New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: 2022 Elections

Several anti-police candidates are running for the Santa Ana City Council this November

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Editor Posted in Benjamin Vazquez, David Penaloza, Luis Mier, Manuel Escamilla, Nelida Mendoza, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council candidates are starting to pull their nomination papers and we are beginning to get some clarity as to who will be running this November.

So far the 2022 Santa Ana City Council candidates include:

Nelida Mendoza, the incumbent City Council Member in Ward 2
Luis Mier, a bail bondsman, is also running for Ward 2
Benjamin Vazquez, a very liberal public school teacher, is also running for Ward 2
Phil Bacerra, the incumbent City Council Member in Ward 4
David Penaloza, the incumbent City Council Member in Ward 6
Manny Escamilla, a planner for the City of Oakland, is running for Ward 6

Which Santa Ana City Council candidates will you vote for this November?

Curiously no one has pulled papers to run against incumbent City Councilman Phil Bacerra, in Ward 4. There is still time for the anti-police movement to draft a candidate to take him on.

If Vazquez and Escamilla are able to unseat Mendoza and Penaloza they will presumably join in with the Sarmiento anti-police City Council Members Johnathan Ryan Hernandez and Jessie Lopez. That anti-police could also be bolstered if Sal Tinajero, the anti-police candidate for Santa Ana Mayor, prevails in his election.

Note that Vazquez and Escamilla are clever enough not to put their anti-police sentiments in writing but they are allies of the anti-police movement in Santa Ana and it is very clear to us what their intentions are.

If Tinajero succeeds in replacing the incumbent Mayor, Vicente Sarmiento (who opted to run for OC Supervisor instead of running for re-election), then he could join his like-minded City Council colleagues in dooming law enforcement in Santa Ana.

It is unlikely that Council Member Thai Viet Phan would agree to defund the SAPD. She currently votes with the Sarmiento City Council majority most of the time but appears to be getting disillusioned by them, as she has publicly crossed swords with Hernandez in particular during televised City Council meetings.

If you are interested in running for the Santa Ana City Council you can learn about the process here.

Former S.A. City Councilman Jose Solorio is running for Mayor again this November

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Editor Posted in 2022 Elections, Jose Solorio, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua Leave a comment

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jose Solorio Ⓥ (@josesolorio.sa.oc.ca)

Former Santa Ana City Councilman Jose Solorio has announced on Instagram that he will be running for Santa Ana Mayor this November.

Solorio wrote “Let’s work together to tackle homelessness and rising crime, but let’s also address the root causes. We need to do both. That’s why I’m running for Mayor. I believe ‘A Brighter Future for Santa Ana’ is still possible.”

Who will you vote for in the Santa Ana Mayoral Election in November?

Solorio ran for Santa Ana Mayor a couple years ago, in 2020. He garnered 14,585 votes in that contest which Vicente Sarmiento won with 29,493 votes, which represented only 33% of the vote.

The other leading contenders for Santa Ana Mayor this year include SAUSD Trustee Valerie Amezcua and former Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero. Amezcua, who spent her adult life in law enforcement in the O.C. Probation Agency continues to support the police while Tinajero is allied with Sarmiento and his anti-police City Council cabal.

Solorio has the most political experience of the bunch as a former State Legislator.

Two other candidates have pulled papers to run for Mayor: Jesse Nestor and Mark I. Lopez. Neither of them is likely to raise or spend much money on their campaigns.

Santa Ana Voter Guide for the June, 2022 Primary Election

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Editor Posted in 2022 Elections, Elections, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Attorney General of California – The incumbent, Rob Bonta, a Democrat, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. He has been a pro-criminal disaster. We recommend Nathan Hochman, who served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and Assistant Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice. Hochman is a Republican.
46th Congressional District – We recommend the incumbent, Lou Correa, who has consistently put the people of his district first. Correa is a Democrat who is pro-business and supports law enforcement.
U.S. Senate – the incumbent, Alex Padilla, should win easily. There are a ton of challengers from all parties. The California Republican Party has endorsed Mark Meuser.
California Governor – The incumbent, Gavin Newsom, has been inconsistent and financially irresponsible and has refused to suspend the gas tax. The California Republican Party has endorsed Senator Brian Dahle.
Lt. Governor of California – The incumbent is Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat. The California Republican Party has endorsed Angela Underwood Jacobs, the Deputy Mayor of the City of Lancaster.
California Secretary of State – The incumbent is Shirley Weber, a Democrat. There are three Republicans running but none are endorsed by their party. Rachel Hamm, one of the Republicans, is a best-selling author, speaker, and the host of The Rachel Hamm Show.
California Treasurer – the incumbent is Fiona Ma, a Democrat. She made headlines this year for trying to help the boss of the Santa Ana Police union to pad his pension. We recommend Andrew Do, a Republican who serves on the O.C. Board of Supervisors.
California Controller – Malia Cohen is endorsed by the California Democratic Party. Lanhee Chen is endorsed by the California Republican Party.
California Superintendent of Public Instruction – the incumbent, Tony Thurmond, is a Democrat. Lance Christensen is endorsed by the California Republican Party. Thurmond is not very supportive of charter schools.
California Commissioner of Insurance – The incumbent, Ricardo Lara, is a Democrat. There are two Republicans in the race but neither has their party’s endorsement. One of the Republicans is Greg Conlon, a perpetual candidate for various state offices. Conlon is a CPA and was a senior partner in a Big Five accounting firm for nearly three decades. The other is Robert Howell, who personally owns and operates an electronics firm in the Silicon Valley. We are not fans of Lara who has over-politicized the office.
California State Senate District 34 – the incumbent is Tom Umberg, who we support. He is opposed by a Republican, Rhonda Shader, who is endorsed by her party.
California State Assembly District 68 – the incumbent, Tom Daly, is retiring. His Chief of Staff, Avelino Valencia, is running for the seat. Valencia is also a member of the Anaheim City Council. Both Daly and Valencia have been supported by the same political cabal in Anaheim that is currently in hot water for various shenanigans involving the Mayor, Harry Sidhu, and the sale of part of the Angels Stadium. We are supporting Mike Tardif, a Republican from Santa Ana who has a long history of community and neighborhood involvement. He is also endorsed by the California Republican Party.
Orange County District Attorney-Public Administrator – We are supporting the incumbent, Todd Spitzer, a Republican. He has many issues but is consistently tough on criminals. His main opponent, Pete Hardin, a Democrat, is similar to the L.A. District Attorney, George Gascon in that he is generally in support of the criminals, not the general public.

Who will you vote for in the OC 2nd Supervisorial District?

Orange County Superintendent of Schools – the incumbent is Al Mijares, a former SAUSD Superintendent. He is opposed by Stefan Bean, an independent. Bean was born in Vietnam and lost his wife to breast cancer. He is the Superintendent of the Aspire Public Schools, in Los Angeles. Mijares is paid $441,213.00 a year, which is ridiculous. As such we are voting for Bean.
Orange County Assessor – the incumbent, Claude Parrish, is widely known to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic. We are supporting Larry Bales, He has worked in the Assessor’s office and most importantly is not Claude Parrish, who we feel might be one of the most ridiculous office holders in Orange County. Rick Foster is the candidate endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County. He does not appear to have any relevant experience but his website noted that he has worked in both the finance and mortgage sectors and obtained residential real estate and broker licenses.
Orange County Auditor-Controller – the only candidate on the ballot is Andrew Hamilton, an independent with many Republican endorsements. He is a CPA.
Orange County Clerk-Recorder – we support the incumbent, Hugh Nguyen, who has cleaned up the mess left behind by his predecessor, Tom Daly, who overly politicized the office. Nguyen is endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County. Nguyen has found many ways to improve services while reducing his office’s budget.
Orange County Sheriff-Coroner – the incumbent, Don Barnes, is running unopposed. He is endorsed by the Orange County Republican Party.
Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector – the incumbent, Shari Freidenrich, an independent, is unopposed.
California State Board of Equalization District 4 – the incumbent, Mike Schaefer, is a Democrat. We do not like two of the Republicans who are running, Dennis Bilodeau and Matthew Harper. We are supporting Erik Peterson, also a Republican, mostly because he is not Bilodeau or Harper. Peterson serves on the H.B. City Council.
Orange County Board of Supervisors, District 2 – The Democratic Party of Orange County has endorsed Vicente Sarmiento, who is the current Mayor of Santa Ana. We are not fans of Sarmiento. If voting for a Democrat is important to you we recommend Kim Bernice Nguyen, who serves on the Garden Grove City Council. Nguyen has the support of several Santa Ana City Council Members including David Penaloza, Thai Viet Phan and Nelida Mendoza. There are two Republicans in the race including Jon Dumitru, a member of the Orange City Council, and former Santa Ana City Council Member Ceci Iglesias. Of those two we prefer Iglesias. Another former Santa Ana City Council Member, Juan Villegas, is also running. He has worked in law enforcement for over 25 years. If addressing crime is important to you he is the one to vote for. We support both Iglesias and Villegas for this seat.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #5 – Remember former Santa Ana City Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez? She has been a prosecutor at the OCDA for years and is now running for this judicial seat. She is a Democrat but is very pro law enforcement, in fact she has the support of popular OC Sheriff Don Barnes, a Republican. She is also endorsed by many judges and by Congressman Lou Correa. We are supporting Alvarez as she is most likely to be tough on criminals. Her opponents include Daniel Espinosa, who is endorsed by former L.A. District Attorney Gil Garcetti; and Kimberly La Salle, who is endorsed by about a dozen judges. She has has served as both a former Deputy District Attorney and Deputy Public Defender, which is unique.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #9 – Christopher Duff is backed by the Orange County Republican Party. The other candidate is Joe Dane, an independent.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #11 – Shawn Nelson is backed by the Orange County Republican Party. Marc Gibbons is backed by the Democratic Party of Orange County. Nelson has our support.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #21– Ray Brown is backed by the Democratic Party of Orange County. The other candidate is Erin Beltran Rowe. We support Rowe as she is a prosecutor who will be tough on criminals.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #22 – Brahim Baytieh served as a Senior Assistant District Attorney but was fired during an evidence scandal. Fred Fascenelli is an attorney and has his own firm however he has no experience in prosecution. Craig E. Kleffman has prosecuted more than 70 jury trials. His website notes that Bayieh was fired from the OCDA’s office.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #28 – Jessica Cha ran for the Santa Ana City Council a few years ago against then Councilman Vicente Sarmiento. Cha is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County. Eric Scarbrough is her opponent. He is an O.C. Senior Deputy District Attorney who has tried more than eighty (80) cases to verdict including a case against a serial killer. Cha’s background is in family law. We like her but suspect Scarbrough will be more focused on trying and sentencing criminals.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #30 – Peggy Huang is backed by the Orange County Republican Party. Michele Bell is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County. We support Huang for this seat.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #33 – Steve McGreevy is backed by the Orange County Republican Party. McGreevy has tried 115 jury trials, 42 homicides and currently heads the Orange County District Attorney’s Homicide Unit. Thomas E. Martin is an attorney who co-founded American Legal Technology Awards Gala and is the CEO and Founder at LawDroid, Intelligent Automation for the Legal Industry and ABA Legal Rebel. Brett Wiseman has been with Madison Law, APC since 2016. His practice focuses on construction law, employment law, and complex civil litigation.
OC Superior Court Judge, Office #45 – The two candidates are Israel Claustro, an OCDA prosecutor; and Kevin Brian Jones, a Superior Court Commissioner. Claustro is endorsed by many judges and OC Sheriff Don Barnes.

Resources:

Who will be Santa Ana’s next County Supervisor?

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Editor Posted in 2022 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Garden Grove, Juan Villegas, Kim Nguyen, Orange, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Tustin, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

We now have certainty as to who the candidates will be for the 2nd Supervisorial District, which includes Santa Ana and parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange and Tustin. This seat was carved out to have a Latino majority – however as we saw in Santa Ana’s last Ward 3 elections sometimes a candidate can win despite gerrymandering if the vote is split.

The 2nd District candidates include:

Juan Villegas, a former Santa Ana councilman and special officer with the OC Sheriff’s Department
Jon Dumitru, Orange Councilman
Cecilia Iglesias, a former Santa Ana councilwoman and policy director
Kim Bernice Nguyen, Garden Grove Councilwoman
Vicente Sarmiento, Santa Ana Mayor

Who do you support for the O.C. Board of Supervisors in District 2?

While 52% of the voters in Santa Ana are registered Democrats 42% of the voters are either Republicans or Decline to State voters. The balance of the voters belong to third parties. There are enough Republicans and Decline to State voters in the rest of the 2nd District to make this seat winnable for a candidate who is not a Democrat.

While the seat is majority Latino there are three Latino candidates including Kim Nguyen who is half Latina and half Vietnamese.

This election is also non-partisan so the candidates cannot boast about their party affiliations or endorsements in their ballot statements.

Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento was endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County however he has spent his Mayoral term bashing the police – that may not sell to the voters at this point.

Seventy-eight percent of voters surveyed in a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times said that crime has risen statewide over the last year, and 65% said it has increased locally, according to the L.A. Times. Most voters now say that they would support changes to Proposition 47, which reduced some theft and drug felonies to misdemeanors as a way to reduce incarceration rates and save the state money.

Will voters fed up with crime get behind Sarmiento when he bashes the police consistently?

Sarmiento’s support is also known to be very thin. He won the Santa Ana Mayor’s race in 2020 with only 33% of the vote according to Ballotpedia. Previously he barely won against unknown challengers in 2016 and 2012 when he ran for reelection on the Santa Ana City Council.

In stark contrast to Sarmiento is Juan Villegas a longtime employee of the O.C. Sheriff’s Department and former Santa Ana City Council Member. Villegas has actually worked in Downtown Santa Ana, on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department, for years. He is not just tough on crime he has also worked tirelessly to keep kids from getting in trouble and has done a lot for crime victims as well.

Iglesias and Dumitru will be fighting for the OC GOP’s endorsement at their Endorsement Committee meeting tonight. Dumitru probably has the longest odds of all the candidates. Iglesias was recalled from the Santa Ana City Council a few years ago after tangling with the head of the Santa Ana police union and she came in third in the last Santa Ana Mayor’s race. The Democrats will likely attack her for being a Trump supporter although she has not been very partisan and has instead focused mostly on education over the past few years as a former SAUSD Trustee who now advocates for charter schools.

Nguyen is the x-factor in this race as the candidate in the best position to get support from local Vietnamese American voters in the 2nd District. Like Sarmiento she is a liberal Democrat but does not have his negatives. Whether she can get enough funding without the support of her party remains to be determined.

Ballots will be mailed to every registered voter in district 2 starting as early as May 9, and polling places also will open for in-person voting several days ahead of the June 7 election.

We now know who pulled papers to run for the 2nd O.C. Supervisorial District

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Editor Posted in 2022 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Elections, Juan Villegas, Kim Nguyen, Orange, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

Juan Villegas is the first candidate to qualify for the District 2 ballot

We now have more clarity as to which candidates will be possibly running for the vacant 2nd O.C. Supervisorial District, which includes most of Santa Ana as well as parts of Anaheim, Orange and Garden Grove.

The following candidates pulled papers to run but they have not yet turned in, apparently, the nomination signatures needed to be placed on the March 8 ballot (except for Juan Villegas who has already qualified for the ballot):

Juan Villegas, (former Santa Ana City Council Member who works for the OC Sheriff’s department, he is the first candidate to qualify for the ballot)
Jon Dumitru, (Orange City Council Member, had not qualified for ballot as of March 8)
Cecilia “Ceci” Iglesias, (former Santa Ana City Council Member and SAUSD School Board Member, had not qualified for ballot as of March 8)
Bryan Kaye, (possibly an Anaheim resident with no previous political experience, had not qualified for ballot as of March 8)
Kim Bernice Nguyen, (Garden Grove City Council Member, had not qualified for ballot as of March 8)
Vicente Sarmiento, (Santa Ana Mayor, had not qualified for ballot as of March 8)

Our informal poll shows that Sarmiento is not in the lead. He could be in trouble as he and Kim Bernice Nguyen pretty much hold the same positions and appeal to the same voters.

Who do you support for the O.C. Board of Supervisors in District 2?

Villegas is the first candidate to qualify for the ballot. He has a lot of support in the business community and as a member of law enforcement will stand in stark contrast to Sarmiento who is likely dreading the eventual campaign mailers which will remind the voters that he referred to the Anaheim police officers who shot and killed a criminal in Santa Ana after a police pursuit as murderers.

Will a Latina become Santa Ana’s next Mayor in 2022?

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Editor Posted in 2022 Elections, Claudia Alvarez, Politics, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

Santa Ana Mayor Vince Sarmiento was part of the City Council, some years ago, that voted for Mayoral Term Limits. The City Council could have, at that time, also extended the Mayoral terms to four years, to match those of the City Council Members. However they opted not to. That is why Sarmiento will have to run again in Nov. of 2022 after he was elected in 2020.

Sarmiento could be in a bit of a pickle next year. The rule of thumb in politics is to not anger more than one constituency. Unfortunately for Sarmiento he has gone out of his way to antagonize those who value public safety. Sarmiento recently resorted to calling members of the Anaheim Police Department murderers after they shot a felon, Brandon Lopez, who had been involved in a high speed police pursuit. However Sarmiento now has to eat crow as the Anaheim Police Department released a detailed video that showed they really had no choice but to shoot Lopez. That video also made it clear that the SAPD was highly involved in the incident. In fact an SAPD officer identified that Lopez had a gun. Sarmiento essentially called his own police officers liars.

On top of that Sarmiento also recently supported two poorly crafted city ordinances regarding Rent Control and Evictions. The net result of these ordinances will be less development and it will become incredibly difficult to evict tenants – even those involved in drug use and petty crimes. A coalition of landlords and other interests are now gathering signatures to place measures on the ballot so the residents of Santa Ana can overturn these ordinances.

Santa Ana is also lagging when it comes to economic recovery despite a massive influx of Federal dollars. Many stores and restaurants remain shuttered and employers are having a hard time finding employees.

Last time Sarmiento ran, in 2020, there was no incumbent on the ballot as Mayor Miguel Pulido termed out. That contest featured no less than six candidates. Sarmiento in fact won with only a third of the vote! Former City Council Member Claudia Alvarez netted almost 20,000 votes in that race. It is likely that in 2022 Sarmiento will face far fewer opponents. If Alvarez runs again we think she could beat him this time.

Alvarez is a longtime Deputy District Attorney with a lot of support from those who value public safety. Crime has been on the increase in Santa Ana throughout Sarmiento’s tenure and he has made it clear that he favors the criminals, not the residents of our city. In fact Sarmiento’s own brother in law, who is also an attorney, was hired by the family of Brandon Lopez and he may end up suing Sarmiento’s own city!

Alvarez would become Santa Ana’s first Latina Mayor of she prevails in 2022, making history in the process. While Sarmiento became our first Bolivian Mayor the fact is there are very few Bolivians in our city. Alvarez, a Mexican-American, would have a closer connection to the majority of our residents.

The stakes for Sarmiento are very high as he almost certainly is eyeing his next move – which could be a run for the O.C. Board of Supervisors. The seat currently held by Andrew Do is going to be redistricted into a Latino seat, according to the L.A. Times. Another option might be the 69th Assembly District, which includes Santa Ana. The incumbent, Tom Daly, will be terming out in a couple of years. However if Sarmiento is to have a shot at those seats he must hang on to the Mayor’s seat in 2022. If Alvarez runs again Sarmiento might become a one-term Mayor. That would spell disaster for his political career.

Who might run against Vince Sarmiento in 2022?

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Editor Posted in 2020 Elections, 2022 Elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

Vince Sarmiento is Santa Ana’s new Mayor but he won’t be able to get comfortable as he will have to run for reelection in just two years, in 2022. It is quite likely that the City of Santa Ana will be near bankrupt by then due to the COVID-19 crisis; the ridiculous police raise that Sarmiento himself voted for and the massive public employee pension and health benefit debt that is ballooning every year.

With the City of Santa Ana headed for troubled times it will be very difficult for Sarmiento to establish himself or accomplish much in two short years, which means there will be a cattle call to replace him.

Candidates who might throw their hats in the ring include:

Former Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero – Sal crafitly ran for the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees this November, seizing the seat that was vacated by Nelida Mendoza. Tinajero, a public school teacher, can now spend the next two years trying to improve the services and education at Santa Ana College. That will give him a solid platform to run on as our residents, young and mature, all need to enhance their skills and education at SAC. Tinajero barely lost the Mayor’s race to Pulido a couple years ago. The big negative for Tinajero is that he was the main force behind Measure X, the poorly-timed Santa Ana sales tax increase that resulted in our residents paying the highest sales tax in Orange County, despite our poverty levels.
Former Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez. She is now a California State Commissioner and she could end up with a Federal appointment in the Biden administration. She is older and wiser now and will surely be emboldened by the success or our U.S. Senator, Kamala Harris. But will our residents remember her, several years after she left the City Council?
Current City Councilman Phil Bacerra. Phil got elected a couple years ago and must run for reelection in 2022, but hold the presses. He and current City Councilwoman Nelida Mendoza both live in the same ward now, due to redistricting. Mendoza is finishing the term started by Ceci Iglesias, who was recalled. The City Council will have to redraw the Wards once again, and they will also have to account for the new information coming from the latest U.S. Census. If Bacerra has to face off against Mendoza it may prove difficult as his Ward is majority Hispanic and Bacerra is not a Latino. He is half-Filipino. Bacerra could just skip reelection and run for Mayor instead. He is popular in north Santa Ana and has good name recognition throughout the city. He would be an intriguing candidate as he knows how to get campaign donations from the developers.
Juan Villegas was defeated in the November election, in Ward 5, but not by much. In two years you have to figure crime will be an even bigger problem in our city as Sarmiento and our new Millennial-heavy City Council will no doubt weaken law enforcement. Villegas, a longtime member of the O.C. Sheriff’s Department, could return to the political stage as a tough on crime candidate who is not beholden to the Santa Ana police union, the SAPOA.

I don’t think we will see former City Council Members Claudia Alvarez or Jose Solorio try for Mayor again, after both lost in this year’s mayoral race. Nor do I expect Ceci Iglesias to return. The same goes for Miguel Pulido. He could end up with a Federal appointment in the Biden administration, as could Solorio. They will have bigger fish to fry in 2022.

Could others run against Sarmiento in 2022? Absolutely! It is early yet. But rest assured Sarmiento will face stiff competition and could end up being a one-term Mayor.