Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, who is challenging Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido for his seat on the Council, has announced a Town Hall Meeting to take place this Monday, in reaction to the slaying of a 13 year old this week while he walked his sister home from Santa Ana High School.
Martinez is the only Council member who has at least tried, publicly, to deal with this issue. While her efforts have not been all that effective, part of the blame lies with Pulido and the rest of the City Council. She put together a Walk for Peace shortly after she was elected – none of the other Council Members showed up.
Then Martinez convinced the Council to create a new anti-gang commission, but Pulido intervened and insisted that the name of this commission not include the word “gang.” Thus we ended up with EPIC (Early Prevention and Intervention Commission). Since then the Council’s Public Safety Committee has failed to fund the commission’s request for a gang assessment. Bringing us back to square one.
Here is her press release with the meeting details:
For Immediate Release: Contacts:
September 11, 2008 Michele Martinez, Santa Ana Councilwoman
(714) 200-3181
Urgent Town Hall Meeting on Gang Violence to be held on Monday, September 15, 2008 at 4 pm.
Location: Angel Park on 3rd Street and Flower
Dear Students, Parents and Community Leaders,
In light of the shooting and death of 13-year-old, Rodrigo Valle, on Wednesday and the arrests made this morning, I will be holding a town hall meeting addressing the ongoing issue of gang violence. This forum will allow residents to voice their concerns about gang activity and share their ideas on how best to advance the City’s efforts to deter and combat local gangs.
The two gang affiliates suspected of the shooting were arrested this morning at 3:15 and 4:30 am. The Santa Ana community has been credited for playing a significant role in the arrest of the two suspects.
“There was an overwhelming amount of information and support from the community,” Chief Paul Walters said. “Our detectives went door to door talking to people and it paid off.”
It is imperative that we build on any positive development that has occurred in the community. Gang shootings have risen this year and we need to be proactive in reversing this trend. Our kids need a safe environment to attend school to continue their growth and our future.
I have received numerous calls from parents, teachers and students regarding this issue and pressing for a meeting to tackle this problem. Everyone is encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to be a part of the solution to this epidemic. The results of the meeting will help guide our community in enhancing anti-gang initiatives. Please join me in creating a better tomorrow for Santa Ana.
Sincerely,
Michele Martinez**
Council Member
City of Santa Ana
(714) 200-3181 Cell
There must be a reason that this town hall is being held before the city council meeting.
someone just got killed. that’s why. why wait any longer? michele cares about issues like these, unlike others on the council who only care about those that can vote [for them]. michele cares for every resident, big or small. when are people going to see that???
Once again Community Oriented Policing gets results. It’s a shame that when the WECOP asks for changes and crimes statistics, we get stonewalled. This is yet another example that the COP concept works. The Police Department should be working with the community all the time not just during a crisis situation.
Nice to hear about the cooperation of the community in bringing this individual to justice. Community policing works when the goals of the community and the police are harmonized as they were over the tragedy of a child gunned down leaving school.
I would like to hear from residents of Santa Ana about police actions that have made them trust the police less. The sensitivity of the police to those kind of actions will allow them to develop more approaches like the one Carl Overmeyer mentions above. Community Oriented Policing works if trust can be fostered between the community and the police.
Failure of the police to provide information is one of those things that makes the community trust them less. And yes we can support and appreciate a group that we do not fully trust, they just can’t count on us to participate.
Looks like the community trusts Martinez more than Pullido, I wonder how that will translate in November?
I received some political notifications from Michele. The video clip commercial is cute -it shows her constantly on her cell phone talking to community members. She really does care about the city. Her brand of politics should be admired and appreciated more.
Dear Supporters:
We only have 56 days left to Election Day…
The success of our campaign depends on having a strong and active group of supporters, and I believe that your active involvement will make the difference. Our Campaign will require a strong, energetic, and dedicated group of supporters to help us walk door to door, phone bank, deliver yard signs, host an event or contribute monetarily to the campaign.
As you may already know, our campaign is now accepting online contributions at: http://www.friendsofmmformayor.webs.com.
We urge you to go online right now, and make a generous contribution to the Friends of Michele Martinez for Mayor for $25.00, $50.00, $99.00, $250.00 or even more if you can. These generous contributions will help us wage a successful campaign within the next 56 days.
We can not do this with out your help. This is why we hope you will send an online contribution or attend an upcoming fundraiser this month.
Watch me on youtube,Michele Martinez for Mayor :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ3gP3rb1ws
Please share with your friends and family who live in Santa Ana.
Attached documents:
Upcoming Fundraisers
Volunteer Pledge Form
Phone Bank and Precinct Walking Schedule
Friends of Michele Martinez
Campaign Headquarters
415 N. Sycamore Street, Ste 300
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 550-0629
http://www.friendsofmmformayor.webs.com
We need to hold a town meeting to tell the parent to make sure there kids are at home in the evenings, instead of hanging out with their fellow gang members? What a waste of resources. This EPIC commission is a waste of city resources, each member receives a stipend for attending meetings, but nothing has come out of this committee to curb gang violence.
The EPIC commission has been stopped … Don’t blame the commissioners for not wanting to help. We must involve our community regardless if you feel the Town Hall is a waste of time. Our city officials or P.D are not doing any better. If you have the solutions why don’t you post them. We have to work togehter if we want to see progress in our city…
Kudos to Council Member Martinez for reaching out to the community.
She’s a BAD PERSON!!! Anyone who is Family Oriented in Santa Ana I urge you to NOT vote for Michelle. I know countless of families she’s brought trouble too. She sleeps with married husbands and tell thier wifes and kids as if she was proud for what she has done. I am stating any names because I don’t want to humiliate and embarrass that people that were hurt. Thank you for your time.
PEACE <3
R.I.P. FOR ALL THE VICTIMS THAT WERE EVER KILLED ALL OVER THE WORLD.
Truth, it’s hard to accept a different morality than the majority of us have. Obviously both Michelle and her “partners” have a similar morality. You and I happen to have a different set of values. It doesn’t make what happened right under our standards but it doesn’t make her a bad choice for Mayor either.
In fact whenever this sort of thing is brought up about a politician it’s the lying about it that is the violation of the public trust not the morality of the acts themselves and you mentioned she tells the truth about it even to the wives and children. While I don’t agree with what she did (and for argument’s sake I’m accepting your version of events) it takes two to Tango so it can’t be blamed on her alone.
She’s still the better choice for Mayor and it sounds like she’s honest even in a situation where most of us would lie. You have to admire that a little.
A RIGHTOUS WHORE FOR MAYOR!!!! EXACTLY THATS WHAT SANTA ANA NEEDS AND THAT SHOULD BE HER MOTTO!!! AND IF SHE NEEDS ANY CAMPAIGN SPEECHES YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE TO WRITE THEM. SINCE YOU ARE ONE OF THE BEST PEOPLE TO TURN SOMETHING SO EVIL INTO SOMETHING GOOD!!!! LET IT BE HEARD!
“VIVA THE WHORE”
How about wearing something different than PANTSUITS!!!!!!!!!