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Second Santa Ana public redistricting process meeting set for Oct. 7

Posted on by Posted in 2022 Elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Attend a public input workshop to tell us about your community. Help the City Council understand your shared common interests for consideration to be included within a single ward for purposes of their effective and fair representation.

The second meeting, in Ward 3, will be held on Thursday, October 7, 2021, 6:00 p.m. at Pentecostal Church of God, 1025 W Memory Lane. To learn more about the process and how you can participate, click here.

Community Workshop Dates. Join us in-person, via Zoom or call  (669) 900-9128 and enter Meeting ID: 315-965-149#. You may also watch the meeting on the City’s YouTube.

• Fechas de audiencias públicas y talleres comunitarios (Spanish)
• Các ngày Điều trần công khai và Hội thảo cộng đồng (Vietnamese)

Additional redistricting meetings coming up include:

Ward 2: Saturday, October 9, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – Southwest Senior Center, 2201 W. McFadden Ave.

Ward 1: Saturday, October 23, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – Salgado Recreation Center, 706 N. Newhope St.

Ward 5: Friday, October 29, 2021, 6:00 p.m. – El Salvador Community Center, 1825 W. Civic Center Dr.

Ward 4: Saturday, October 30, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – Memorial Community Center, 2102 S. Flower St.

For questions, please contact the City’s Clerk of the Council Office directly at cityclerk@santa-ana.org or by calling (714) 647-6520.

Katz is our pick for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 3

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Elections, Janelle Welker, Jeffrey Katz, Jessie Lopez, Mark McLoughlin, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The ballots for the Nov.3 election should be coming to our mailboxes around Oct. 5 but the race for Ward 3 on the Santa Ana City Council appears to be all but over – only three of the five candidates appear to have mounted actual campaigns and one of them, Jessie Lopez, is far too liberal to actually prevail.

That leaves two viable candidates – Mark McLouglin and Jeffrey Katz.

I was hoping that Janelle Welker would be able to do more as a candidate but I suspect that fundraising has been difficult for the first-time candidate.

The aforementioned Lopez has put up a few yard signs but I have not seen any walk pieces or mail from her campaign yet.

Many Ward 3 voters are struggling with who to back, McLoughlin or Katz. They both opposed the 2525 N. Main St. apartment development. But Katz did more than that. As an attorney he represented the Park Santiago Neighborhood for free as they litigated against the apartment developer.

The problems caused by the homeless are likely the top issue in Ward 3 and on that front Katz has a long history of working hard to resolve this issue. He even posted an essay on this subject on his website.

McLoughlin has zero issues on his campaign website, just a big picture of his face.

If you are a fan of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido then McLoughlin is your guy. McLoughlin has been Pulido’s wingman for over 20 years.

If you are looking for new leadership that might actually accomplish something at City Hall then Katz is your guy. He is innovative, smart and caring – all the exact qualities we should be looking for from our City Council candidates. If you would like to help Katz click here.

We don’t often endorse candidates at this point but we are making an exception this time. Katz has our full support in Ward 3.

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.

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.

Two women announce their campaigns for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 3

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Civic Affairs, Democratic Party, Elections, Janelle Welker, Jessie Lopez, Politics, Santa Ana 6 Comments

This November Santa Ana residents will be voting for new City Council Members in several wards, including Ward 3, which includes much of North Santa Ana.

Ward 3 is currently represented by Councilman Jose Solorio, who miffed many in that ward when he carpetbagged to victory back in 2016. His wife and kids stayed behind in Ward 1 while Solorio rented an apartment in Ward 3. Solorio has maintained that apartment as his residence but it is incredibly hard to believe he doesn’t spend 99% of his time with his wife and kids in Ward 1.

Jessie Lopez has announced her campaign for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 3. She 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.

One of our readers recently informed us that there is another candidate running for Ward 3. Her name 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.

Will termed out Mayor Pulido run for the City Council?

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Civic Affairs, David Penaloza, Elections, Janelle Welker, Jessie Lopez, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 3 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido will finally be terming out of office this November, after over 20 years. But pajaritos are reporting that Pulido may be looking at running for the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 3, which includes his Floral Park Neighborhood.

Ward 3 is currently represented by Councilman Jose Solorio, who miffed many in that ward when he carpetbagged to victory back in 2016. His wife and kids stayed behind in Ward 1 while Solorio rented an apartment in Ward 3. Solorio has maintained that apartment as his residence but it is incredibly hard to believe he doesn’t spend 99% of his time with his wife and kids in Ward 1.

Solorio is now running for Mayor so if Pulido runs for Ward 3 it means he and Solorio could end up swapping seats. That is assuming Solorio and Pulido prevail, which is far from certain. Solorio is running against several challengers including City Councilman Vince Sarmiento and former City Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez.

Current City Councilman David Penaloza appears to be fed up with all of these retreaded politicians. He posted this message on his Facebook page today:

* Currently, termed out elected officials in Santa Ana, have an 8 year waiting period before they can come back.

In my opinion, a termed out Mayor or Councilmember should never be allowed to hold that same office again. Especially after we’ve experienced the same mayor for a quarter of a century.

At tonight’s city council meeting, and at mine and CM Bacerra’s suggestion, we will be discussing a potential ‘Lifetime Ban’ for anybody that terms out of office in Santa Ana.

Democracy as it should be.

On that topic, the Santa Ana Unified School District board needs term limits too, just saying. 

*Remember, any charter amendment requires voter approval. For those interested in the discussion, or in making public comment. The item on the agenda is 65A.

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.

In related news Jessie Lopez has announced her campaign for Ward 3. She 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.

One of our readers recently informed us that there is another candidate running for Ward 3. Her name 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 Jannelle 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.

Three more shootings were reported in Santa Ana this weekend

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Gangs, Jose Solorio, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 3 Comments

On Saturday, March 25 at about 4:30 p.m. SAPD police officers responded to 317 E. 17th Street after receiving a phone call regarding shots fired. A witness told the police officers that he approached a couple in the parking lot involved in an argument when the male threatened him with a gun. The couple left and later the male returned with a handgun and shot at the witness narrowly missing him but striking the building, according to SAPD Case # 17-08025.

This shooting happened near the 5 Freeway in in Santa Ana’s Ward 3, which is represented by Councilman Jose Solorio. Continue reading→

A shooting was reported near Santa Ana College on Monday night

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 1 Comment

On Monday, March 13, 2017 at about 5 p.m. SAPD police officers responded to the area of 1710 West 17th Street references witnesses reporting multiple shots being fired.

Witnesses saw multiple individuals involved which all fled prior to the arrival of the police, according to SAPD Case # 17-06786. Continue reading→

Body found after a fire was put out under a 5 Fwy. bridge at N. Broadway this morning

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Fires, homeless, Jose Solorio, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Fire at the Santiago Creek by Broadway and the 5 Fwy.

If you live or work anywhere near the Santiago Creek, from Broadway to Main, then you know the area is rife with the homeless. This morning, at about 5:40 a.m., there was a fire at one of the homeless encampments in that area, at the 2700 block of N. Broadway and the 5 Freeway, and firefighters discovered a body after the fire was put out, according to the O.C. Register.

OCFA firefighters were able to put out the fire, which was under a bridge, in about 15 minutes. Then they found the body. Continue reading→

A brazen burglar stole a security camera off a porch of a Park Santiago home

Posted on by Posted in Crime, homeless, Jose Solorio, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santiago Park burglary suspect

A brazen burglar stole a security camera right off a home in Santa Ana’s Park Santiago Neighborhood on February 9, but the camera caught his image and now the home owner is hopeful that someone will recognize the suspect.

The suspect was wearing a hooded poncho, khaki pants and black work boots. Continue reading→

A man was found shot to death behind a vacant Food 4 Less store in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Jose Solorio, Orange, Santa Ana 2 Comments

The former Food 4 Less supermarket located at 1900 N. Grand Ave. has been vacant for many years and now 23-year old Joseph Frank Garcia, a resident of Orange, has been found shot to death behind that store, according to the SAPD.

The body was found in an alley late on Wednesday night, at around 10:30 p.m., by a security guard. The victim is a man who appeared to be in his 20s, according to the SAPD.  Continue reading→

There were two more shootings reported in Santa Ana on Jan. 17

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Jose Solorio, Santa Ana Leave a comment

On January 17, 2017 at about 11 p.m. SAPD police officers responded to reports of a shooting and a person shot and injured at the area of 3700 W. 11th Street in Santa Ana, according to SAPD Case #17-01618.

When the police officers arrived they obtained evidence of a shooting and found evidence that someone had been shot but they did not locate a victim at the time. Continue reading→

A Santa Ana man was killed by an explosive device at his home last night

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The year 2016 cannot end soon enough! A violent year in Santa Ana was capped on Thursday night by a visit by the O.C. Sheriff’s Department bomb squad to a Santa Ana home after a 61-year old man, Nong Nguyen, was found in a bedroom that may have been booby trapped with improvised explosive devices, according to the O.C. Register.

Nguyen lived at the 2200 block of North Jetty Street. His family got worried when he failed to answer a knock on his bedroom door just before 8 p.m., according to the SAPD. Continue reading→

Councilman Sal Tinajero is now advocating for Ward-Specific City Council elections

Posted on by Posted in 2016 Elections, Angelica Amezcua, David De Leon, Elections, Jose Solorio, Joshua Mauras, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero

Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero

Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero is finally getting behind an idea that we have been touting for years – changing Santa Ana’s City Council elections to a Ward-Specific model, according to the O.C. Register.

Currently the City Council candidates have to live in the Wards they represent but the voting is conducted at-large, or citywide. That favors well-funded candidates who will sell out to special interests while the Ward-Specific model would be a boon to grassroots candidates as it is possible to walk an entire Ward but almost impossible to walk the entire City of Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Could campaign funds solve everybody’s rent woes in Santa Ana?

Posted on by Posted in 2016 Elections, Ana Urzua Alcaraz, Jose Solorio, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Ana Urzua Alcaraz and Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez

Ana Urzua Alcaraz and Santa Ana City Councilwoman Michele Martinez

By: Ana Urzua Alcaraz, Courtesy of the Voice of OC

Learning about candidate Jose Solorio’s use of election funds to pay for his new apartment got me thinking about how many more people could use some funds to pay their owns rents this month.

Renters make nearly half of our City of Santa Ana, and in neighborhoods like Lacy, by the train station, it’s more like 94%. Homelessness lies at the feet of this housing crisis and has residents of my ward and others yearning for a solution. Housing insecurity is made real by an economic “recovery” that has not reached everyone equally. Continue reading→