My favorite Santa Ana Council Member of all time is John Acosta
When I first came to Santa Ana, I recall that the City Council included Lisa Mills, Tom Lutz, Pat McGuigan, Rob Richardson, Ted Moreno and of course Miguel Pulido. Over the years I have seen others come and go, including Brett Franklin, Lisa Bist, Mike Garcia and Alberta Christy.
In recent years we have seen newcomers arise, including David Benavides, Vince Sarmiento, Michele Martinez, Carlos Bustamante, Sal Tinajero and Claudia Alvarez.
My favorite Council Members would include Franklin, McGuigan, Garcia, Moreno and Martinez. Christy was also one of the nicest Council Members of all time. I don’t really know much about the Council Members who predated this crowd, although my absolute favorite of all time would have to be John Acosta.
Who have been YOUR favorite Council Members over the years? And why?
And how will today’s Council Members measure up? What will be their legacies?
And looking ahead, who do you think we might see running for the City Council in a few years?
Remember that Franklin and Bist could actually return to the Council, due to Measure D, which extended the four year terms to three, for a total of 12 years.
I agree that Acosta was the best S.A. Councilman of all time. (Although i believe Ted Moreno was a close second) I actually thought that when he judged the Wet T-Shirt Contest and appeared in Oui magazine it made him seem more human. You have to remember the context of the times. This was the 1970’s and Wet T-Shirt contests were quite common and well attended by local leaders. During those days it was quite common to see Playboy, Oui, and Hustler magazines laying out in Barber Shops. I remember one time my street light was out and Councilman Acosta had it fixed the same day! Now that is what I call service.