Bustamante says he should be “judged on results pure and simple”

Poor Carlos Bustamante.  He has done it again.  This time he wrote in his candidate’s statement for Ward 3 that he believes “a candidate should be judged on results pure and simple,” according to the O.C. Register.

So what exactly has Bustamante “achieved” in the past four years?  Let’s take a look:

  • He backed raising our property taxes at a time that Santa Ana is leading the County of Orange in foreclosures, when he endorsed Measure G this year.  Measure G was so fraudulent that even progressive SAUSD Trustee John Palacio said that we did not need it.
  • Bustamante voted to raise our water rates twice in the past year – we now pay more for our water than residents of most other Orange Count cities, even though we have a water table most of them are lacking.  And the sad fact is that Santa Ana pays more then ten percent more on administration of its water budget than other similar sized water districts do.  But of course Bustamante doesn’t question that.
  • Bustamante has been silent as violent crime has skyrocketed in the past year.  Doug Irving stated, in the O.C. Register that “While auto thefts, petty thefts and aggravated assaults are down sharply this year, for example, burglaries and rapes have increased. Fifteen people were killed in homicides between January and July; last year at this time, there had been only 11.”
  • And Bustamante voted to boot popular City Commissioner Thomas Gordon off the EPIC/Gang Commission – even though EVERYONE else on the EPIC Commission wanted Gordon to stay on it.
  • Bustamante did NOTHING to support quieting the trains that roar through Ward 3 all day and night.  Even after the O.C.T.A. offered to pay for 80% of the cost of silencing the trains with Quiet Zones, Bustamante was silent.  He let his constituents down.
  • And Bustamante is supported by developer Robert Bisno, the guy who is trying to use eminent domain to wipe out the City of Baldwin Park’s downtown businesses.  Bisno also wants to build a gigantic luxury condo tower in north Santa Ana, even though such towers are going bankrupt everywhere else.  Does north Santa Ana need two thousand more cars on Main St.?  If Bisno somehow were to fill up his tower, that is the number of cars he would unleash on the already crowded streets in Ward 3!

So Bustamante wants to be judged on results?  I think we ought to judge him on his complete lack of results!  And his infamous “waterbra” comments about Sheriff Sandra Hutchens speak for themselves.

The ultimate irony will be if former OUSD Trustee Steve Rocco siphons off enough votes from Bustamante to put me in office!  Rocco and Busty certainly deserve each other…

The O.C. Register also included snippets of the candidate’s statements for the rest of the Santa Ana City Council and Mayoral candidates.  But the Register did not make the complete statements available.

Here is my complete candidate’s statement – which you can read on my campaign website but you won’t find it anywhere else at the moment:

Arturo “Art” Pedroza, Teacher/Safety Director

The City of Santa Ana has so much to offer, but we are currently being held back by the plagues of gang violence and graffiti, crumbling streets, and insufficient parks and libraries. We lead Orange County in foreclosures, yet our water rates have increased twice in the past year.

I have witnessed our city’s problems firsthand both on the Housing & Redevelopment Commission and the Public Library Board, and currently as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team. I am a Safety Director for a local business and have been teaching at Cerritos College since 2003.

I promise to fight higher fees and taxes and reign in wasteful spending. We need to put the people first, not the bureaucrats, special interests and developers.

Do we really need more luxury townhomes that most of our residents can’t afford? What we need is a smarter development plan – including better housing for families and more family-oriented businesses.

It is time for a new day in the City of Santa Ana – it is time to put the people first at City Hall!

Contact me at (714) 606-7622 and get involved at www.artpedroza.com.

Visit www.orangejuiceblog.com for more news about my campaign and the City of Santa Ana.

About Admin

"Admin" is just editors Vern Nelson, Greg Diamond, or Ryan Cantor sharing something that they mostly didn't write themselves, but think you should see. Before December 2010, "Admin" may have been former blog owner Art Pedroza.