News Flash! I just heard from a credible source that Santa Ana Councilman Jose Solorio is going to resign at tonight’s “emergency” City Council meeting and Mayor Miguel Pulido is going to try to appoint his replacement. I don’t know if they are going to vote on the firefighter contract first.
There has been a lot of talk about possible replacements for Solorio – but most of the city activists I know want a special election. They want the voters to decide who replaces Solorio. However Pulido, who did now allow the voters to vote on ward-specific elections or mayoral term limits, now apparently does not want the voters to replace Solorio.
Who else is on that list? Other names I have heard include Vince Sarmiento and Desi Reyes, but I don’t know if Reyes lives in Ward 1.
Does Pulido have the votes to get his way? Maybe. If Alberta Christy, Mike Garcia, and Carlos Bustamante go along with Pulido, then we won’t be able to stop him from appointing Whitacre to Ward 1. That would be an awful thing for Christy and Garcia to do to our city as they prepare to leave the City Council. And for Bustamante it might turn out to be a career-killer as he is facing a tough re-election campaign in two years.
If Pulido does go ahead and appoint a replacement for Solorio, he will in affect be announcing that he won’t be working with the new council members. Fine – if Pulido does this I am prepared to help start a recall of our Mayor. He needs to let the voters speak – on this issue and the others I referenced.
As for Bustamante, he better watch his every step. He is not the only well-known Latino Republican in Ward 3. He will definitely face competition in two years – and appointing Whitacre to Ward 1 will come back to haunt him. He needs to let the voters decide this.
The meeting tonight is closed to the public, according to the OC Register. Go there anyway! Voice your displeasure and let Pulido and his cronies know that we are watching their every move. They cannot get away with this underhanded scheming any longer.
Carlos and Mike and Alberta must join Lisa and Claudia and demand that this go to the voters.
If Carlos or Alberta vote to go along with this appointment, I hope this blog lets the world know what Carlos is up to in his “personal” life.
And don’t forget to tell people that Alberta borrowed 14,000 to run for council and never re-paid it.
There is a little something called the “Brown Act”.
They can not even legally discuss a replacement appointment, much less take any action, unless it appears as an agenda item on the posted notice for this emergency meeting.
Thanks poster no. 2. The act, if not posted, even in an emergency situation, would be invalid.
I think there is a bit of Chicken Little going on here.
Art…you continue to raise a red flag when discussing Tim as a replacement for Jose, but don’t mention that Vince Sarmiento (the Mayor’s choice accoring to Mike Garcia)brings a very large anchor with him — the Fiesta Hall that is managed by his mother and has a very extensive police response record. I would be more concerned with having Vince and the negative Fiesta Hall represented on our city council than Tim who has done alot for this community. I don’t care what has happened within the republican or democratic party — I want strong leadership on city council. republicans AND democrats can go ice fishing for all the good they do for my city!