There’s two different approaches happening in OC: a citizen commission drawing new state and Congressional districts, while county supervisors determine their own districts.
Author Archives: Nick Gerda
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.
Posted inEmergencies & Disasters
OC Residents in Ambulances Are Now Waiting Outside of Hospitals Nearly As Long As During Covid Winter Surge
Ambulance wait times are getting worse, according to county emergency medical officials. The deputy county health officer said the new cases are largely fueled by the more contagious Delta variant.
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
OC Struggles to Process Rape Evidence Tied to Hundreds of Backlogged Kits
The backlog had over 1,200 untested kits early last year, when DA Todd Spitzer’s office hired a lab to process all of them by the end of next month. That timeline won’t be met, with 519 kits left.
Posted inGovernment
Taxpayer Groups Demand Transparency on How OC Spends Hundreds of Millions in COVID Money
Over the past year, Orange County officials have spent massive amounts of federal coronavirus recovery dollars – all without a public presentation about where it’s all gone so far.
Posted inInvestigative
Santa Ana Officials: Police Union Boss Threatens to ‘Burn the Place Down’ to Boost His Pension
Top city officials, in a set of documents obtained by Voice of OC, allege an intimidation campaign by Gerry Serrano to get a bigger pension he’s not entitled to.
Posted inGovernment
Local Political Leaders Condemn Racist Remarks Hurled at OC Supervisors’ Chairman
Both major parties are rebuking the comments from last week’s county supervisors’ meeting, where in-person public speakers have become increasingly hostile towards chairman Andrew Do and others.
Posted inGovernment
Orange County Supervisors Accused of Strangling Public Comment
OC supervisors continue fighting efforts to allow for remote public comments as COVID-19 cases surge around the county. It’s drawn criticism from the ACLU and the First Amendment Coalition.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Who’s Watching the Billions in New State Homeless Spending?
The state is leaving it to cities and counties to decide whether or not resident oversight commissions will be reviewing the massive new spending.
Posted inCountywide
OC Boosts $20 Million to Anaheim Veteran Cemetery Effort After Irvine Stalls Out
The funding, which comes from federal coronavirus recovery dollars, will go towards a site that has strong support from many veterans and elected officials.
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
OC Sheriff Deputies Get Body Cams Next Month, Years After Other Large Police Agencies
The $13 million purchase of cameras goes to county supervisors for approval today, four years after Santa Ana police began using them on their patrol staff.
