Alvarez and Bist mad about Honda deal…but what about the BMW deal?
The O.C. Register published an editorial today regarding the redevelopment deal that saw the City of Santa Ana spend millions to acquire land formerly used by a strip club, for a Honda dealership expansion. The deal has been questioned by two Santa Ana council members, Claudia Alvarez and Lisa Bist. They referred the matter to the Orange County Grand Jury. All that is well and good, but my sources indicate that Alvarez had no problem approving a similar deal with a BMW dealer.
I tried to find more information about the BMW deal online, but I was only able to confirm that the transaction involved declaring an Orange County Health Department facility “blighted” so that the BMW dealer could have that parcel. The building had been used to house restaurant inspectors. I find it hard to believe that the County of Orange would allow any of its facilities to become “blighted.”
My sources indicate that the BMW deal happened before or during Alvarez’ 2004 campaign for the 69th Assembly District. You may recall that she lost that primary, barely, to Tom Umberg. Now she is running again for the 69th, this time against Jose Solorio, who is also on the Santa Ana City Council. Solorio backed the new Honda deal.
Why is Alvarez now opposing the Honda deal, if she supporte the BMW deal? Could it be political grandstanding? Doesn’t she drive a BMW? Has anyone looked into how she acquired said automobile, and under what circumstances?
I do agree with Alvarez’ contention that the City of Santa Ana overpaid for the land that was given to the Honda dealership. Insiders tell me that they did so because they considered it a good investment, based on getting rid of a notorious strip club, while bringing in more sales tax revenue.
There is more to Alvarez’ complaints – you can read more about this story online at http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/abox/article_998572.php. I don’t have any beef with the complaints, indeed I hope the O.C. Grand Jury does something about this transaction. I don’t care how the city spins it – they overpaid, period. Did anyone even try to let a business acquire the land on the free market? I know that many of the other dealers in the area are upset that they did not get such a sweetheart deal.
The bottom line here is that Alvarez’ intentions cannot be trusted. I took a few minutes to check out her campaign finance reports from 2004. She was given a $1,000 contribution by the California Motor Car Dealers Association, in February of 2004. Did Don Crevier, the owner of the aforementioned BMW dealership have anything to do with that? Can that be considered quid pro quo?
Questions need to be asked of the Santa Ana Council regarding their dubious car dealership redevelopment deals, but questions also need to be asked of Claudia Alvarez. I hope someone takes the time to check out her council race financial reports as well. You can look at her 2004 Assembly reports at http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1253330&view=received&session=2003.
Well, I’ve got at least two things going for me.
I can, in no way, be connected to Jack Abramoff… and I didn’t give money to Honda.
I don’t think I would anyway, I own a Chevy.
You’re right, Bist & Alvarez (BA gals) voted to approve a $10 million gift of public funds to Crevier BMW.
What’s intriguing about their recent escapade is the fact that the Grand Jury knows nothing about the law and may be able to be hoodwinked if it turns out the deal is technically legal, even though it smells.
If the BA gals were truly interested in this gift of public funds they would have sent their complaint to the State AG.
Hmm.. I wonder why they didn’t?
Could it be the BA gals cannot stand the State AG’s wife? Or could it be they do not have a legal leg to stand on? So much for Alvarez’s law degree.
At least the State AG’s office is equipped with a team of attorneys that would delve into the legality issues the BA gals are challenging.
It’s nothing more than politics as usual with this meddlesome duo.
Alvarez is too busy slipping her hands into the pockets of developers and Bist continues to be awestruck by Alvarez.
Alvarez does drive a BMW though you seldom see it parked at the residence listed on the voter reg
list.
Claudia simply can not be trusted. There is another occasion where she was a union backer and many of the unions were supporting for her campaigns, then she decides to receive money from Safeway Inc, while the grocery strike was going on.
Not that one would have to be a supporter of the unions but this just goes to show what types of deals she does even with her allies.
If the city wanted Mr.J’s gone, they could have taken the building using emminent domain and claiming blight. By law they would have had to relocate that business.
By using Honda as a straw buyer, they effectively shut down a viable business without relocating it, violating that business’s first amendment rights.
Add the costs of a federal lawsuit to the millions of dollars already overspent paying off Honda and this turns into an even worse deal for the city.
Alvarez and Bist did the right thing trying to shut down this deal.
Anonymous,
No argument here – my point is that Alvarez is a hypocrite for supporting the BMW deal then turning her nose up on the Honda deal, for political purposes. It doesn’t look good at all…
A quick peek at Alvarez’s assembly campaign report reveals that her
brother-in-law, a grammar school teacher at a local private school, loaned her campaign $6,600. That’s a substantial amount of money for a teacher to advance.
Want does Lupe Moreno’s (BMW) decision to run have to do with the Honda deal?
Well Lisa & Claudia are joined at the hip, I think the Honda deal sucked of course for the record I’m no Claudia fan, she came uninvited to on of our neighborhood meeting befor her last council election, she really raisd my ire by going on and on about how the most important entities in SA are businesses as they pay more taxes etc and the the citizens come a distant second. I couldn’t belive she would say something like that in a neighborhood meeting! Anyway just wanted to get that one off my chest!!I know it does’t relate to topic but I’ve been getting phone calls recently form pollsters on my opinion and Claudia was a topic of the last call of this type. Needless to say I don’t give her glowing reports.
Andree –
Many are wondering why Claudia and Lisa are attached at the hip. Perhaps you can shed some light on their unique relationship.
Claudia visited our neighborhood days before the primary peddling her brand of politics – vote for me for assembly. I found her tactics sneaky and offensive since she claimed she was there on city business. Yeah. The neighborhood did not invite her and I resent that my tax dollars were used for her personal political purposes.
Yeah, the pollsters are calling around. I tell them straight out I will not, under any circumstances, vote for that woman.