Remember when racist Harald Martin was appointed to the Anaheim Union High School District’s Board of Education a couple of years ago? Local Latino activists rightfully had a cow – and a petition drive resulted in Martin’s resignation and replacement by Democrat Jordan Brandman.
What folks may not know is that former college board trustee Alfredo Amezcua was instrumental in helping to gather the petitions. In the Red County video above, Amezcua is seen talking at a Los Amigos meeting about the petition drive.
Amezcua is now running against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. But there is another wrinkle to the tale.
Pulido’s consultant, Dennis DeSnoo, worked with Los Amigos in helping to take out Martin. You can see him in the video above. Now a scandal has erupted in the wake of the revelation, on this blog, that Desnoo and Pulido don’t own Pulido’s campaign URL, www.miguelpulido.com.
DeSnoo hired a failed Republican Assembly candidate, Ryan Trabuco, to develop and manage websites for his clients. Trabuco manages Pulido’s URL through a proxy named Ice Flare. Click here to see the ownership record. Now Pulido’s team is fearful that Trabuco may turn around and sell Pulido’s URL to Amezcua.
As for DeSnoo, it is apparent that he knows and has worked with Amezcua. Can Pulido trust him at this point?
As for Trabuco, would he do this? He already did this last week when he sold a client’s URL to his political enemies at the Liberal OC Blog.
And new evidence has arisen that indicates that Trabuco may not be all there.
Trabuco’s MySpace page indicates that he is a Latino. The truth however is that he is not remotely Latino. He changed his last name after he lost his Assembly race, from Williams to Trabuco.
And Trabuco’s deleted Facebook page (which you can see here via Google cache) indicates that he is a fan of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Pope Benedict XVI, and the Republican Party. But he is also a fan of No on Prop. 8. How can you be a fan of nutters like Palin and Beck while also being against the effort to ban gay marriage? That sounds schizophrenic!
Can Pulido trust DeSnoo and Trabuco? Hard to say. But Amezcua clearly has a history with DeSnoo…
And to make matters worse Pulido and DeSnoo have lost control of www.mayormiguelpulido.com. Is DeSnoo even aware that the Internet is a big part of politics now? Isn’t it time for Pulido to upgrade to a real consultant now that he is dealing with a real opponent?
Art, it seems like you are trying to start a fight between DeSnoo and Pulido so that Pulido will not have a consultant. I thought you are a Peacemaker? Who is doing Amezqua’s campaign? I hear that Michele Martinez is doing it. Is she ready for a Mayoral campaign? Why did Al quit the college board?
I could care less what Pulido does, but now that he has a real opponent he needs a real consultant. DeSnoo just doesn’t have what it takes to win a big race. He is a dinosaur who has no clue about emedia.
Not sure who is doing Al’s campaign but I heard he was bringing in a big shot from Los Angeles.
Martinez won’t be involved at all. She has her own race to worry about.
As for why Al quit, you will have to ask him. I personally think it had a lot to do with Pulido’s buddy George Pla. Al could not vote to give Pla Rancho college contracts as Al and Pla are both on the board of the Santa Ana Business bank. By resigning, Al allowed someone else to take his place, who presumably will vote to give Pla those contracts.
Since Pulido’s buddy Mark McLoughlin replaced Al on the Rancho board, you can bet that Mark will be voting as he is told to by Pulido. So Pla will get his contracts.
“By resigning, Al allowed someone else to take his place, who presumably will vote to give Pla those contracts.”
Thanks for connecting the dots Art. So what you are saying is that Al resigned to allow Pla to get a big fat payday just like the one he got from Santa Ana on the lightrail project where he was the lowest rated firm.
Check out who Al’s friends are Art:
http://www.santaanabb.com/about_us.php
And yet you endorse him? I don’t think much of Pulido but you are supporting someone with all the same connections. Come on Art, you are slipping.
Art said: DeSnoo just doesn’t have what it takes to win a big race
Really Art? No one has a better win/loss record than Desnoo in Santa Ana. Name me one consultant who has come close? There is none. Nobody wins them all (ask Pete Carol about that) but DeSnoo is by far the most winning consultant in Santa Ana, past and present. If Al goes L.A. on his campaign he is making a huge mistake. Those guys come in with their cut and paste campaign that does not sit well with Santa Ana voters.
#3,
You need to get a grip. We are not going to take out Pulido with just any candidate. Look at what happened to Michele Martinez last year.
Al has the huevos and the money and the friends to make this happen.
Once Al defeats Pulido it will be much easier to defeat Al if he turns out to be a Pulido-like weenie.
And if Pulido falls you can bet that lame City Manager Dave Ream will at last retire. Jill Arthur will get the boot and we will finally bring new blood to City Hall.
So yes, I have endorsed Al. I hope he beats Pulido. No one else has been able to but I believe Al can do it.
It will be GREAT to see Pulido defeated. I cannot wait…
Art says: Once Al defeats Pulido it will be much easier to defeat Al if he turns out to be a Pulido-like weenie.
Art, if anyone else said they quit a board because George Pla needed a vote to get a contract or had a mug shot with this cast of characters:
http://www.santaanabb.com/about_us.php
you would crucify them. Doesn’t it bother you to be so easily fooled?
#4,
DeSnoo has NEVER helped a candidate to defeat a major foe. NEVER. Tell me one time he has helped Pulido to take out a significant candidate?
DeSnoo is so over his head that he lost control of Pulido’s campaign websites! Time for DeSnoo to retire…
#6,
That dog don’t hunt. We all know Amezcua has made many concessions over the years. But we also know that he is no longer playing ball.
Al is far from perfect. But if he can take out Pulido, that is great.
Pulido has had 20 years to screw up Santa Ana. Time for someone else to have a try.
Pulido is done. He better call Hillary Clinton and try to get that Ambassadorial appointment to Mexico…
“Al has the huevos and the money and the friends to make this happen.”
There are lots of reasons why individuals support candidates. We now have the official Art Pedroza check list:
1) Huevos
2) Money
3) Friends
#9,
LOL! What would you have us do? Back Pulido?
As we saw in the Harald Martin case, Al Amezcua has done some good for the community in the past. Even now he is heading an attempt to local activists to negotiate with the developer who is in charge of the develolpment near the Santa Ana train station. Al is fighting for the local residents.
When has Pulido EVER fought for anyone but himself and his crooked pals?
If Amezcua is even 30% better than Pulido it will mean a lot!
You want to talk about ethics? Well, backing Pulido, when you know he is a slimy, selfish bastard, is about as unethical as it gets.
You bet I will be voting for Amezcua. Anyone but Pulido!
Pedroza, your assessments about this campaign are as bad as as they were in your campaign.
I know that this blogging and various local activist bring about 5,000 votes max. The rest about 40,000 is from recognition and incumbency. This year I will not run but will make sure that Pulido will not loos to a scum back lawyer like Al.
I have resources to do so!
You can’t remove the wedge with wedge.
Pulido is now my hero. No one else hates Mexican immigrants as much as Pulido and I do. He endorsed Prop. 187. That is good enough for Stanislav!
I will sell my Czech soul for him! I think I am having, what you call it, man-love for him?
Keep it secret. “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”
#6,
“Art, if anyone else said they quit a board because George Pla needed a vote to get a contract or had a mug shot with this cast of characters:”
Amezcua did not say this. It is Art Pedroza’s assessment of the resignation. Maybe the resignation was part of the strategy to seek the Mayor position. Look up the minutes of the Board when he expressed the decision to resign.
#4,
DeSnoo’s candidates win because the machine makes sure they have all the money. Those candidates don’t win because of Dennis, they win in spite of him.
His campaigns are the ultimate in cookie cutter campaigns. He has a piece from police, then fire, then the employees union and let’s not forget his ever popular “Trick or Treat” piece he puts out for Halloween time.
When he has faced candidates with any type of financial backing he has lost. John Acosta, Rick Norton, Sal Tinajero and Ted Moreno just to name a few all beat him.
Heck many of those campaigns, which I was a part of, were run out of the garages of peoples homes.
DeSnoo is minor leagues. He is good for small potato races like milk monitor or hall monitor or small cities like Midway City, but Santa Ana is becoming the big leagues.
Hiring Dennis to run a real campaign is like hiring your kids T-Ball coach to manage the Yankees.
How did Pulido let this get away?
http://www.ocregister.com/news/anaheim-219869-northgate-store.html
Art how can you say that Miguel lost control of his website when miguelpulido.com goes to his campaign website? Isn’t the mayormiguelpulido.com one the only one the lost? Please clarify.
#15,
Pulido’s URL may go to his site for now, but Pulido and DeSnoo do not own that URL. Trabuco does.
Trabuco could sell that URL to Amezcua tonight for all we know…
Well Art, if you happen to be backing Al why dont you suggest that to him? Do you not have there phone numbers?
#14….reference Northgate Market, this is another example of Pulido’s great leadership…..he has made it very difficult for businesses to come into Santa Ana.
Reason: he only cares about Miguel, not the community or economic growth and development. We need someone who has been and will be committed to the development of our city……watch Alfredo take out Pulido.