Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/gerry-serrano/)
Aggressive police unions, spending on law enforcement over youth programs and few citizen oversight boards — activists and leaders say OC’s debate is years in the making.
Iglesias and her challengers have agreed to talk about the recall and advocate for their election today at 6:00 p.m., through a virtual forum hosted by Santa Ana non-profit organization Connect-to-Council. Iglesias has also agreed to a debate with resident and local historian Tim Rush, who will argue in favor of her recall. The debate will be moderated by Voice of OC Publisher and Editor in Chief, Norberto Santana, Jr.
In-person voting has been cancelled for a special recall election in Westminster. It’s still up in the air whether Santa Ana’s special recall election will follow suit.
Voters across Santa Ana will decide Iglesias’ fate on the council in the May 19 recall election, which was put on the ballot through a signature-gathering campaign financed by the city’s police union.
Assistant DA Tony Ferrentino, who apparently declined to prosecute a police officer arrested for DUI hit-and-run, has already won his election to become an OC Superior Court judge.
Trying to head off a budget disaster in Santa Ana, City Councilmember Cecilia Iglesias voted against a pay increase for police. She was outvoted. But that didn’t stop the head of the police union from trying to remove her from office.
Gerry Serrano, President of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association writes that who holds dirty politicians accountable? Cecilia Iglesias’s unethical and illicit behavior has been repeated and continuous. She is not above the law and should be removed from office.
The union in a memo to the council last month criticized Villegas and Iglesias and requested their removal from the public safety board, questioning their commitment to the city’s police officers and their ability to make key public safety policy decisions.
Two recall movements in two neighboring cities are on the move against elected officials this year – one in Westminster that’s guaranteed a recall election and another in Santa Ana that has gathered the signatures but won’t find out until next month from county officials whether it can move forward.
Councilman Juan Villegas, who also works as a special officer at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, is publicly alleging that one the key people behind the controversial 2525 N. Main St. project admitted to him their involvement in a dark money campaign to influence the 2018 Santa Ana city council elections – which involved hiding $320,000 in campaign money through a shell company.