – is a new City Manager on the way?

So many chismes!  The big one I am hearing is that the Santa Ana City Council is preparing to hire a new City Manager at a special meeting next week, perhaps on Tuesday, and that they are continuing to accept job applications through this Friday.  But who would want to work for this bunch?

Santa Ana Council Member Michele Martinez is up for re-election in 2014.  But this time she won’t be getting a free pass.  I hear a very well-connected Latina is preparing to challenge her!  Considering how poorly Martinez fared in last June’s Open Primary, when she came in almost last in her campaign for the 69th Assembly District, she better be worried about this.  She blew some $200K on that race.  Who will donate money to her now?

I am also hearing that Tom Daly is not going to get a free pass either in 2014.  A very significant Republican candidate is considering challenging him for the 69th Assembly District, but his real concern should be a challenge from a Latino Democrat.  Will someone emerge, perhaps from the Santa Ana City Council, to take him on?  David Benavides blew his shot by losing badly to Mayor Miguel Pulido last year so forget him.  Vince Sarmiento?  Maybe but he appears to lack the guts to run for a higher office.  Sal Tinajero?  I don’t see how he would find the time to do this.  His lackluster management of his sister’s failed SAUSD School Board campaign last year was disconcerting and bodes ill for his own re-election chances in 2014.

By the way, what the heck happened to Julio Perez?  He lost last June too, in the 69th A.D. primary.  Has he moved out of Santa Ana and returned to wherever he really lives?  I hear he might run for the 34th State Senate District in 2014, just to mess with Jose Solorio, but why not just run for Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s seat?  I think Mayor Pulido could pick up that seat if he wanted to.

Here is a weird one.  Apparently the Council supported SB 744, an immigration reform measure, but the gay community is now up in arms as that bill may discriminate against LGBT youth.  Sometimes you can’t win for trying.

Mayor Miguel Pulido has been making headlines with his public hearings about the possible ban of beach fire pits by the AQMD.  But how does he feel about them?  Here is what he told the Daily Pilot:

“There’s something magical here,” said Pulido about the fire rings in Huntington Beach. “It’s something, in my book, like a sacred process that we’re talking about; something deep in peoples’ psyche. The benefit could be emotional, it could be virtually spiritual. It’s something very deep in the people.”

How effective has Pulido been?  A major opponent of the fire pits actually praised Pulido for holding the public meetings!

Marc Payan has picked up a ton of fans as he continues to organize early morning Payan X workouts in Downtown Santa Ana.  But at least one resident is worried about the City of Santa Ana’s potential liability.  Read his letter to Council Member Martinez here.

Santa Ana spent $82-million to build a new jail in the 1990’s, but the Voice of OC reports that the jail’s expenses have exceeded its revenues by a total of at least $19.7 million since it opened in 1997.  Ouch!  Should the City close the jail?  Turn it into something else?  How about we outsource our police department to the Orange County Sheriff and let the County take over the jail?  Do you trust our Council to do the right thing with regard to the jail?  Is Council Member Martinez really trying to close the jail as a favor to her old F Troop amigos?