A group of residents did everything required to get a referendum on the November ballot to change the city’s electoral system from at-large to district-based voting. But the council pushed it off to the 2018 election.
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 inGovernment, Top Stories
Spitzer Kills His Proposed Ban on Double-Dipping by Fellow Supervisor
When the item came up for discussion Tuesday, Spitzer killed his own proposal, saying it was really about teaching his fellow supervisor a lesson.
Posted inGovernment, Top Stories
Spitzer Targets Double-Dipping by Nelson and Bilodeau
Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer has escalated his long-running feud with fellow Supervisor Shawn Nelson, introducing measures this week that ban the kind of double-dipping from taxpayer funds that Nelson and his chief of staff have long engaged in.
Posted inNews Briefs, Santa Ana
Santa Ana Council Appoints Replacement for Mill on Planning Commission
Beatriz Mendoza, a Santa Ana Unified school board candidate who works as an aide to Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana), will fill a vacancy opened by Sean Mill’s resignation last month.
Posted inCountywide, Housing & Homelessness, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Santa Ana Launches Program to Get Civic Center Homeless Into Housing
The city has hired a nonprofit to bring together a wide variety of groups to collaborate on getting Civic Center homeless people set up with housing. The arrangement with Long-Beach based City Net calls for placing 30 people into housing each quarter.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Top Stories, Transportation
Transportation Authority Kept Secret Cyber Attack That Cost $600,000
A February cyber attack on Orange County Transportation Authority servers resulted in the total shutdown of email, voicemail and numerous other services. Officials kept the attack secret, which could be a violation of the state’s open meetings law.
Posted inOrange, Santa Ana
Potential College District Board Appointment Sparks Controversy
Trustees at the Rancho Santiago Community College District are considering filling a vacancy on the board less than three months before the November election – and thus giving their choice the advantage of incumbency.
Posted inGovernment, Top Stories
‘Nightmarish’ Software System Still Used by County Public Guardian
Orange County officials have failed to replace a seriously flawed case management system for severely disabled people that crashes on a weekly basis and creates errors in financial accounting, according to grand jurors and county auditors.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, Top Stories
Nelson’s Proposal to Extend Supervisors’ Term Limits Appears Dead
For the second time in as many public meetings, Supervisor Shawn Nelson agendized a proposal to extend supervisors’ term limits, only to pull it before a vote could be taken. But this time it seems gone for good.
Posted inSanta Ana
Progress On Santa Ana’s ‘Wellness Resolution’ Coming Slowly
Last June, community activists pushed the Santa Ana City Council to adopt a policy aimed at preserving the city’s Latino identity and supporting community health. More than a year later, they have little to show for their victory.
