OC GOP Chairman Fred Whitaker talks frankly about what went wrong this past election cycle where Republicans lost every congressional seat in the county’s midterm elections. Whitaker also talks about what Republicans have to do to bounce back in the future.
Author Archives: Norberto Santana Jr.
Norberto Santana, Jr. is an experienced investigative reporter, serving as founding publisher and editor-in-chief for Voice of OC, overseeing newsroom, engagement and fundraising operations.
He’s also an award-winning columnist, focusing his efforts on First Amendment issues and local government, being recognized multiple years by the Orange County Press Club as the region’s best columnist.
The LA Press Club has named him a Journalist of the Year (2018) and the Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has recognized him as a “Distinguished Journalist.” The California Chicano News Media Association has honored him with a lifetime achievement award and the national News Leaders Association has recognized him for his commitment to diverse staffing and coverage.
Santana is a pioneer in the field of nonprofit news having served on the board of directors for the national trade group for nonprofit newsrooms, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). He also has served on boards of the national nonprofit advocating investigative journalism, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the California First Amendment advocacy group, CalAware.
In addition to journalism, Santana also teaches public affairs and investigative journalism as an adjunct faculty professor at Chapman University.
Before founding Voice of OC in 2009, Santana was a lead investigative reporter for the Orange County Register, focusing on county government. He spent nearly two decades covering local governments across Southern California, previously as a staff writer at the San Diego Union Tribune and San Bernardino County Sun.
Santana began his journalistic career as an apprentice reporter with Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C. covering daily floor action in the U.S. Congress and followed that up with a stint covering the territorial Senate for the U.S. Virgin Islands Daily News.
Languages spoken: English and Spanish
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: OC Democrats Could Face Toughest Election on Their Own Turf
After Orange County’s blue wave this past November, local Democrats face a tough choice in a January election for chair of the local Democratic Party with union leader Ada Briceño running against longtime local elected official Beth Krom. The big question rumbling around OC office hallways and holiday parties is whether the face of the party needs to better match the base?
Posted inAnaheim, Norberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Anaheim Skirts Police Accountability
Following harassment of a Voice of OC reporter earlier this year, Anaheim’s Police Chief Jorge Cisneros has apologized for the “impact” of the action. Yet due to a state law that shields discussion of police blunders, there’s little that Anaheim’s top cop can say to the public about how missteps are handled. That should say a lot about the future of police relations and funding in California.
Posted inGovernment, Housing & Homelessness, On OC
On OC: Apartments for Homeless
United Way Chief Operating Officer Carla Vargas updates progress on homelessness programs in Orange County, discussing a new pilot program, funded by a $250,000 grant from the County of Orange, that hopes to connect homeless people who are ready for permanent supportive housing with willing apartment owners as a way of quickly moving the dial to address an estimated need of 2,700 permanent supportive housing units across the county.
Posted inOn OC
On OC: Costa Mesa’s New Mayor Katrina Foley Talks About The Future
Foley talks about how Democrats swept local elections in Costa Mesa this year, shutting out Republicans for Congress, State Assembly, city council and the mayor’s race. Foley reflects on the campaign and where the city’s first directly elected mayor will take civic affairs.
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Welcome to Purple County
On Election Day, President Trump drove unprecedented voter turnout in Orange County, nearly 65 percent of registered voters visited the polls. That hasn’t been seen during a midterm election in Orange County since the 1970s. The results don’t bode well for the GOP but there’s a deeper message here for incumbents: Engage the public or peril.
Posted inOn OC, Politics & Elections, Safety, Security & Justice
On OC: New DA Spitzer Outlines Future
Incoming DA Todd Spitzer outlines his plans as he prepares to become Orange County’s top law enforcement official in January.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Veterans Make Elections Possible
As we come out of the election season, and go into another month of tight, tense counts at the local registrar of voters office, Veterans Day offers a chance to stop and reflect on our freedoms as well as those who have sacrificed to ensure our way of life. Today, Orange County’s state fairgrounds in Costa Mesa hosts the annual commemoration where people can visit the Hero’s Hall museum as well as the walk of honor featuring plaques that tell the stories of more than three-dozen war heroes from Orange County.
Posted inCountywide, Top Stories
On OC: Wrapping up a Purple Shaded Election Day in OC
Chapman University Political Science professors Mike Moodian and Fred Smoller talk about the unprecedented voter turnout and election results from across Orange County, noting the end of OC GOP dominance and the advent of a more competitive political landscape.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Could Rivalry Among Vietnamese American, Republican Elected Officials Throw Central OC to Dems?
While congressional races have dominated the media landscape this year, one race in Central Orange County, the 34th State Senate, is more competitive than usual but under the radar. Could rivalries among Vietnamese American Republicans shift the balance of power in Sacramento?
