I had a conversation today with my co-blogger, Sean Mill. We agreed that the most important political task we face in Santa Ana is to oust Carlos Bustamante from the City Council. To that end, I hope that Santa Ana School Board Member John Palacio will run. But just this week he reiterated that he is not interested. And no one else is stepping up.
Incidentally, I attended a meeting of the Park Santiago Neighborhood Association this week. This is the association that represents my neighborhood. The developers who are building the City Place development (on Main St., across the street from the Main Place Mall) showed up and said that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido asked them to build a 35 story luxury condo tower because we “need it.”
Really? We “need it?” Not many in my neighborhood agree with that notion. Traffic on Main St. is already horrible, particularly during rush hour. Imagine how many more cars will be added to the mix when the 35 story tower goes up?
Why did Pulido force this on my neighborhood? The luxury condos won’t serve most of the people of my city. They are not designed for families. They are designed, by the admission of the developer’s representative, for DINC’s (double income, no children).
What does our City Councilman think of this? Well, Bustamante represents my neighborhood. But he never shows up to our meetings. And he told us at the last Council meeting that he is “in charge of development.” To be honest, he appears to be in charge of taking big fat checks from developers, including those associated with the City Place.
What we need is not a councilman who will sell out on a daily basis to any developer who cuts him a check, but rather a councilman who will represent the people of Ward 3, and the people of Santa Ana.
Bustamante has been a complete joke ever since he was elected. He has never stood for the people. He ignores the fact that our city has only one library. He does not advocate for more park space – instead he pimps for developers who want to turn our city into Los Angeles…a town full of towers, traffic and graffiti.
By the way, isn’t it ironic that in Bustamante’s Supervisorial race he took loads of money from asphalt companies? Even though the City Council has done little to fix our roads in Pulido’s reign, which includes Bustamante’s brief time on the Council.
And where was Bustamante when Pulido voted NO on installing Quiet Zone railroad crossings in our area, after he told us he would vote yes? A new rail line was just installed this past year on Lincoln. So we now will have TWICE the rail traffic. The OCTA offered to pay 85% of the cost of installing Quiet Zone crossings, which will silence the train horns and PREVENT cars from entering the rail crossing area when a train is passing through. And Pulido STILL voted against it, in his capacity as an OCTA board member.
We can do better. But if no one wants to take on Bustamante, then I will. How I would relish taking him on in the public debates…if he were to even show up. I know I would trounce him with little effort. Because my goal is to serve the public. His is to fatten his wallet. And the truth always wins out over empty spin.
I hope Palacio runs. But if he doesn’t then this blogger will step up to the plate. I may not win, but I will give him the fight of his life!
If Bustamante thinks I am a pain as a City Commissioner, I can assure him that I will be an even bigger pain as a City Council candidate. And if I somehow prevail, Pulido and his cabal just might put a price on my head.
My priorities as a council candidate would include:
- Priority number one: FIRE CITY MANAGER DAVE REAM! He has brought nothing but ruin to Santa Ana.
- Sign up with the Orange County Library system, in order to increase our total number of branches from one to as many as four to six.
- Build more parks! One idea – buy the land that the One Broadway Plaza was supposed to sit on (by now I think we all know it won’t ever be built) and build a Central Park. And we need to build more soccer fields!
- Fix our roads! NO MORE EXCUSES. And we need to fire Public Works manager Jim Ross. He has UTTERLY FAILED to do his job.
- Conduct a cost/benefit analysis to see if going with the County for Fire and Police services would save us money, that could be spent on our crumbling infrastructure. I have been told by those in the know that we could save as much as 25-35% by using the County services. Why not take advantage of the fact that we are the County Seat?
- Outsource more city services in order to save as much as 75%! Again, the goal is to free up money to spend on fixing the many problems that Pulido and company have ignored for over twenty years.
- STOP GRAFFITI! We need to get creative here and offer youths other alternatives. But we also need to get serious. Taggers need to be arrested. Their parents need to pay for their misdeeds. Graffiti is an affront to all of us. It should not be tolerated.
- Reign in developers! NO MORE LUXURY TOWERS. We don’t need them. Our traffic is a mess and it is getting worse. We need to focus on improving existing affordable housing. And we need to help homeowners who have been preyed upon by the predatory lenders who fund most of our council members. We also need to protect our city’s historic resources, even as developers who fund Bustamante and Pulido cut historic homes in half and leave them to the mercy of the weather.
- More youth programs! Especially in the summer. Kids need alternatives to hanging out with gangs.
- MORE GANG INJUNCTIONS!!!!! Gangs are terrorists and they must be stopped at all costs. I believe we have under-invested in our social infrastructure, and I will address that by building more libraries and parks, and by increasing summer youth programs, but enough is enough. We have ignored the gang problem for far too long. WE MUST DECLARE WAR ON ALL GANGS! They have already declared war on our youth.
If you want business as usual, then by all means Bustamante is your guy. If you want real change then it is time to look elsewhere for new ideas and real leadership – in service to the people, not the special interests! I promise that I will NEVER accept a campaign check from ANY developer who does business in our city. Period. It is a conflict of interest!
By the way, I
hope Palacio does run. I would much rather focus my energies on this blog. But if he doesn’t, and no other viable candidate steps up, then I will.
I admire your willingness to run Mr. Pedroza. It seems you have really thought this through and I know you will run a hard race and never give up. I also admire you for having already come up with a platform. How mucho money do you thing you will need to win and how will you raise it? Will you seek endorsements? How can readers of O.J. blog be of help? Do you think Janet win can help you? You certainly helped her in her campaign. You are smart to begin early and I’m sure you will get lots of help. Good luck to you and let us know how we an be of help to you. Also, you should try to get the endorsements of Mr. Tinajero and Ms Martinez right away. They have a good reputation among residents. I also hope that you can stay on your commision because Santa Ana Commisionor is a good designation in my opion.
Good luck and God’s speed!
Also, I believe that we need Mr. Palacio’s experience on the school board right now so I am glad he will stay put.
Art, I suggest you follow the example of Michele Martinez and walk precincts from now to election day. She got a lot of votes that way. I also suggest you take along some pepper spray and practice a little “Parkour” before you begin in earnest because central Santa Ana is full of Pit Bulls and the front yard fences can be pretty tall!
Best of luck to you Art. The first thing you need to do is go down to the city clerk’s office on Monday morning and pull papers to run. Next you need to file with the state so you can start raising money. Than you should plan a fund raiser and start putting raising money. Do you know if Bustamonte is using the Glabb’s to run his campaign again? Who will be running yours? It will be interesting to have a candidate’s view of the campaign from start to finish on this blog. Don’t sell youself short Art, you can win this thing if you can raise enough money and devote
the time it will take. It’s not enough to have good ideas. You need to be able to back them up with the money and time needed to win a campaign.
Good luck!
thats a nice list of things you would change but what about joseph fletcher? whats gonna be done about him?
Pedroza, you got my vote.
Jose,
Oops! Thanks for the reminder. Quite frankly, most of Ream’s people need to be “retired,” particularly “Fletch.” I will call for their ouster from the 8th floor.
Dear commenters,
Thanks for the support! I must say I am relieved that the early response is positive.
If no one steps up by next Wednesday, I will file to run.
As for which consultant I will use, to be honest I think that a lot of my friends will be happy to give their advice. I will ask Palacio, John Acosta, Art Lomeli and Sean Mill, amongst others, for their input.
This would also be a good time to bring in David Kidd.
Money would have to be raised as well. I think we can assume that the local fire and police unions will go with Bustamante.
I will appeal to the people. And I will definitely walk. God knows I can use the exercise.
Another question would be whether or not it would be ethical for me to blog during the campaign. To be honest, I think I would have to take a leave of absence from the Orange Juice. But that issue is not settled.
If I did take a leave, I would ask Thomas Gordon, Sean Mill, Luis Rodriguez and Larry Gilbert, amongst others, to keep the OJ alive. I think they and our entire blog team would do a fine job.
Again, I am more than willing to step aside for Palacio or any other viable candidate. This is not about me. It is about doing something to improve our city. And it is about serving our people.
Art, I’m glad that you want to be tough on gangs but I don’t know how you are going to have an effective anti-gang policy in Santa Ana when you believe that illegal aliens have an inherent right to be here.
How are you going to change the all of the social, political, and economic conditions of life that contribute to gang involvement for illegal aliens and their children (in city, county, state, etc.) from a position in city government? With a virtually non-stop wave of illegals arriving over the border from Mexico and other Latin American countries, how will you ever deal with the limitless supplies of gang recruitment material?
If your answer is legalization or a path to citizenship, how will creating an environment which makes assimilation into American society less and less important help with gangs? How will that not reproduce the exact same conditions in this county (or the country for that matter) that led to the flight of illegal aliens from those countries?
I’m interested in knowing your strategy.
Art,
You’ve got my vote and pledge for a campaign donation.
Art:
I’d rather have you than leaderless John Palacios. Palacios would bring his inept skills to the Council and could possibly be a worse than Bustamante.
Although I question your judgment about supporting Palacios, you still have my vote because Carlos has been MIA.
And Art, Carlos is vunerable…..just look at his pathetic showing in the First Sup District race. Give him hell.
Art:
Your comment that “I may not win, but I’ll give him the fight of his life” shows a complete lack of confidence and resolve. Why run, if you are already throwing in the towel?
I think you can win. And, I still suggest you run even if Palacios throws his hat in the race. Palacios has been an embarrassment and has failed to lead.
You, however, have been a great critic of the current regime. If you can get a few council members to endorse you and raise half of what Carlos does I think you will win. Michele and Sal showed it could be done. With their playbook in hand, you can beat Carlos.
Dig deep Art and you will WIN!!!!
You’ve got my support. Good luck!
Fax,
Pulido and his machine have ignored half the residents of our city for twenty years. And we know what THAT approach has accomplished.
My approach would be to acknowledge these residents and try to move them up the socio-economic ladder. Many of them have American children. Many others are young people who came here as toddlers and are now de facto Americans.
We need more libraries. We need more parks. We need to improve existing affordable housing.
And we need to pressure our local school district into doing a better job. Pulido has provided cover for his buddy, Rob Richardson, who is the president of the board at SAUSD. The result has been ineptitude at the SAUSD, to the tune of $6 million lost to fraud and corruption.
One more thing – these immigrants DO spend money here. A lot of it. The Wal Mart on McFadden is one of the top grossing Wal Mart locations in the entire U.S.
And when they spend there money, they contribute to our tax base. They also pay utility taxes. And some do pay federal taxes and property taxes too.
So they are taxpaying residents. And we need to stop pretending they are not there.
Pulido himself was an immigrant. He ought to know better. But he seems to think he is better than the other immigrants. He is not.
BTW, I was born in this country. And my maternal grandfather was born in Texas, although he was raised in Mexico. My family has a history and a stake in the U.S., but I do not hate the immigrants. I feel bad for them.
Imagine leaving your home and family because they are starving and you need to find a way to bring home money? You go to a country where you have to sneak in and you don’t speak the language. You do horrible back-breaking work for very little money. And then you cannot even return to see your family because you cannot get back without paying a coyote as much as $10K.
That is the world of the immigrants. It is a sad existence. And yet their handiwork is evident everywhere. Entire industries would collapse without their underpaid labor.
As for the gang issue, many if not most gang members are in fact U.S. citizens. There have been gangs in Santa Ana for many, many decades.
If you want to stop the gangs, you have to arrest their leaders and give the young people other activities to get involved in. We have let this problem fester too long. It is time to act now!
Poster 12,
Anyone who knows me knows that I do not lack in confidence. But I am realistic. Running for office in Santa Ana is a humongous endeavor. And you have to raise a lot of money.
Bustamante has an advantage in that he is the incumbent and he has been leeching money from developers, unions and special interests for years.
However, Bustamante is also damaged goods. Many in the GOP have written him off entirely.
And as a Republican, Bustamante will have a hard time with Democratic voters. Especially since Tom Umberg spent a lot of money telling them that Bustamante is a Bush Republican.
I will ask the Democrats for their support. I think we agree on many issues that are relevant to my community. Bustamante will not be able to ask them for help.
Again, if someone else who is viable steps up, I will be happy to step aside. I just want to make sure Bustamante does not get a free ride!
If nothing else, I will be able to focus the public’s attention on the issues that matter, by running against Bustamante. He will just have to resort to lying to them. Again.
You cant always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need
-Rolling Stones
What party will you be running under?
I suggest you keep the message simple: You’re here to make Santa Ana accessible to all residents. You want it safer, more visitable and friendly.
Your family onboard with this? you know it will be a hardship for them, especially in the initial stages.
Let’s see – you would run by being strongly opposed to the current Mayor, the City Manager, developers and would also take on the city employees’ union by urging more outsourcing plus turn the fire and police employees hostile towards you by championing a study to look at shifting those activities to the County Fire Authority and County Sheriff. And we already know where you stand with the Chamber of Commerce. Seems pretty clear then what you would be doing to make a lot of political enemies who would pump a lot of money into an anti-Art campaign. Oh yes, there is your refusal to distinguish between immigrants who came here in a legal fashion and those who don’t – that would produce another platform for an anti-Art mailer or two. So, what person or groups with money to help a campaign do you have? If you are serious, I suggest you start by hiring a competent political consultant to assess the landscape and advise you if there is a snowball’s chance —-
Art I think you can raise money on a national level if you can keep the press interested in the O.J. blog. Why not ask those who believe in freedom of the press if they would be willing to send you a check? I think you will find Americans of all stripes willing to do that. Also, don’t be so sure you cannot get support from Police and Fire or at least get them to stay out of the race. Sal and Michele could help in that regard by going to the unions and asking for help. Carlos has NOT been a friend to Police or Fire (Carlos does what is good for Carlos) and I hear they may stay out of the ward 3 race. SEIU hates Carlos and should also be open to you if Sal and Michele go to them. Show you are serious by filing Monday morning. Don’t wait for anyone or anything. This has to be something you want a lot and all these little steps are signs that you have the fire in the gut to win!! We know you do Art! Also, I don’t think you should quit the blog. It’s good free P.R. for you and your campaign. You can bet your bottom dollar that Carlos will be using his free time on Cable Ch. 3 for free publicity and getting in the newspaper every chance he can, you need to use your cyber tools. Also, with your Pro Gay Marriage stance you should reach out to the Gay community county wide for help. There are many S.A. residents who can help you network politically with them. It’s an untapped resource in local political circles. (Emily’s list is a player but not other organized groups) Also, being Pro-Choice, there is a lot of funds for your willingness to support women.
Perhaps some loyal supporter of yours knows a P.I. who can follow Carlos around for a few months. I think you might be shocked at what they turn up on the guy!
Poster 18,
I am not anti union. I am in fact a member of the AFL-CIO, via my teaching job at Cerritos College, where I am an adjunct instructor.
But our city is IN CRISIS. That means that I am willing to turn over every rock in order to find extra money that we can spend on our crumbling infrastructure.
We don’t need to raise taxes or otherwise fleece our residents. The money is there…we just need to stop wasting it!
Poster 19,
I have thought a lot about the blog issue, since yesterday. I agree that I probably don’t need to take a leave from the blog, but I also think that I should refrain from writing about Carlos and the campaign. Everything else will be fair game.
I know my co-bloggers will do a great job filling in the blanks…
Hey Anon 10:16am:
That’s the same B.S. they threw at Sal Tinajero and Michele Martinez BEFORE they kicked the crap out of the groups you mention and got themselves elected. Carlos is a lazy campaigner and is not liked by anyone outside a very small circle of friends. Thanks for the free advice though Anon 10:16!
Art:
I’m excited about the prospect of having a new council members that takes his directions from the voters and not Miguel’s business associates.
If nothing else, you’ll force Carlos to actually listen to the voters and not the monied interest that control this sinking city.
Art, as a city employee, I can tell you that the path to the Council runs through the employee union. If you can isolate and alienate them, you can win. The question of whether or not OJ bloggers could or ever would run for office has been talked about on the 8th floor, and needless to say, it has a lot of people up there worried about that prospect. If you can get yourself elected, you can form a new council majority to force Ream and his lackeys out and institute meaningful change.
If you file papers, I want to be the very first contributor to your campaign.
“I’d rather have you than leaderless John Palacios. Palacios would bring his inept skills to the Council and could possibly be a worse than Bustamante.
Although I question your judgment about supporting Palacios, you still have my vote because Carlos has been MIA. “
Your comments about Palacios are wrong. Any parent or educator who has contacted John Palacios has had his ear. He can then keep his eyes on things and demand more accountability from the district administrators. At this point, none of the worst administrators can ever be “sure” that he has not been made fully aware of their wrongdoing. And bad administrators are STILL doing wrong. Talk about arrogance!
Word has it out that Rob Richardson is also now open to being approached about problems in the district. He’s overseen a number of problems and his awareness has helped solved some key instances.
Palacios has a email group that he sends out pertinent articles and issues that face our school district as well as the larger picture of education. He IS a leader. He might be understated, but he was leading and listening long before Rob joined him. He leaves the old president of the board, Audrey Noji, in the dust when it comes to ferreting out problems and coming up with solutions that will benefit the students and community.
I am glad he wants to stay on the school board. His contributions have been substantial.
SA needs more leaders like Art, John and other determined visionaries.
# 25-
I ran against Mayor Pulido in the last election cycle. I really think that is one of the reasons that when I call for graffiti to be removed or get a pot hole filled that it takes extra long to get done, if at all. If I can’t get response, how do you feel the average resident feels?
Unioned employees should NOT be worried about their jobs. In other cities, when a larger organization is tasked to contract services, the employees are usually all absorbed by the county agencies. It is usually a very good win-win for the city workers.
Fire and Police are union, no matter if they are with county or city employers. It is a very easy switch over.
#26
Thomas, how close was your race against Mayor Pulido? Some of us were not paying attention to that stuff in the past. That is changing now.
“I really think that is one of the reasons that when I call for graffiti to be removed or get a pot hole filled that it takes extra long to get done, if at all. If I can’t get response, how do you feel the average resident feels?”
That’s because you don’t live in the Artists’ Village. This blogger claims that the police are very responsive. You have to read his story about the homeless “Poo Lady”. It is hilarious:
http://santiagostreetlofts.blogspot.com/
Re: #25. There’s no way you are a city employee. Even in the worst of times, you don’t publicly denounce your boss – the City Manager and call rest of staff Lackies. Its apparent you are probably just Art, or Sean or one of the repeated Anonymous posters…
Unfortunately Art with all the negative exposure on the City, it sure doesn’t help your standings with City employees. I, for one, am a city employee and would not support you as a Councilmember. Your repeated attempts at getting information out of City staff will probably be the hardest thing you had to do in your life. I’m sure the majority of city staff agree with me. Good luck.
Art, May I also suggest that you attend every single neighborhood meeting you are able between now and the election. Go on a “listening tour” of the city and gather the best ideas and campaign volunteers along the way. You are someone who brings people together around common hopes and dreams for our city and I think you will see there are thousands waiting for a leader like you to arrive. Buena Suerte Amigo!
If you could get $100 (and I think some may give more) from every person who lives within earshot of the D****** train whistle then you will have a nice start to your campaign treasure chest. Since the current councilman refuses to care what happens (isn’t it interesting how the Double Tracking and Quiet Zone became a lower priority for Bustamonte AFTER he moved from Park Santiago to Floral Park?) And how much money do you think he will get from the Developer of that 29 story high rise Condo project next to Santiago Park? You should also canvase that neighborhood next to the Tower of Terror and see how they like the idea of being under a HUGE shadow most of the day? I bet they will fall all over themselves giving you money for your campaign.
Finally a candidate we can get excited about!
Be careful what you pray for, because you may get it.
#31 said:
There’s no way you are a city employee. Even in the worst of times, you don’t publicly denounce your boss – the City Manager and call rest of staff Lackies. Its apparent you are probably just Art, or Sean or one of the repeated Anonymous posters…
Unfortunately Art with all the negative exposure on the City, it sure doesn’t help your standings with City employees. I, for one, am a city employee and would not support you as a Councilmember. Your repeated attempts at getting information out of City staff will probably be the hardest thing you had to do in your life. I’m sure the majority of city staff agree with me. Good luck.
Great. A clowncil YES-Man shows up and tries to convince readers that the entire city staff is happy with the current group of leaders. Right. Just what we all read about when the school district problems came to the surface. Lots of gnashing of teeth saying “move along! move along! There is no problem here!”
That was quite a while ago. Whatever happened to that Mijares guy, anyways? Oh that’s right. He left when the heat got turned up. Stainer, Bratcher, Earhardt, Jones, Espinosa and soon Machado….all being replaced with a new crowd of leaders. Oh, and there is a wide swath of toadies and synchophants scattering behind them. The fallout continues.
YOU might be one of those kind of employees. Putting up and shutting up, despite SA’s incredibly horrid reputation as the county laughing stock of leadership.
We know Ream won’t be voting for Pedroza. He doesn’t even live in the city! We’ll just see how many city employees are backing the current bunch of arrogant leaders, and how many are ready for a change in direction for the city they live in. I doubt that YOU live in SA. You’d be a lot more informed and adament that city services be raised up to an acceptable level.
It’s satisfying to see an arrogant poster like you so concerned that a local citizen like Pedroza might be challenging the status quo.
Make sure you set up a PayPal account. It will make online contributions easy.
Good luck Art!
Its unbeleiveable to me that the cost to build Quiet Zones in the city was passed up but, they are spending $250,000 on some electric billboards. Please keep up the good work pointing out the corruption the Mayor and the City Council members are doing.
Art,
Forget the recycled school board guy, you are the one to bring much needed excitement and voter participation to the elections.
And you don
What ever happened to that Mike Garica guy who did not run for re-election? What’s he doing now? Also, what ever happened to the guy D.J. that used to post on S.A. citizens…I’m surprised he is not more active on this blog.
Poster 40,
Mike Garcia was run out of town by Miguel Pulido, so to speak. Garcia announced he was running for Mayor, and Pulido and his hacks told Garcia his business and family would suffer. So he walked away from the Council.
As for DJ, I think that is Pat McGuigan’s son. I am not sure why he has not posted in a long time. I am sure he is very busy. He donates a lot of time to non-profits.
I don’t think Carlos has the guts to do what he has to do to beat you Art, and that is switch political parties. That big GOP sign is like a mill stone around his neck! This is NOT a good year to be a Republican running for office in Central O.C. and Carlos is going to get hurt for being part of the “Bush League”!
Art,
Poster number 18 has a point for you: how you will find serious allies, given the fact that your platform attacks virtually every power center, including the unions. You say you are not anti-union but you have used this blog to attack unionized workers in the city and your enemies will remember that. I know you hold sympathetic opinions too. But if you propose a major outsourcing scheme, you cannot seriously expect SEIU or UFCW to support you. And previous attacks all but guarantee you can forget support from the City establishment unions in the FD and PD. You say you don’t think we should fleece the residents with a tax increase, but instead you propose fleecing low income workers with an outsourcing scheme that will accomplish savings through wage and benefit reductions. Announced this way, I think your platform is highly problematic. When I look around the USA and Santa Ana, it’s not the rich or richer folks in the North-of-17th-type neighborhoods that seem to need our concern about “fleecing.” It’s the folks at the bottom of the income ladder whose jobs you propose to outsource: they’re losing their healthcare, their buying power is stagnant, they’re trapped in prison-like school systems. How is outsourcing a few good city jobs and exchanging them for low-wage ones a more progressive vision for low income Santa Ana residents than luxury towers? You are a provocateur, Art. And you’re a really successful one in the blogosphere. I admire that. I know you know have forgotten more about internal Santa Ana politics than I know. But when I think of all the attacks that this platform and your stated opinions on this site will make easy, I honestly do not see how you can win. If you run for the sake of provoking debate… well that’s an extension of this blog, and I agree with you, it would be interesting. If you are running to win, then may I suggest you buy shoes in bulk?
Peace,
james
I think there is consensus that Palacios is failed and not electable. However, in Art, we have someone who can change the status quo. Let’s rally behind him folks. The alternative is the over-inflated Bustamante.
Even if you don’t like Art, you have to admit that he is far better than lackluster Bustamante.
While in most times the incumbent has some advantages in running for re-election Carlos has some serious problems that I believe make him vulnerable to defeat. When he ran the first time he ran as an outsider opposing Pulido and the status quo and as such got the “anti-gov. vote. Now the whole world knows that was a lie and he is in lock step with the Mayor and represents the status quo. We also now know that Carlos is interested in Carlos first and foremost even willing to try a foolhardy run for County Supervisor. During that run Carlos made even more enemies and painted himself as a Republican first and foremost. This will not help him in reaching out to Unions or Democrats. In a head to head match up, Carlos is MUCH more anti-Union with his Republican philosophy than Art. Art is a pragmatic person who puts the city before party politics. The residents of Santa Ana like their non-partisan politicians NON-partisan and Art fits the bill nicely. The goal of Bustamonte and his supporters (whoever they may be) will be to discourage Art from running and will do everything in their power to stop him. Last time around Carlos was a Latino Republican running against an unknown Gringo Candidate. He took for granted that he could count on xenophobic Latinos to vote for him based on his Surname alone. Such is not the case with Pedroza in the race and most likely more Latinos. Carlos has LOST supporters, not gained them since the day he got sworn in. While trying to get support of Republicans in both elections he now has a voting record that will be mailed to Republicans and will show his true colors. (Most S.A. Republicans will be appalled to learn he spearheaded a drive to spend a million bucks on Plasma TV
James said, “And previous attacks all but guarantee you can forget support from the City establishment unions in the FD and PD.”
Not true Art. The Unions are smarter than that. They will look at the candidates and evaluate current and future councils to decide on who to support. Past candidates who got the Police/Fire support included former councilmembers Rick Norton and Ron May who were certainly more like Art Pedroza than Carlos Bustamonte. Word on the street is that cops and firefighters don’t like Bustamonte and will tell their Union Rep.’s to pass on that race.
James,
I am not going to skirt the fact that I will serve the people first, not the special interests.
I am not anti-union. But the hopes of our people are dependent on education, not menial jobs.
We have the worst school district in Orange County. And a city council that thinks one library is sufficient for almost half a million people…many with English fluency problems.
On top of that we have a crumbling infrastructure and major problems with our roads and parks.
We have to find money somewhere. I will stand by while the city blows money on overpaid administrators. And if we can save money by going with county services, then I will push for it.
As for outsourcing, the city itself admitted that we can save a ton of money. When it is appropriate, I will push for it.
The money we save will help our people – and that is what Council members are supposed to do – serve the people!
BTW, Carlos is a Republican – and an extreme one at that. He has flip flopped on the union issue. He cannot be trusted. As I noted, I am a union member. And I know the meaning of hard work.
I grew up scraping wax off floors and cleaning toilets, as I helped my dad with his janitorial business. Thanks to hard work and higher education I have left those days behind. My goal is to help others do so as well. What is wrong with that?
From an email:
Recently, in da paper, I read someone’s OPINION that this…what I call an “attempted censure”… was not a First Amendment issue. Well, if it wasn’t…what was it??? Maybe then, the OPINION, was an “apologist’s” point of view. That seems to fit.
Besides, anyone who is familiar with the OJ3 knows that they can’t be “bossed” around. They understand democracy and their rights therein. Interesting power “ploy” by the City Council.
Let’s think about this. If politicos, no matter what part of the country they live in, only appoint personality types who completely agree with them aka “rubber stampers,” where’s the freedom of speech? Seems like they are saying that there isn’t any freedom of speech.
Now the question…is that democracy??? Consider that in families, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives disagree over all kinds of stuff; and yet, they continue to live together in harmony. Note, however, that in some families this isn’t true- dictatorships rule! We tend to automatically promote what we learn from our childhood until we learn the difference. What kind of family did you grow up in?
How is it, then, that once a person turns into a “politico,” he or she demands absolute allegience? I wonder! One would think that they would have, by now (being that most are highly educated) internalized and understood the concept of democracy. Obviously this isn’t the case with certain Santa Ana City Councilors. Guess they don’t teach democracy in the Ivy League and private graduate schools.
This is what we do know. As a general rule, politicos get rid of anyone who disagrees with them. This is true of all political camps. Darned OJ3…they don’t know their place!!!
What we can also say is that the OJ3 have not been acting within the parameters of “political correctness.” Tisk! Tisk! But, do they have to do so???
We can also argue that the OJ3 are “biting the hand that feeds them” That argument doesn’t work either because they are volunteers participating in the political process as free citizens. In terms of “political correctness,” that sets them squarely in the middle of the democratic process.
(Sarcasm intended) Maybe these darling councilors are just trying to create their own politico “mutual admiration society” and somehow what they are doing to promote and ensure their political futures also trickles down and benefits all Santa Ana citizens and the OJ3 are interfering in that process. Tisk! Tisk!
That’s not saying that these councilors aren’t doing their job. They are certainly busy doing what they can for the betterment of Santa Ana. It’s just that the betterment they’re promoting is not what alot of Santa Ana citizens want.
Not withstanding the forthcoming “opinion” of the City Attorney, I don’t think it will have any impact on the voices of the OJ3. They most likely will be bumped off the Commissions but their voices will be heard louder and clearer than before.
In fact, I think booting them out of their citizen positions is likely to set off a firestorm of opposition. And, even after everything dies down, the OJ3 will still be around. Wrong move by certain City Council politicos. Guess they are not knowledgeable Chess players.
Unwittingly, these council members have done a great job of promoting the OJ3 and the Orangejuiceblog.com. Way to go!!!
If I’m wrong about what the unions will do, it won’t be the first time… after all they’re surprising sometimes, like the Teamsters Jimmy Hoffa jr. throwing some weight around for GWB a few years ago. I wonder what they think of they flirtation now that he’s pushing for the expansion of Mexican trucking companies penetration of North American highways.
Art, you write: “I grew up scraping wax off floors and cleaning toilets, as I helped my dad with his janitorial business. Thanks to hard work and higher education I have left those days behind. My goal is to help others do so as well. What is wrong with that?” The obvious answer to your question is nothing is wrong with that. And you can use such a biography on turf, canvassing. You’ll perhaps disagree, but I predict if you are pushing the outsourcing of union jobs on the day you go looking for endorsements from unions, you simply won’t get them on board.
And something else: a union truck driver in Orange County right now makes about what many teachers and professors make. It’s only a little more than many police and firefighters make. You ask what’s wrong with wanting people to elevate their opprotunity through education. I’m all for it. But we should not succumb to the empty rhetoric of education as economic opportunity. Once upon a time a high school diploma was a rare degree, a mark of very significant distinction. Degree inflation has just about guaranteed that certain opportunities require a MA. In the end, the dignity of labor itself as such has to be defended. This city becomes a hell of contamination if the sanitation workers vanish for a week. Even if everyone in Santa Ana had a college degree, that labor would still need doing. Recognizing its inherent dignity through adequate, livable, wages and benefits is crucial. And anyway, if we want to guarantee educational opportunity for everyone, don’t be shy about taxing the rich. They can take it better than the rest of us.
James,
I hear you. I work in construction. And I teach for an apprenticeship program at Cerritos College. The trades are a great way for folks to get ahead.
As for what teacher make…it just is not enough, period.
Outsourcing is not a top part of my platform. Really, there are very few city services that we can probably outsource.
I believe that city employees want to be proud to go to work. They want to work for a progressive city that is advancing. That is not Santa Ana…but it could be.
City employees who want to keep trudging towards oblivion will go with Carlos. Those who want our city to serve all of its people and who want our city to become a great place to live will look for other options.
BTW, I finished by B.S. and my M.B.A. at night. While raising my four kids. While my wife was working nights. And I still owe over $50,000 in student loans. But I now earn more than three times what I used to before I finished my B.S.
Higher education is not for everyone, but we need to think about our young people too. A lot of parents will be stuck doing what they are doing for years. But I want to give them hope that there will be a better future for their little ones.
And no, I don’t believe that just because you are born into poverty you have to stay there. This country is the land of opportunity. I just want to make sure that everyone has access to that opportunity…