What issues should our new Santa Ana City Council focus on?

The new Santa Ana City Council Members – Angelica Amezcua and Roman Reyna, won’t be sworn in yet for a few weeks.  Once they are sworn in they are facing quite a few issues – and will have to get up to speed quickly.  Here is a rundown of some of the issues I think will need prompt attention:

  1. Who will be the new Mayor Pro Tem?  I think it should be Sal Tinajero.  Readers – what do you think?
  2. Negotiate a new contract with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association – and no I am not open to a citywide tax increase, or assessment, to pay for this.  I would rather explore outsourcing our police department to the SH
  3. Finish the Santiago Creek bike trail.  This is an embarrassment.  The City of Orange finished their side of the trail.  Why the hold-up in Santa Ana?
  4. Make sure to keep the PBID dead.  I am hopeful the new Council Members won’t try to bring this unethical tax back to life.
  5. Spin off the Santa Ana Zoo – but the Prentice Family is threatening to take back the land it sits on if it is outsourced, and the Friends of the Zoo and the Discovery Science Center’s respective Boards of Directors lack diversity.
  6. Stop giving away parking fees in Downtown Santa Ana. The city should go with the electronic parking meters now popular in Los Angeles, so we can pay with our debit or credit cards.
  7. Do something about the needless proliferation of liquor licenses in our city, particularly in the Downtown area.
  8. Undo whatever deal David Benavides was working on to bring more high density apartments to our city.  That is the last thing we need in Santa Ana!
  9. Decide on the fate of the Willowick Golf Course and the proposed light rail system tht is supposed to run on the old P&E line.
  10. Decide on new City Commissioners – and hopefully keep the Usual Suspects off of these civic boards!
  11. Resolve the medical marijuana dispensary issue – critics are mad that so many have cropped up, often in areas too close to schools, parks, etc.
  12. What about the homeless?

Readers – did I miss anything?

Art Pedroza Editor
Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.
Art Pedroza

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

View Comments

  • Great List Art!

    For me the bike trail is very important. Let's get that trail finished and complete the County Wide system.

    Also, I'd like to bring Chivas or a Semi-Pro soccer team to Santa Ana to play. Why not Santa Ana stadium? In Long Beach they have this super awesome Antique Swap Meet at Veterans stadium once a month. Why not a swap meet at Santa Ana stadium? Can you imagine the revenue that would bring in to the city?

    Also, how about some more good places to eat in the South and North end of town. I think Downtown has all the good eateries.

  • I say Sal Tinajero or Michele Martinez for Mayor Pro Team. They are the only two members with the Juevos to stand up to special interests and the Usual Suspects.

  • Chivas coming to SA is the dead deal! The neighborhoods don't want it at the stadium. Dead deal. Thank goodness!

      • Right. Think what you like but all the surrounding neighborhoods by the stadium have a VERY POWERFUL VOICE. You know it. Homeowners. Yes. Owning a home.

        • Wow, we're you schooled is the Santa Ana District that continues to fail the children? Crap school district. You are 110% incorrect about the residents in the neighborhoods north of the stadium! Want proof-check out photos on the websites on the neighborhoods. The annual events. More then half of the home owners are in the 30 to 40 years of age category. That's a fact. Oh, and all your other BS-don't even care. Enjoy your old age.

  • You know for a fact that the surrounding neighborhoods by the stadium have a very powerful voice. Yes, homeowners. They own homes. Nice homes. So, yes, they had a huge part in the decision. It's not all about LA.

    • Sorry that is a lie. The truth is that the Chivas owner played us so he could get a better deal at the Home Depot center.

      • I have no reason to lie. I know what I'm talking about. As for the owner-good for him. The combined nays and the owner's alterior motives resulted in a good decision!

  • Let's get a Pro or Semi Pro Soccer team (not my idea but I like it) in the Santa Ana Stadium/Eddie West field and run a Swap meet there and at Santa Ana college. The days when the Washington Square Association had the Political juice to stop it are long gone. Both soccer and swap meets can bring big bucks needed in our city without raising taxes (should make you Republicans happy right?) and they can give back 10% of the take to the Wilson school library or to feed the homeless in the civic center. It's a Win/Win situation.

    • Not. Have a swap meet next to your neighborhood, maybe across the street from your neighborhood, a few blocks away from your house and then put a soccer team's stadium opposite side of the swap meet. Imagine lots of cars parked all up and down your street too. The trash left behind from swap meet shoppers will look so nice all over the streets, and sidewalks.

      The residents in Washington Square did not want the swap meet to continue so it had a very short life span, they don't want the stadium noise, traffic and parking issues either. Not a win/win for them or the city. You're weird. Good thing those ideas have come and gone.

  • We WILL bringo Pro Soccer to Santa Ana stadium and we WILL bring back the Swap Meet at Santa Ana stadium and Santa Ana college. We need the resources to provide arts and reading programs at Wilson and Heroes schools and avoid a tax increase. I'll bet you the younger Washington Square residents will be the first to buy space at the Swap meet because it will be close to set up on the weekends.

    Long Beach has one and the Rose Bowl has one and the community has embraced them.

    Don't let the Usual Suspects keep us from progressing as a community. They no longer have any political power. It's time to step up and lead this city into the future, not the past.

  • It's not a big deal folks. You enforce the parking restrictions in Washington Square, allow the neighborhood to have space to sell in the Swap meet which can then turn around and invest profits in trash cans, security, sidewalk cleaning etc. Imagine the neighborhood concerts they can put on in W.S with the funds from a Swap meet. This should have been done a long time ago.

  • Yes. Will happen. Good idea. Never tried with this council and with the current residents of Santa Ana who favor local swap meet style shopping and LOVE Futbol (that's soccer for you Gringos). Most of the old white people who fought these ideas are dead or dying.

    Washington Square now has permit parking so this will no longer impact them.

    See you at the Santa Ana Stadium Swap Meet!

    • Btw-NOT gonna happen. Ok, I'm done playing the game. I know you all know those two things are not going to happen. The residents have taken a stand-AND WON! Whaaaahoooo!

      So, play amongst yourselves. Those of us in the nice neighborhood get what we want. Cha-Ching!

  • Admin,

    You need to do some research on this Art Pedroza fella.

    It seems they can't stop writing about him at the Liberal OC, The Voice of OC, Orange Juice Blog and even the OC Weekly.

    Man for a guy that they revile so much, there is barely a thread on that blog that doesn't mention this Pedroza.

    Is he super natural, he morphs in to men, women, children even a dead guy once.

    This is one amazing character, I wonder if those blogs have posters of him asking:

    "HOW CAN I BE LIKE ART?"

    I know for a fact there is one in a gated community in Irvine, where the audio book "15 ways to be like Art" plays on a loop. But they just don't get it.

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