Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/ngerda/)
Nick covers the city of Santa Ana, as well as the County of Orange, often reporting on issues like homelessness, public safety, mental health, and the role of money in politics. Since joining Voice of OC in 2011, Nick has regularly shed light on topics that are often kept in the shadows. He’s reported on systemic problems in the county’s mental health system. He also led a reporting team that produced sophisticated looks at how the Disney corporation campaign contributions influenced recent elections in Anaheim. Nick also revealed evidence of elected leaders using their official powers to apparently pressure government contractors into donating to their election campaigns, in an article that was awarded best news story of the year by the Orange County Press Club. He firmly believes journalism should inform the public and help hold the powerful accountable. An Orange County native, Nick first started covering local government in his mid-teens, before attending Santa Ana College, the American University in Cairo, and UC Irvine, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Languages spoken: English, elementary Spanish, minimal Arabic and minimal Japanese Areas of expertise: Local government, local politics, homelessness, mental health policy, campaign finance, California Public Records Act, Ralph M. Brown Act, County of Orange government, Santa Ana city government and municipal finance.
Santa Ana City Council members granted raises to police officers and sergeants totaling $25 million over the next two and a half years, without the ability to actually pay the $4.3 million cost for this fiscal year.
Reyna was facing the likelihood of sworn testimony, in public, by other city officials and one of his family members regarding allegations he falsified residency documents. His resignation sets the stage for a potential shift in power at City Hall.
The talks apparently include the possibility of Roman Reyna stepping down from the council.
Roman Reyna is accused of being ineligible for the seat because he was living outside the ward during a city-required residency period and falsified his election paperwork, which Reyna disputes. The outcome could affect the balance of power on the council.
But City Hall’s day-to-day leadership remained in limbo.
Council members vote Tuesday on a nearly $400,000 separation agreement ousting City Manager Raul Godinez and decide on a replacement for longtime City Clerk Maria Huizar.
Doug Chaffee, the former mayor of Fullerton, took office Tuesday. Supervisors also set March 12 as the date for a special election to replace the seat held until recently by Todd Spitzer.
Over the last year, OC saw more action toward getting homeless people off the streets and into shelter than any other time in recent memory.
The year-end meeting featured goodbyes to supervisors Todd Spitzer and Shawn Nelson, criticism of the all supervisors over the deaths of more than 200 homeless people this year, and questions from the incoming DA about wiretapping and alleged conflicts of interest related to a contractor hired by the outgoing district attorney and illegal surveillance of elected officials by a police union’s law firm.
The Pen-Link system allows law enforcement to monitor, store, and analyze phone conversations and internet communications for investigations, according to the Sheriff’s Department.