This May/June primary, and then probably again in October/November, voters in Assembly District 68 (Santa Ana, some Orange and Anaheim) will choose between two Democrats that are as different as day and night – Jessie Lopez, and David Peñaloza.
Two Democrats, each with a years-long record on the Santa Ana City Council that shows us their priorities, their loyalties, their abilities.
Jessie, whom you could call a “progressive” Democrat, has made all her decisions these 6 years based on the interests of the regular people of Santa Ana, the people she grew up with, the people who elected her, the people who NEED representation in government.
On the other hand, David, who’d call himself a “business Democrat,” has mostly fought for the powerful special interests who’ve funded his career these 8 years, particularly the police union, landlord associations and developers. And yet somehow, the Democratic Party Establishment is backing David, statewide and in the OC – how can that be?
It used to be, for at least a century, that the Republicans were the Party of the rich and powerful, and the Democrats were supposed to look out for the little guy. But in places like Santa Ana (and California itself) that are overwhelmingly Democrat, where the Republicans have become a tiny rump party, Big Money has been taking over the Democrat Party as well. And it’s been turning that Party into essentially two Parties – progressives vs. “business Democrats.” And by now, with the magical help of lots of money, the “business Democrats” have really succeeded in dominating both the DPOC (county Party) and the state party (CDP.) And David Peñaloza is their man!
Sometimes The People need to stand up and remind The Party what Democrats are supposed to stand for. This year is such a time. Let’s look a little closer at why YOU should be voting for Jessie over David (unless you’re a wealthy person who doesn’t care about regular Americans.) Here we go:
1. Santa Ana’s Corrupt Police Union
The SAPOA, the police union, dominates the politics of Santa Ana as surely as Disney in Anaheim. And until recently, throughout most of Jessie’s and David’s time on Council, the union was run by the notoriously hotheaded and greedy Gerry Serrano (left.) Apart from all the perks and padded pension Gerry demanded for himself (even threatening to “burn the city down”) his main demands were exorbitant, unaffordable police contracts, and unaccountability for police misconduct.
And for David Peñaloza, funded heavily by Gerry’s union, Gerry’s wish was David’s command!
But for Jessie and her progressive Council majority, who value law enforcement but are also fiscally responsible and know that a city has other priorities too, and that Santa Ana’s treasury is not bottomless, the contract Serrano demanded was excessive and they passed a more modest but affordable one. As far as Gerry’s threats and demands for himself, he could take a hike. And a Police Review Board was formed, for oversight and accountability, over the howls and foot-dragging of David Peñaloza.
So, in 2023, Gerry and his union tried to RECALL Jessie – thinking her the most vulnerable of the four progressives as her district is relatively conservative. The Union spent over 600k on the effort (also forcing the City to waste over 600k running the election.) They spent OVER EIGHT TIMES as much as Jessie’s side, squandering what turned out to be $250 per yes vote. The union’s canvassers and mailers also told MANY LIES about Jessie, but voters didn’t believe those lies because by now they KNEW Jessie, and the recall failed in a landslide, 56% to 43%.
How often do the people, and the truth, defeat Big Money and Lies? Very rarely but we hope it is a sign of changing times. Also, many Republicans and conservatives, who hadn’t originally voted for Jessie, voted to keep her because, as I heard many times knocking on doors, she was the hardest-working, most accessible councilmember they’d ever had.
David Peñaloza, of course, supported the recall; and it Peñalost. But he did demonstrate his loyalty to law enforcement unions, which are all in for him now.
2. Rent Control: the People’s Choice
Soon after Jessie’s and Sarmiento’s progressive Council majority took their seats in 2020, they passed a very strong Rent Control and Tenant Protection ordinance in Santa Ana, BECAUSE IT WAS NECESSARY. It capped annual rent increases at the cost of living, with a max of 3% (previously 10%.)
But, not wanting this important ordinance to depend on the vagaries of politics and politicians, Santa Ana’s PEOPLE voted in 2024 to enshrine it permanently in their charter. That passed by 56%, even though the landlord groups (“Apartment Associations”) spent MILLIONS against it, AND told false scare stories – by now Santa Ana’s voters had lived with rent control for four years and knew that the scare stories were lies.
Obviously Jessie was a supporter, having passed the original ordinance. But David, who has received Apartment Association money throughout his career including now, hated rent control. And he (and his Council ally Phil Bacerra) fought against it in the lamest, pussiest, passive-aggressive ways, like refusing to appoint their own representatives to the city’s Renters Board, which they’re SUPPOSED to do, making it hard for that board to get a quorum and conduct business.
But to me, leave aside the issue of rent control, which David and Phil are free to oppose – they are defying and sabotaging the will of Santa Ana’s People. That should be offensive, and disqualifying. Do you disagree?
3. Israel & Gaza
There’s the argument that it’s not the business of city councils (or assemblymembers) to weigh in on foreign issues like the Israeli genocide in Gaza – and that sounds reasonable, but that argument mainly comes from people who don’t want Israel criticized at all, and aren’t too troubled by the killing and starvation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians including kids. The rest of us don’t feel like we can sit silent. Many city councils have passed Ceasefire resolutions, and in late 2023 so did Santa Ana. Jessie voted in favor; David walked out without comment.
David’s choice to stay silent about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians may have been a safe political move, attracting contributions from Zionist entities and great love from the DPOC which currently (under Florice Hoffman and Lauren Johnson-Norris) treats any criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism. But once again, on this issue, the Democrat Party shows how out of touch it is with the Democrat People, 80% of whom in a recent survey expressed disapproval of the Israeli government (which has NOW dragged us into a War with Iran.)
But really, why should we care how a local politician feels about Middle East issues? Jessie responds, (at the Anaheim Democrats Club last week)
“You SHOULD care about [our positions] because you should want a representative who believes in basic principles of justice, who believes that killing children and destroying institutions is wrong… Is that how you want your money to be invested, in a foreign country that is violating international law, not respecting the US as a partner, that has made us a laughingstock globally?”
And now, the Fabulously Concise Fernando will summarize the three points I made above, before I move on to some new ones.
. . .
4. Who really stands up to ICE?
A: Jessie, not David.
Got an e-mail last week – the “California Latino Legislative Caucus” hopped on the bandwagon endorsing Peñaloza. No surprise, bunch of vendidos up there in Sacramento. But what precisely was their excuse for backing David over Jessie? Mira nomas:
“At a time when Donald Trump and his allies continue pushing cruel attacks on immigrant families, we need leaders who will stand up and fight back.”
That’s galling. And manipulative and disingenuous. Santa Ana has been Ground Zero for ICE attacks for a year now, and David hasn’t done shit, while it’s been Jessie and her allies who have been out there, helping the community and fighting ICE. Early on it was Jessie who pushed for training staff to help in the crisis, passed an assistance fund for families of ICE victims, put Know-Your-Rights on the city webpage, pushed for a Sanctuary Policy Advisory Group, and much more. And while Jessie was out on the street protecting her community from ICE…
… David was laying low following Mayor Amezcua’s instructions to “Just keep our heads down, and maybe Trump won’t notice us and get pissed off.” As ICE ran roughshod across the Golden City, the most David did was put out a mild, “balanced” press release warning peaceful protesters not to break any windows.
So NO. If this California Latino Legislative Caucus had any pinche cojones and cared about fighting Trump, they’d be backing Jessie!
5. The People vs. “THE PARTY.”
In a January press release, David boasted proudly of “securing the most significant establishment endorsements, aligning [myself] with the current power structure of the district.” Does that really move people? Does that impress YOU? Establishment? Power structure? Sounds like a snotty kid you would have hated in high school.
But it’s true. Avelino Valencia, who himself was hand-picked for Assembly by Tom Daly, the most conservative Democrat AND “the whitest man in Orange County”, in turn hand-picked David to take his place when it was Avelino’s turn to “move on up” to the State Senate. And got David all the “establishment” backing and funding. Again, does this sort of thing appeal to you?
The corporate takeover of the Democratic Party, in Orange County and California, has been moving forward for years, and will need its own story. But a BIG chapter of that would have to be last year’s ADEM elections. Up until last year, the elections for ADEM delegates (who make decisions and endorsements for the Party) were relatively casual things – every two years there’d be a progressive slate and a business-Dem slate, nobody spent any money on it, a few dozen citizens would come out to vote, and a few people would win from each slate.
Not last year though. The “Business Dems” brought an AK to a knife fight last year. A group of corporations spent $40,000, POLITICAL CONSULTANTS were hired, and the business Dems absolutely SLAUGHTERED the unsuspecting progressives, by hundreds of votes. And this ONLY happened in TWO of California’s 80 assembly districts – one in South Central LA and Jessie’s 68th. THAT’S HOW MUCH THE CORPORATIONS WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY HAD DAVID and not a progressive, that’s how David aced all the votes, that’s how far in advance they planned this. What could they be expecting from him?
This was right around the time the DPOC took away the Anaheim Democrats Club’s charter. As Democrats across the nation stood in shock after the re-election of Trump, the DPOC decided it was time to CRUSH THE PROGRESSIVES. But we are not crushed. The Working Families Party is fighting for the soul of the Democrats, fighting for Jessie and rent control in Anaheim along with the Anaheim Club. And we need you!
But look at me going on – here’s Jessie!
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