The election is almost upon us and the latest news is not good for the splintered Team Santa Ana. A major labor association has conducted secret polling that shows that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s team of City Council Candidates are in a dead heat with the splintered Team Santa Ana.
This is huge news as the Team Pulido slate, which includes Ward 2 candidate Mirna Velasquez, Ward 4 candidate Alex Padilla and Ward 6 candidate Miguel Gonzalez, has much less political experience than the longtime Council incumbents they are facing off against – Councilman David Benavides, Councilwoman Michele Martinez and Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero.
Benavides and company face an uphill battle as the toxic mess that is their pal Roman Reyna has tanked his Mayoral Campaign by getting caught posing in a Facebook picture with seasoned cholos who the police described as “members of a criminal enterprise.”
Benavides himself appears to be living La Vida Loca. He walked away from his wife and family during his ill-fated Mayoral campaign in 2012. And now he can’t stop posting pictures of himself with his wife’s replacement. He gets creepier by the minute.
The Benavides of old arrived her as a youth minister with his young public school teacher wife. The new Benavides is promoting a 4 am closing time for bars and wants to build more high density apartment building. What the heck happened to this guy?
The ridiculous Team Santa Ana slate is now missing Tinajero as he cut bait and turned on Benavides. That might have salvaged Tinajero’s political career. He once wisely did the same thing to his former SAUSD School Board colleague Nativo Lopez. The voters went on to recall Lopez but Tinaajero survived that fiasco and ended up on the City Council.
The rest of Team Santa Ana is equally ridiculous. It includes terrible SAUSD School Board candidates John Palacio – who fashions himself the political guru of Team Santa Ana; and Valerie Amezcua, the daughter of gang banger lawyer Al Amezcua, who himself lost badly to Pulido in the 2010 Mayoral contest.
I can’t imagine how Palacio and Amezcua will beat the far better qualified SAUSD School Board candidates – Dr. Rigo Rodriguez and retied teacher Shuntele Andrews. In fact I think even dark horse candidate Angie Cano has a good chance of winning as her base of voters is exactly the voter demographic expected to turn out in November.
So what about Pulido? The poll in question shows him far ahead of Reyna, who is now quite possibly facing a post-election recall.
Polls can be unreliable but we do know that the voter turnout in June’s Primary Election was very low. I suspect the November General Election will be equally low turnout. The voters will skew older and more conservative, which bodes very ill for Team Santa Ana.
Team Pulido on the other hand is positioned to win. Their base is just about guaranteed to turn out to vote.
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Team Pulido should have sent Mike Gonzalez to the showers long ago. He clearly lives in Fountain Valley as his property tax records indicate. If he were to miraculously win the race I doubt that he will ever be seated on the council.
I like Mike but he is in way over his head here. Sal will easily win the race and Mike will be left to deal with all the legal issues surrounding his taxes and residency.
But hasn't Sarmiento been living outside the city for years?
I have only known Sarmiento to live within the city, I run into him in Santa Ana frequently with his children.
Then you should know those kids don't go to Santa Ana schools. And Vince didn't either. He graduated from Foothill.
the Tustin School District border comes close to grand and the Orange School District come close to Santa Clara. Garden Grove takes part of the west end
I went to Foothill. Also Newport Harbor High, a high school in North Carolina, Hillview high in Tustin and took the GED to get out early cause I had joined the military at 17.
But you actually lived here. Not sure that is the case with regard to Sarmiento.
The last time I checked Vince lived on Fourth Street in Santa Ana. He actually lives in the same home where my brother and sister-in-law got married.
I have been to that home on a few occasions since Vince bought it and he and Eva are living there.
I see that the DA is now investigating Mike Gonzalez. No bueno for Mike.
http://www.voiceofoc.org/oc_central/article_7fb598ca-5ed7-11e4-b76a-437e0f46647a.html?mode=jqm
This just in: Mike G. lost all eight votes of the Voice Of OC readership.
Too bad this didn't make Univision (hint Sal, get on the horn to Alejua ASAP!).
That house appears to be used strictly for entertaining.
I saw Michele recently, she seemed half-hearted in her candidacy, almost uninterested, it was strange. When she saw a friendly face, she was more interested in chatting then campaigning.
Maybe her human capacity for politics has hit the limit.
Sal has also been somewhat lackadaisical about his campaign. Burn out?
I think it is a thankless job. Not a lot of upside. Takes a special person.
Sal has a successful career, a good pension, a great family and nothing to prove.
Benavides, Martinez and Reyna (to a lesser extent) don't appear to have that kind of satisfaction in their lives.
I agree. I like Sal and have been saddened to see him working with these miscreants. Thank God he has seen the light of late.
What is the deal with Roman starting to squeal about "being put out there" to his handlers?
Apparently Papi Amezcua told him he was building name recognition and it was strengthening his "brand", it would continue to pay back for the next several election cycles.
Yeah just like Valerie's THREE LOSES helped her!
No matter what the DPOC is going to have to insist Greg Diamond catch up with his past due fee's. With Valerie attending meetings they need to budget an additional $200 for food.