Updated: Just checked. Still no mention of David Benavides’ wife or family on his campaign website. What is up with that?
I still remember when Santa Ana Council Member David Benavides first ran for the City Council, in 2006. Go back and look at his Smart Voter page and you will see that he proudly described himself as a “Husband of a Santa Ana school teacher, dad of a 4yr old daughter & 6mo old son.”
But take a look at Benavides’ mayoral campaign website and you will find no mention whatsoever of his family. And his campaign Facebook page also makes no mention that he is married and that he has kids. His Council Facebook page likewise omits any mention of his family, as does his personal page. Click on his “profile pictures” and you get several face shots of Benavides – and no family pictures. Even his official City Council bio omits any mention of his wife and children.
What gives?
This is a fairly shocking turn of events. The two things I always admired about Benavides was that he once worked in youth ministry and that he was a family man. Now I have to wonder what is going on.
A city insider told me that Benavides conducted a poll before announcing his campaign for Mayor. One of the questions posed to voters was would they support a mayoral candidate who had cheated on his wife. Why would he include that question in his poll?
Remember that Benavides and his wife bought their home in Santa Ana by participating in a home loan program for teachers, called the “Extra Credit Teacher Home Purchase Program,” which offered a reduced mortgage rate and $7,500 in down payment assistance to teachers who worked at low-performing schools, according to this press release. The Benavides couple were in fact one of the first families to participate in this program. Does Benavides have to give this money back if he and his wife are living separately now, as rumors allege?
Perhaps most unsettling is Benavides’ longtime friendship with his fellow Council Member Carlos Bustamante – who was arrested this year for numerous felony charges of sexual harassment and public theft. Benavides is one of the only Council Members who has NOT called on Bustamante to resign.
Benavides reached out to me before he announced his campaign but I have since made it clear that I am supporting Pulido. He does need to step up now and clarify what is going on. Santa Ana is dominated by working families. The voters deserve to know the truth.
This all brings to mind a slew of emails I received a few years ago from a fellow who claimed he had phone records proving that Benavides had an affair with his wife. Apparently they worked together. Benavides and I met afterwards and he swore there was no affair and that it was a misunderstanding. But now his wife and family are missing from all of his websites – and you have to wonder what in the world is going on.
By contrast, Mayor Miguel Pulido’s official Council bio page proudly mentions his family. So does his Facebook page. Say what you will about Pulido but even his staunchest critics attest to the fact that he is a great father.
But that is not all. While looking at Benavides’ personal Facebook page tonight I noticed he no longer is working at US Bank. Apparently he is now a partner at a company called Civico Real Estate Group. Now this is a problem as this company is based in Santa Ana and is involved in the sale of real estate. Benavides now has a huge conflict of interest both as a Council Member and as a candidate for Mayor.
Why would Benavides quit his job at US Bank? Is he going through a mid-life crisis? Why run for Mayor under these circumstances? It just makes no sense. Yet this guy is the face of the supposed Santa Ana spring?
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No one denies the Pulido camp strategy ......" throw enough lies and some will stick".
The Pulido camp then directs supporters to carry out the strategy in their own words and method as you say you do. The direct also advices to deny this strategy is a reflection of Pulido's campaign.
You have known me a long time and you know full well that no one tells me what to do.
You know the strategy .." throw enough lies and some will stick" , you are supporting Pulido and so are in the Pulido camp. Your are if not directly indirectly following the strategy..
This can occur without somebody telling someone what to do.. Convenient for denials.
Please indicate exactly what lies are in my post. Do not ascribe my readers' comments to me. And bear in mind the fact that YOU were the one who mentioned divorce.
You mention infidelity, divorce and birds of feather relative to Bustamante. I mention divorce because you mentioned it. Where is your proof of infidelity, divorce and crimes against women.?
Please quote what you are claiming I wrote. Just copy and paste.
Editor,
You state "Lastly, this post got about 20 times as many hits as our post about the new parks in Santa Ana. People do care about these matters and I suspect that the Benavides campaign is already finished."
What nonsense! The reason for so many hits is the same exact reason TMZ gets so many hits. People love drama and they especially love reading about other people's dirt. You're basically becoming the TMZ of life in Santa Ana. Shame on you! The hits aren't based on how people will vote, it's simply a window into our culture.
Your arrogance and judgement passing will come back to bite you in the end. But whether or not that happens, I look forward to November when Benavides is elected the new mayor of Santa Ana. That's gonna sting for you.
But I'm guessing you'll become a Benavides supporter within days of his victory. You have a well established habit of hating on the mayor and then turning around and kissing his posterior later on. I'd love for you to repost the story you posted a few years back about Pulido being somehow linked to some murderous plots in Mexico or something like that. I thought it was awful that you wrote such nonsense back then! You haven't changed. I'm not a Pulido hater at all, I actually think he's a good guy. But the city needs fresh new leadership, and Benavides would be great. The voters will decide about his family issues.
Mr. Editor, I suggest you try taking the high road sometime. It's hard to hang out in the gutter without getting dirty yourself.
Thank you,
Curious
Again, as I asked Dr. Lomeli, tell me what in my post was inaccurate. And please don't ascribe my readers's comments to me.
I never said it was necessarily inaccurate. It's just a bottom feeder thoughtless blogger post who gets a rush out of # of hits.
Why no response to any of my thoughts though???
What part was bottom-feeder? My point was that Benavides no longer mentions his wife and kids, or that he is even married, on any if his websites. He did when he first ran for office. I provided proof.
I believe you have an issue with my readers' comments. Take that up with them.
in·sin·u·a·tion [in-sin-yoo-ey-shuhn] Show IPA
noun
1.
an indirect or covert suggestion or hint, especially of a derogatory nature: She made nasty insinuations about her rivals.
2.
covert or artful suggestion or hinting, as of something implied: His methods of insinuation are most ingenious.
3.
subtle or artful instillment into the mind.
4.
the art or power of stealing into the affections and pleasing; ingratiation: He made his way by flattery and insinuation.
5.
Archaic . a slow winding, worming, or stealing
A city insider told me that Benavides conducted a poll before announcing his campaign for Mayor. One of the questions posed to voters was would they support a mayoral candidate who had cheated on his wife. Why would he include that question in his poll?
This all brings to mind a slew of emails I received a few years ago from a fellow who claimed he had phone records proving that Benavides had an affair with his wife. Apparently they worked together. Benavides and I met afterwards and he swore there was no affair and that it was a misunderstanding. But now his wife and family are missing from all of his websites – and you have to wonder what in the world is going on.
This is a socially conservative city, like it ir not. Most voters were disgusted by Bustamante’s alleged debauchery and yet Benavides supported him. Now we find out that Benavides is apparently a train wreck too. Birds of a feather?
I stand by what I wrote. It is all factual. Benavides is the one who needs to step up and explain himself.
Where are your facts , your comments are insinuations. ONE CAN NOT EXPLAIN AWAY A RUMOR OR INSINUATION. ONE CAN IGNORE THEM AND DENY THE RUMOR OR INSINUATION. This is easy enough to do.
For other uses, see Fact (disambiguation).
A fact (derived from the Latin factum, see below) is something that has really occurred or is actually the case. The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability, that is whether it can be proven to correspond to experience. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scientific facts are verified by repeatable experiments.
We can only hope that Benavides isn't replicating the Bustamante experiment...
I would love to hear your response to Curious's comments
"But I’m guessing you’ll become a Benavides supporter within days of his victory. You have a well established habit of hating on the mayor and then turning around and kissing his posterior later on. I’d love for you to repost the story you posted a few years back about Pulido being somehow linked to some murderous plots in Mexico or something like that. I thought it was awful that you wrote such nonsense back then! You haven’t changed."
I have never supported Benavides and I never will.
Pulido came around over the past few years. Benavides is now the one who is allied with the Usual Suspects, not Pulido.
What is the Bustamante experiment.?
It's nice to see the Liberal OC CENSORING comments again.
In response to his inflamatory blog post calling the Mayor of Santa Ana Claudia's "BITCH", I asked Dan what he though of the rumors of Davids extramarital affair.
Of course that my comment will never see the light of day.
But if you called Beth Krom, Larrys "Bitch" the Northwood Night Stalker would be all over it.
I just may bring up Dan's post at the debate and ask David, what he thinks of his most ardent supportter from Irvine calling the mayor and his fellow councilperson a BITCH.
Right after I ask him about his sexuality and promiscuity. Certainly, Dan is interested in this as his close colluegue if infected with HIV, so he would certainly hope Mr. Benavides was responsible.