So you think you can beat Mayor Pulido?

There appears to be an anti-Mayor Pulido cult in town and I find it rather laughable.  Simply put, these folks can’t beat him.  So why is that?

Well, here are my Top Ten reasons why the Pulido haters can’t beat him:

1. You cannot beat Pulido if you are a criminal defense lawyer who specializes in getting gang bangers out of jail.  (Alfredo Amezcua – lost badly to Pulido in 2010)
2. You cannot beat Pulido if your campaign gets derailed when your half-brother gets arrested, for violating parole (Michele Martinez in 2008)
3. You cannot beat Pulido if you look like a white supremacist (Thomas Gordon in 2006)
4. You cannot beat Pulido if you use the word “vibrant” 2,000 times but never offer up any ideas as to how exactly you will make Santa Ana more “vibrant” (David Benavides in 2012)
5. You cannot beat Pulido if you hate Mexicans (Stanley Fiala in 2004)
6. You cannot beat Pulido by attacking his children (David Benavides in 2012)
7. You cannot beat Pulido even if you pretend to have Loretta’s endorsement (Alfredo Amezcua – in 2010)
8. You cannot beat Pulido if the first campaign picture of you features you in a Wonder Woman outfit, with a distinct “muffin top” – (Michele Martinez in 2008)
9. You cannot beat Pulido by removing all references to your wife and family from all of your Facebook pages (three of them) and your campaign website (David Benavides in 2012)
10. And you cannot beat Pulido if you are a Republican (Thomas Gordon in 2006)

So how can you beat Pulido, you might be asking?

1. You need a good ballot designation.  “School Building Inspector” and “Businessman” won’t cut it.  A medical doctor?  Maybe.  A minister?  Maybe.  A professor?  Maybe.  Another Council Member?  Nope – Martinez and Benavides already tried that, and failed.
2. You can’t run on BS.  Or on hate. You need solid ideas that will inspire the voters.  They better be concrete and realistic.  The voters in town can smell hot air a mile away.
3. You also need a cause that people can rally around.  Fighting obesity?  That did not work for Martinez.  Being vibrant?  That did not work for Benavides.  How about ward specific Council elections?  Or reversing Measure D?  Now you’re talking!
4. You’re not going to Facebook your way to victory.  Ask Benavides.  Should you use social media?  Yes.  But know that it is only a small part of a successful campaign.  By the same token know that campaign signs also will not put you over the top.
5. You cannot beat him at the last minute.  You want to beat Pulido?  Start campaigning NOW.
6. You need name I.D.  If you are not rich then you better get started walking precincts now.  And you will need to earn some attention from the press.
7. You can’t beat Pulido by being a Republican, but guess what?  Being a liberal won’t cut it either.  A moderate might beat Pulido, but not a crazed guy on the left or the right.
8. You’re not going to out-raza him either.  Pulido is an immigrant.  He speaks great Spanish and can sing traditional Mexican songs in that language too.  Good luck if all you can muster is Pocho (Benavides, Martinez).
9. He will run you out of town if you ignore white and Asian voters.  Pulido rules in those demographics too.
10. Finally, you are not going to beat him by ripping him in outlets that no one in town reads, such as the liberal blogs, the Voice of OC and the OC Weekly.  Get off your butt and get out in the community.  But know that the folks that show up to the meetings are the same crowd, at every meeting.  You will be treading water if you don’t get out to see the actual people of our city.  But if you must blog, do it here.  We had well over 5,000 page views last November 6.

The Hall of Failed Santa Ana Mayoral Candidates:

Stanley Fiala and David Benavides, 2004 & 2012

Michele Martinez, 2008

Thomas Gordon, 2006

Alfredo Amezcua, 2010

Valerie Amezcua in 2014?