Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/claudia-alvarez/)
A year during which three other City Council seats plus the mayor’s are up for election will, after November, determine who has the power at City Hall.
After a plea from a resident to “let the people speak” in November, board members decided not to appoint someone to the board seat, which was held by Jose Solorio before he resigned last month to run for Santa Ana City Council.
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.
After more than six years of holding the powerful accountable in Orange County, Adam Elmahrek is leaving for the Los Angeles Times.
Board trustees at the Rancho Santiago Community College District are arguing over how strict a new gift ban should be. Meanwhile, Orange County ethics watchdog Shirley Grindle said the current proposal is “very weak.”
The review by the Rancho Santiago Community College District board follows a Voice of OC series that showed how officials took thousands of dollars in gifts from district contractors and traveled in luxury on the taxpayers’ dime.
While Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is under pressure for racially insensitive remarks, she isn’t likely to back up as the crowd of challengers builds for her congressional seat.
Sources say the state senator has been in talks with 20-year Mayor Miguel Pulido about taking his place.
Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez says that an investigation into allegations that she received a gift and campaign contributions illegally from a Hollywood nightclub found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Attorney says her review of the mayor’s deal with a city contractor has been “document intensive” and is taking longer than expected.