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Santa Ana Nov. 3, 2020 Election Voter Guide

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Cynthia Contreras, Elections, Jose Solorio, Juan Villegas, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The ballots for the upcoming Nov. 3 General Election should be arriving soon, perhaps by Oct. 5. It is time to start thinking about how we are going to vote in what is a historic City Council and Mayoral Election here in Santa Ana.

This is the first time we will be voting for the City Council on a Ward Specific basis. And this is the first time in over 20 years that Mayor Miguel Pulido won’t be on the ballot as he has finally termed out.

Santa Ana City Council

Ward 1 Candidates

Our Ward 1 pick – We really like both Thai Viet Phan and Cynthia Contreras. They are both registered Democrats but Phan leans more to the left while Contreras is more of a moderate. Contreras gets bonus points for being a mom so we’re going with her.

Ward 3 Candidates

Our Ward 3 Pick – Jeffrey Katz is the most impressive Ward 3 candidate, and it’s not close. He is an attorney and a longtime neighborhood leader. Pulido’s machine is backing Mark McLoughlin, but we prefer new leadership on our City Council, not retreaded City Commissioners. Bonus – Katz has spent years working on the local homeless problem. He is the most likely to actually have good ideas on what is perhaps the biggest issue facing our city.

Ward 5 Candidates

Our Ward 5 Pick – Councilman Juan Villegas was one of two City Council Members who voted against the massive SAPD pay raise, but as a longtime member of law enforcement we know he is a crime fighter. He just doesn’t like to waste taxpayer money and we appreciate that. He has our full endorsement. Bonus – Villegas opened Santa Ana’s first Family Justice Center, for victims of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking. He has a big heart and we need to keep him on the City Council!

Mayoral Candidates

Our Pick for Mayor – We have been fans of Ceci Iglesias for years because she always opposes wasting taxpayer money and she stands up against Special Interests. If you prefer to vote for a Democrat we like Jose Solorio. He has an even-keeled temperament and major connections in D.C. and in Sacramento that will help our residents.

SAUSD School Board

We are supporting the three challengers who are running against the teacher-union supported incumbents. The challengers include Cecilia Aguinaga; Judith Carillo and Oscar Reyes. We do not feel that the SAUSD School Board should be run by teacher union puppets.

Legislative Seats

  • 69th Assembly District – We are not fans of the incumbent, Tom Daly, going back to his time as Anaheim Mayor when he was firmly anti-Latino. Unfortunately this year’s Republican candidate, Jon Paul White, is a major Trumper and is also anto-Latino. We cannot support either candidate.
  • 72nd Assembly District – We mightily dislike the Republican candidate, Janet Nguyen. She is corrupt and will only work for the Special Interests, not the residents. We are supporting Diedre Nguyen, the Democratic challenger.
  • 46th Congressional District – We are supporting the incumbent, Lou Correa.

County Seats

  • We are supporting the incumbent in the First District, Supervisor Andrew Do. His opponent, Sergio Contreras, has helped to put the City he serves as a Council Member, Westminster, in dire financial straits and he will likely do the same to the County of Orange. Contreras is far too beholden to the labor unions.

Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees

  • Area 3 – Local businessman Mike Gonzalez has our support. The other challenge, Sal Tinajero, was the main architect of the Santa Ana Measure X Sales Tax increase that resulted in Santa Ana residents paying the highest sales tax in orange County.
  • Area 5 – Former Santa Ana City Councilman Brett Franklin is our pick. Brett is the only candidate for Area 5 who will oppose new taxes and fight the waste of taxpayer money at Santa Ana College and the Rancho Santiago Community College District.

Here are the posts we have written in the past few weeks about the candidates running in the November election:

Statewide Ballot Measures

Prop 14: NO

  • Bonds for Government Subsidized Stem Cell Research 

Allows politicians to borrow $5.5 billion at a cost of $7.8 billion to taxpayers to give away funds to so-called research studies on stem cells.  Previous government funding for this was riddled with mismanagement and waste.   

Prop 15: NO

  • Statewide Property Tax Increase (Caution: Ballot Has Deceptive Title)

Deceptive title on your actual ballot will claim it “Increases funding sources for public schools…” when this is REALLY a massive $12-15 billion tax increase that will destroy jobs.  This measure guts Prop 13 from 1978 (Howard Jarvis’ Initiative) for commercial, retail, industrial, and other properties and also allows state politicians to impose new taxes on home-based businesses.  Prop 15 will increase your cost-of-living at a time when working families are already struggling to survive. Worse, if this flawed and costly tax hike measure passes, expect a companion measure in next election to repeal Prop 13 from 1978 and increase property taxes on homeowners.  For more information and to join the fight against Prop 15, go to www.StopPropertyTaxHikes.org

Prop 16: NO

  • Authorizes Discrimination on the Basis of Race in Government Decisions and Hiring (Caution: Ballot Has Deceptive Title)

Deceptive title on your actual ballot will claim it “Allows Diversity as a Factor in Public Employment…” when this would reverse a voter-approved Constitutional Amendment from the 1990s that banned any discrimination on the basis of race in any government decision. If this measure passes, race-based preferences such as quotas and affirmative action would be allowed and merit-based criteria will be disregarded.  Prop 16 fans the flames of racial division and is a step back in the fight for equal protection under the law. 

Prop 17: NO

  • Gives Parolees the Right to Vote 

Biased title on your actual ballot will claim it “Restores right to vote after completing prison term” but fails to note that parolees have NOT yet completed their sentence for their crimes and parole is still considered part of the sentence. Prop 17 would restore early voting rights to violent criminals and is offensive to crime victims. If you break our laws, why should you have a vote in setting our laws?  Under existing law, voting rights can be restored once an individual completes their full sentence, including parole, so Prop 17 is not needed.   

Prop 18: NO

  • Gives 17-Year-Olds the Right to Vote  

For a cost of over $1 million per election cycle, 17-year-olds would be mailed ballots to allow them to vote before they reach legal age.  State law prohibits 17-year-olds from drinking, smoking, and even tanning because science suggests they aren’t old enough to make sound decisions yet. Voting should be no different. Prop 18 is irresponsible and shows that the politicians who placed this misguided measure on the ballot are the true juveniles here.  

Prop 19: NO

  • Increases Property Taxes

Prop 19 is a tax increase disguised as a tax relief measure.  Only one part of Prop 19 is good – a small provision allowing homeowners who are over 55 or meet other criteria to transfer a low property tax base to another property. However, Prop 19 then revokes property tax protections for many other homeowners and uses firefighting as mere window dressing to con voters into raising taxes. Prop 19 would set a really bad precedent and cost taxpayers too much. 

Prop 20: YES

Support the Police and Hold Criminals Accountable  (Caution: Ballot Has Deceptive Title)

Deceptive title on your actual ballot will claim it “Restricts Parole for Certain Offenses…” when in fact Prop 20 would merely reverse policies that coddle criminals and allow for early release of dangerous criminals from prison. Prop 20 will restore much-needed enforcement powers to police and prosecutors to hold criminals accountable for looting/repeated shoplifting and other crimes that were considered FELONIES before state politicians watered-down the crimes to simple misdemeanors or less. Prop 20 also expands use of DNA to help catch criminals. For more information OR to request a free “Yes on Prop 20 – Support the Police” lawn sign, go to https://reformcalifornia.org/petitions/support-police/

Prop 21: NO

  • Rent Control

Prop 21 is a disastrous measure that will increase the cost-of-living in California and lead to less housing supply.  Rent control may sound good to some but everywhere rent control has been tried rents have actually skyrocketed higher. Economic studies show that Prop 21’s approach to rent control makes rents rise quicker because property owners will take the maximum allowed increase each year whether or not market conditions justify it just because they know future increases are always capped.  Prop 21 will choke the supply of apartments by providing a disincentive for builders to invest in them. 

Prop 22: YES

  • Allow Uber/Lyft and other App-Based Transportation and Delivery Services to Operate in California(Caution: Ballot Has Deceptive Title)

Deceptive title on your actual ballot will claim it “Exempts App-Based Transportation and Delivery Companies from Providing Employee Benefits…” when Prop 22 actually FAVORS the drivers of these companies by allowing them the freedom to continue to work as independent contractors with a variety of benefits and protections.  Prop 22 is part of the larger fight to repeal the terrible AB 5 law that state politicians imposed this year that has all-but banned the use of independent contractors. 1 million jobs are at stake and are being damaged by AB 5. To join the fight against AB5 and in support of Prop 22, go to www.DefendFreedomToWork.com

Prop 23: NO

  • New Costly Regulations for Kidney Dialysis Clinics

Deceptive title on your actual ballot will claim it “Establishes State Requirements for Kidney Dialysis Clinics” when 1) there are already numerous regulations governing these clinics and 2) Prop 23 would add unnecessary costs and burdens on kidney dialysis clinics in an attempt to force workers into unions to pay dues that then are given to politicians in the form of campaign contributions.  Prop 23 is a sham initiative that is hazardous to public health. 

Prop 24: NO

  • Amends Consumer Privacy Laws

Everyone likes privacy, but Prop 24 is a flawed initiative that creates a $10 million-a-year government bureaucracy that would only be able to be reformed or eliminated by requiring voters to consider yet another ballot measure in the future. This flawed initiative actually reduces privacy in a number of ways and distracts from implementation of a new law that just went into effect to improve privacy in the digital age. Let’s wait to see the results of that existing law first before adding to costly mandates. 

Prop 25: NO

  • Referendum: Should We Ban Cash Bail System for the “Honor System”

State politicians intentionally worded Prop 25 in a confusing way so that people don’t know whether a Yes vote means No and a No vote means Yes or whatever.  To simplify things, vote NO on Prop 25 if you want to block a flawed law that the politicians imposed that would ban bail as a requirement of releasing individuals charged with serious crimes. Liberals want to replace bail with the “honor system” of hoping criminals show back up for their court date. Prop 25 would result in the creation of a new costly bureaucracy where government workers would be hired to “trace” people and ask them to voluntarily come to court hearings.  Prop 25 is a dangerous law that puts crime victims at risk. 

Local Voter Guides

About the Editor: Art Pedroza founded the New Santa Ana Blog in 2009. This year the blog has already racked up over 2.2 million views while its sister Facebook page reaches close to 300,000 people a month. Pedroza has served on several Santa Ana City Commissions, most recently the Parks and Rec Commission, and he currently serves on the O.C. Emergency Medical Services Commission. Pedroza has run for both the Santa Ana City Council and the SAUSD School Board. He has an MBA from Keller Graduate University and he resides with his family in the Park Santiago Neighborhood.

Spotlight on the Santa Ana City Council Ward 3 candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Civic Affairs, Danny Vega, Elections, Janelle Welker, Jeffrey Katz, Jessie Lopez, Mark McLoughlin, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council elections in November will be the first time we get to vote for our Council candidates by Ward. In Ward 3 that means the voters in that ward will only be voting for the Ward 3 candidates. Fortunately we have a pretty strong mix of candidates to pick from this year, in Ward 3.

Many Ward 3 neighbors are having a tough time figuring out if they should vote for Jeffrey Katz or Mark McLoughlin as they are similar in their stance to opposing most local development. In fact I have seen a few homes that have campaign signs for both of these candidates – even though we can only vote for one of them.

Planning Commissioner Mark McCloughlin and Dale Helvig

McLoughlin is the consummate city hall insider. He has been palling around with termed out Mayor Miguel Pulido for some twenty years. The problem is he does not appear to stand for anything. If you look at his campaign website you will quickly determine that it does not include what his issues are or why he is running. It is basically his resume – but go over to Linkedin and you will see he has not had a real job since 2013 – and it seems he was managing a shade company back then.

Katz is an attorney – and he actually lent his legal savvy at no cost to the Park Santiago Neighborhood when they were fighting the apartment development at 2525 Main St. Check out his campaign website and you will find very clear and well-reasoned articles outlining what he stands for. Katz is also a neighborhood leader and the current President of the Floral Park Neighborhood Association.

If you are a conservative then your candidate in Ward 3 is Danny Vega, an Engineering Technician at WD, a Western Digital company. Vega has a B.A. degree in Electrical Engineering from CSUF, according to his Linkedin page.

Vega wrote on his Facebook page that:

“If elected, I promise to get rid of this disease called “corruption” that has infected some in our government. It’s time we put people on the council who are not career politicians and have the resident’s best interest in mind, not their pockets!!!”

Vega makes his campaign priorities very clear on his campaign website.

It has always bothered us that there are so few women on the Santa Ana City Council. But this year we have two great women running for Ward 3 as well.

If you are a liberal and want to vote for someone as progressive as say for example Senator Bernie Sanders then Jessie Lopez is your Ward 3 candidate. Check out her campaign website here. You will find that, like Katz, and unlike McLoughlin, she posted her Priorities.

If you are more of a moderate Democrat than Jannelle Welker is your candidate for Ward 3. She currently works for O.C. Supervisor Doug Chaffee, who has done a great job, as the only Democratic Supervisor in Orange County, of working with his Republican counterparts. Unlike McLoughlin, Welker has her issues posted right on her campaign website.

The City Clerk has announced the Santa Ana City Council and Mayoral candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Elections, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Santa Ana City Clerk has closed the 2020 General Election candidate filing and so we now know who will be running for the City Council and for Mayor this November.

Ward 3 however was extended until August 12 so we are posting the candidates that we know pulled papers and will update this post once they are finalized.

Ward One

Ward Three

Ward Five

Mayor

Danny Vega announces his campaign for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 3

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Civic Affairs, Danny Vega, Elections, Janelle Welker, Jessie Lopez, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Another candidate has emerged for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 3, which is up for grabs this November as the incumbent, Jose Solorio, is running for Mayor.

Danny Vega, an Engineering Technician at WD, a Western Digital company, has announced his campaign for Ward 3. Vega has a B.A. degree in Electrical Engineering from CSUF, according to his Linkedin page.

Vega wrote on his Facebook page that:

“If elected, I promise to get rid of this disease called “corruption” that has infected some in our government. It’s time we put people on the council who are not career politicians and have the resident’s best interest in mind, not their pockets!!!”

Vega makes his campaign priorities very clear on his campaign website.

Here are the other announced candidates for Ward 3:

Jessie Lopez is an elected member of the Orange County Democratic Party’s Central Committee, representing the 69th Assembly District, and she is an active coalition member of Rise Up Willowick. Rise Up Willowick is a Santa Ana-based coalition that fights for a fair and transparent community-driven process for responsible development. Jessie is a board member for the National Women’s Political Caucus. Jessie also volunteers her time with the Public Law Center, as a Spanish translator, and she volunteers with Planned Parenthood.

The other announced candidate is Janelle Welker. Her story is an interesting one. Her mom fled from Vietnam and married her dad, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, here in the U.S. Welker serves as a Policy Advisor for the Orange County Board of Supervisors. In this position, she helps Orange County residents connect to agencies such as the Social Services Agency when they face challenges applying for public assistance programs and serves as an advocate to connect residents to other resources outside of the County. She has a political science degree from UCI.

Welker has gathered up quite a few endorsements – all Democrats by the looks of it:

  • U.S Representative Grace Flores Napolitano
  • For. State Senator Josh Newman
  • Orange County Board of Supervisor Doug Chaffee
  • Anaheim City Commissioner Lashe Rodriguez
  • Buena Park Councilmember Sunny Park
  • Fullerton City Councilmember Ahmad Zhara
  • Fmr. Santa Ana Commissioner Beatrice Mendoza
  • City of Fullerton Commissioner Jose Trinidad Castaneda III
  • Anaheim Union H.S. District Trustee Al Jabbar
  • Centralia Unified School District Trustee Luis “Jerry” Flores
  • Orange County Commissioner Claudia Perez Figueroa
  • Buena Park City Commissioner Benji Gonzales
  • Buena Park City Commissioner Lamiya Hoque

Santa Ana now will have ward-specific elections, as of November. This means Jesse and Janelle will have to find a way to get support from the NIMBYs in Floral Park and Park Santiago. These neighborhoods also have many more white residents as compared to the rest of Santa Ana. My guess is that they will field their own candidate, likely Mark McLaughlin, a former Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee.

By the way, don’t forget that the Santa Ana City Council Ward maps will be changing as of this November’s City Council elections. Click here to see the old map and click here to see the new one.