“We’re gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning. And you’ll say, ‘Please, please. It’s too much winning.'”
– some asshole
I’m calling this. Tonight’s votes should be weighted toward the reactionary side, and Jessie’s “NO” votes and winning margin are only gonna increase in the days to come. Or I’ll eat my hat. (Next ROV update 5 Wednesday.)
The biggest winner was TRUTH over BIG MONEY AND LIES. How often does that happen? Usually not. Jessie’s team (NO on Recall) was outspent EIGHT TO ONE. I really didn’t think we would win, but hats off to Santa Ana Ward 3 voters who have great bullshit detectors.
But as intimated in the title, there are a lot of WINNERS and LOSERS in this thing, so let’s examine THAT…
WINNERS
Mayor Pro-Tem Jessie Lopez. One reason I wasn’t so optimistic is that back in 2020 when she was first elected, Jessie only got 37%, winning only because two conservatives split that vote. But it’s clear that, after three years of watching Jessie in action, over 55% of Ward 3 supports her now – this would have been the time for her opponents to come out! Her margin is likely to increase over the next few days, maybe up to 60%, and this augurs real well for her re-election next year, and a continuation of Santa Ana’s progressive majority.
There is a common wisdom that “Surviving a recall makes you stronger than you were before the recall.” Let’s see if that’s borne out in Ward 3 next year.
The People of Santa Ana. I met a father, head of a four-voter household, who said, “I was originally going to support this recall, but the more I researched the reasons for it, the more I saw they were all bullshit. We are all voting NO tonight.” And that was typical. These people aren’t like Anaheim voters who’ll pick anyone with the most SOAR mailers. They know when they’re having their chains yanked; at least, enough of them do.
They were told Jessie raised their rents, but they knew the opposite to be true. They were told Jessie wants to “ABOLISH” the police, and then when they read the fine print, it’s one person in LA who talked about abolishing the police once and also supported Jessie. They were told that homelessness, street racing, and public intoxication – three of the area’s biggest gripes – were all Jessie’s fault… and they did not fall for it. They are WARD 3 SANTANEROS, dammit!
And thanks to their good choice this month, they’ll continue to enjoy rent control, unjust eviction protections, and a responsible government not on sale to the highest campaign donors. Well done.
Progressive Democrats in OC. Especially Johnathan, Thai and Ben. This was, on another level, a battle in a civil war between factions of the OC Democrat Party. Do Democrats, in order to win and keep the economy humming along, need to be Republican-lite, catering to the wealthy special interests and public safety, or should they instead be looking out for the interests of the vast majority of us, the little guys?
Even though the DPOC was nominally against the recall, you just know there were plenty Democrats, and not just the shameful Valerie, Phil and David, who wanted to see Santa Ana progressives take a fall, and prove that they’d “gone too far” with rent control and police accountability. Well, sorry. Progressives remember what it’s supposed to MEAN to be a Democrat. And Johnathan, Thai and Ben get to stay in the COUNCIL MAJORITY for at least another year. Thanks to WARD 3 SANTANEROS.
Jessie’s great Anti-Recall Campaign Team. Oh yeah, we were pretty good. I’ve been asked not to talk too much about our tactics, numbers, etc, but a BIG SHOUTOUT to all the good hard-working folks I worked with and for:
The Orange Juice Blog. Because, along with the Voice of OC, we told the truth, and the truth set us free.
LOSERS
The Santa Ana POA (Police Union) and their disgraced former head Gerry Serrano. Most obviously. They ploughed over 600k into this debacle, and forced the City to waste another 600k itself. And then endlessly polluted the cityscape with lies and hate. Just because their leadership (most notably the now-jettisoned Serrano) weren’t happy with the contract they got from Jessie’s council majority. Well let’s see if they do any better now with… let’s see… the SAME council majority! (See Manny Delgadillo below)
Valerie Amezcua and Phil Bacerra. They both tied themselves shamelessly to this shitshow and will wear it to the grave. I’ve known this Bacerra cat for 15 years (from a distance) and he was always a shady Mean Girl, brimming with malice and snot. We are stuck with Phil and David till 2026 (we don’t do petty recalls) but Santa Ana MUST get itself a new Mayor next year, all I’m saying.
I won’t pick on David too much cuz he doesn’t seem quite as horrible as Valerie and Phil, plus he’s having a baby so maybe he’ll grow up.
“Business Democrats” in general. (See “progressives,” and “Democrat civil war” above.)
Santa Ana’s Treasury which shouldn’t have had to waste the better part of a million dollars on this mooncalf.
Nineteenth-century Nimrods like Tim Rush.
You’ve made it this far so let me lay some NEWS on you:
The Guadalupe Ocampo Lawsuit Continues.
When Ms Ocampo’s lawsuit was first heard by the befuddled Judge Craig Griffin, who continued it to mid-January, the recall-side attorney Mark Rosen observed, “Your honor, it’s possible the recall will fail, and then this suit will be moot.” Which sounded kind of reasonable at the time. Except… not. It’s STILL the case that 1200+ voters who should have been able to vote in this were disfranchised, and that the recall team was 200+ signatures shy to qualify, so the thing should have been stopped when Council had a chance to.
Was our support of the lawsuit just a desperate way of trying to avoid this election? No! There are principles to be upheld, don’t you know? Both can be true: Jessie can legitimately win the recall election AND the recall election was also illegitimate. That’s something I was thinking last night when I looked at the results, and I called up Jessie and some of her team and you know what? Great minds think alike – the suit continues!
Well, that’s about all I have to say for now. On to the next battleground!
Update Wednesday, 5pm
Wednesday – 802 more votes counted, and percentages stayed EXACTLY the same – remarkable.
SHE BEAT THE BASTARDS!!!
So “Business Democrat” is a name for those who team up with the monied side every time. Including public safety unions.
Pretty much, that’s the term I settled on, for Santa Ana at least. That’s what they call themselves, but I keep it in air quotes, because I hate to perpetuate the myth that progressives are BAD for business.
Vendidos might be more accurate.
So really we’re talking about Democrats who sniff after around “business” money, and better still if the money is coming from union dues. These were sort of characters that Chimpanzeeski and Wordsmith are likely to back, although the Jerb only does it if cash is in the offing.
Don’t forget to add Phil Bacerra to the list of losers.
All over it. Piece is done now.
So I guess the story can be told now. You geniuses didn’t know that the guy who fucked up the map was the SAPOA political consultant was none other than Danny Fiero, Jordan’s buddy. Fiero’s Father (former Anaheim City Attorney) is closely aligned with the SAPOA. In addition, this whole thing was done with the support of two DPOC “Business Democrats” with ties to SA and Anaheim.
Lou Correa had encouraged Phil and Penaloza to punt after the map debacle.
This is just one of Danny’s firm Presidio is working on for 2024.
Follow the $$$$.
Interesting, checks out their consultant would be Fierro. Doesn’t add as much to the story as you seem to think it does though. Unless you live in a little world of consultants.
And of course we know Avelino and KBN are tight with that crowd.
I hate to say it, Vern, but I’m feeling more and more like I simply can’t cast a vote for KBN for Congress — even to beat Scott Baugh.
I haven’t mentioned yet this here, but Correa’s good friend Gil Cisneros is running for CD-31, currently held by liberal Congressmember Grace Napolitano. It includes El Monte, West Covina, Monrovia, Baldwin Park, Duarte, and up to LA’s own “Frozen North” in Crystal Lake. It’s a D+15 district, solidly Democratic. I favored Gil when he was running in a moderate to conservative district in OC, where he was the best we could get. But I cannot support him in a district this liberal, where — just like in Correa’s district — we can easily elect someone better.
So there’s another reason for me to reject another member of the Regressive Democrat claque. If one could work with them, it would be nice, but one really can’t if their goal is to burn down everything to their left.
What about to beat Michelle Steel?
Same person, so far as I’m concerned. And her … um. how do I put this? — degree of wattage makes Steel less dangerous than Baugh, though he’s much less pretty (and not for lack of effort.)
Every Republican is equally dangerous right now because they all risk us not regaining the majority. But Steel is more loathsome than Baugh.
And Steel pretty? I must have missed something.
This was an ill willed RECALL. This was work of our prior SAPOA Administration, which could be perceived as bullying tactics. But as we all know bullies always end up getting beat up. I called this RECALL months ago in one of my writings.
The smart move for our SAPOA Association was to stop this RECALL once we got a new SAPOA President but the SAPOA was so far into the RECALL it could not turn back. But our SAPOA lost anyway so now there is no way to save face at a cost according to the Voice of OC of $660,000. That is a hefty chuck of change, $$$$. Some of that money could have been put to better use and spent on our City of Santa Ana Community. Maybe now our SAPOA Board will finally get a chance to make some beneficial decisions.
How does one think Jessie Lopez will vote on our contract now? I hope our SAPOA finally realizes we keep losing with the tactics previously employed by our SAPOA! How much money does one think the City of Santa Ana spent on this RECALL? Is it safe to say the City of Santa Ana will remember all this money spent during our SAPOA contract negotiations? I believe so wholeheartedly the 4four council will not forget. Our SAPOA definitely needs a new revamped political approach.
I only wish our whole SAPOA Membership could have seen the smile on Councilwoman Jessie Lopez’s face at her ELECTION DAY PARTY. All the stars came out that night. OC Supervisor Vincente Sarmiento, Councilman Benjamin Vasquez, American Writer Gustavo Arrellano, Pete from Suavecito and many locals.
Our former SAPOA President is definitely not sleeping tonight and neither are the three council members who voted for the RECALL.
Congratulations Council Women Jessie Lopez!
Respectfully,
Manuel Delgadillo
SAPOA Member for 28 years.
“bullying tactics”
I’d call it an organized crime ring. Or better yet, a street gang.
Its politics. Politicians will always gravitate towards the money and some of these groups have plenty of money and our SAPOA has plenty of it.
They’ll gravitate to the money as long as there’s greedy union thugs willing to make it rain for them. How about you take those legalized bribes, er, campaign contributions and contribute them instead to any number of worthwhile community groups and service organizations that do actual good for the people of Santa Ana? If the SAPOA truly did care about the community it serves perhaps this could finally be a turning point for your organization.
Art has a good piece on this, aside from calling the police union “dastardly.” He does the simple math – the union spent over $250 for each yes vote.
https://newsantaana.com/early-voting-results-show-santa-ana-mayor-pro-tem-jessie-lopez-beat-the-attempt-to-recall-her/
“It’s STILL the case that 1200+ voters who should have been able to vote in this were disfranchised, and that the recall team was 200+ signatures shy to qualify, so the thing should have been stopped when Council had a chance to.”
Yes. It’s still a tainted election because the preliminaries were improper. If I were Serrano stabbing from beyond the grave, I might ask for a redo. So who’s the new union boss? Serrano 2.0, I read somewhere.
We have a new SAPOA President John Kachirisky. He started off on the wrong foot but was able to make amends but currently has a lawsuit against the City of Santa Ana. SAPOA members are promoting change but it will not happen until the SAPOA President and E-board is completely replaced. There has to be a noticeable change in the SAPOA administration for SAPOA Members to start believing a change is coming.Our SAPOA has it work cut out to convince its SAPOA Members and to rebuild its image with the Santa Ana Community.
Are you running for SAPOA Predident, Manny? You have our endorsement or our condemnation — whichever helps more!
Anyone else recall back when Bacerra was the Executive Director of the DFOC and destroyed that organization due to his laziness?
Ask judicial candidate Dan Jacobson about that. He led the DFOC for years, though I lost track of the group eventually.
Smoothly, David Penaloza is now distancing himself from Recall Dead-Enders Valerie and Phil. I had a feeling he wasn’t as bad as them. From today’s Voice:
“However, one of those council members, David Penaloza, withdrew his support for the recall after Page rescinded his initial recall certification.
“Penaloza offered his congratulations on her victory in a Wednesday phone interview.
“’She worked very hard and this whole recall was not only a mess, but a distraction of the work we were all elected to do. I’m happy it’s behind us now so we can focus on city business,’ said Penaloza, who has bitterly clashed with Lopez during council meetings. ‘There was never a doubt in my mind that she would beat this recall.’
“Requests for comment from the other police union-backed council members, Phil Bacerra and Mayor Valerie Amezcua, went unreturned on Wednesday.”
https://voiceofoc.org/2023/11/police-union-fueled-santa-ana-recall-on-track-to-fail-whats-in-the-citys-future/
OK, I’ll keep my mind open on KBN after all, then.
People more conversant with Santa Ana than me are irritated that I’m saying anything nice about the guy they call Penaloser. I just like seeing a cabal peeling apart.
Vern, you forgot the loser, the eternal loser — Matty Cunningham, who completely forsook his Anaheim masters to trash Jessie, Hairo, and the SanTana wave. LOSER HAHAHAHA
Hey, Juan Bolton! Have you learned how to pronounce “Sidhu” yet? I was listening to a KCRW report on Anaheim when you almost made Steve Chiotakis cry because he finally had to join you in pronouncing it as “SID-HUGH.”
For any readers who don’t know the pertinent quote.…
Bloviator: It’s nice to know that your bloviating bloviations now bare a bar of bigoted blovitations. Some do things with their lives as the years go on; others, stay bloviated.
I would say that it’s nice to learn that you’re still a chickenshit suck-up/bully with a weakness fur authoritarians — but it’s not as if people have just recently learned it.
By the way — why don’t you let GSR do the KCRW interviews on Anaheim? At least he knows what he’s talking about based on recent observations.
And with that, I say: SID-HUGH to you, sir!
Cunning-Loser finally got around to posting an acquiescence of sorts in his fake pay to play blog .
That was pretty hard to find, and pretty bitter… https://ocindependent.com/2023/11/santa-ana-councilmember-jessie-lopez-beats-recall/
Mattie had slipped my mind, he’s just a mercenary anyway. You could also add (apparently) Danny Fierro, the POA’s consultant who has just as dirty of a record given his more tender age.
It’s not even on the home page! Nevertheless: Let the world never forget what a loser Matty is.
I’m interested in Cunningsham’s contention that Jessie wanted to “defund the police” based on something someone else said. So let’s review what that meant in the wake of the George Floyd killing (and others).
A big problem with police operations were that they were routinely sent out on tasks that others — like social workers — were better equipped to address, such as people who were having psychological or sociological problems but were not a likely source of violence.
The problem is that police have tended to hold the view (especially with minorities, young people, and protesters) that a refusal of a direct order from them is a challenge that has to be met by force — potentially escalating up to deadly force. Social workers don’t do that.
Similarly, dealing with “nuisance” situations (people playing loud noise until the wee hours, like more former neighbors in South Brea, who has good taste but bad discretion) can likely better be handled by local community members who can be called on to make a case to the nuisance-makers without inviting violent reactions from either them or armed police.
So, if fewer police can be deployed to these sort of situations — as well as some of the (often pretextual) traffic stops they make — then cities may need fewer police. Money then spent on police could be spend on social workers and creating the sort of community response squads that can handle disturbances with the understanding that the next step would in fact be calling the police — which no one wanted.
In other words, the police would be “defunded” to an extent, as funds were put towards more productive approaches. But this is WAY different than calling for them to be “unfunded,” “zeroed out,” or abolished.
There are some people — in my experience, the same ones who think that we’re just one general strike away from a (non-democratic) socialist takeover of society, led (shockingly!) by people just like them — who do think that the police should flat-out be abolished and replaced by either humina-humina or by a self-organizing anarcho-syndicalist system of justice.
These people have a point — but one almost entirely in the diagnosis, not in the prescription. It it awfulwhat many people of color in particular have to put up with from police — but most anyone in politics understands that more extensive reform in policing is better than its wholesale elimination. What’s needed (and lacking) is a real sense of urgency in addressing the problems — and that’s who mainly assholes like Cunningham who try to make political hay out of darker people’s justified angry cries of pain.
Update – her lead has grown to 13.8 percent. I didn’t think counting a few hundred ballots could do that.
With a small number of ballots, sure it could. And — as you surely know from reading my election return stories — late absentees virtually always skew to the left.
Can I post another comment? Some people said at the Santa Ana council meeting that a woman rabbi was solicited to speak by Mayor Azemcua. The Mayor is a pro Israel Dino. She even filled out a comment card for her invited guest. There is a video on Instagram to prove it.
Those facts are in my upcoming story, which should be up in an hour or less. Check it out!
“Valkyrie” is a nice handle!