For those who have been watching the ‘pay to play’ antics of the Santa Ana City Council may wish to show up at their meeting tonight at City Hall. Two items in particular have caught my eye. First is the rescission and re-vote on the reduction and suspension of fees charged to for-profit adult soccer leagues by the city. back in September the council reduced then suspended these fees, costing the city $127,488 in fees, targeted for use in developing additional artificial turf fields, over the next couple years.
Tag Archive for Pay to Play
Santa Ana Council Member’s ‘Pay to Play’ votes referred to DA for review
by Chris Prevatt • • 10 Comments
TheLiberalOC learned on Wednesday afternoon that Santa Ana City Attorney Joseph Fletcher has referred the matter of improper votes by Council members Sal Tinajero, Michele Martinez, and Claudia Alvarez to the Orange County District Attorney for review. The votes in question appear to violate Santa Ana Municipal Code section 2-107.
More improper votes and campaign bucks for Michele Martinez and Sal Tinajero
by Chris Prevatt • • 5 Comments
The City Council of Santa Ana (Baby Bell) has called a special meeting for this evening to discuss the problems that have developed from the revelation of improper campaign contributions and improper votes taken by Council members Michele Martinez and Sal Tinajero related to the Station District project. Well the swamp is getting deeper for these two as more improper votes do large contributions are revealed.
The ‘Bell’ is ringing, but is it putting the Santa Ana Council on notice?
by Chris Prevatt • • 6 Comments
On Tuesday we had the following rolling across banner headlines on the LA Times, The OC Register, and even national news sites: Eight Bell leaders arrested. Eight current and former Bell city leaders were arrested Tuesday on charges of misappropriating more…
Santa Ana Council Video: We’re not the City of Bell
by Chris Prevatt • • 12 Comments
This is a heavily edited video of Santa Ana City Council member comments made at their September 7th meeting. It was this meeting where members Martinez and Tinajero voted improperly on a resolution to lower, and suspend for a year, soccer permit fees paid by adult leagues. Martinez and Tinajero each accepted $500 from a for-profit league that benefits from that reduction creating a conflict of interest making them unable to vote on the matter.
A Tangled Mess – Tinajero and Alvarez voted illegally on One Broadway Plaza project
by Chris Prevatt • • 3 Comments
The story of the “Pay to Play” scandal on the Santa Ana City Council is getting more and more tangled as we pull at its threads. Our review of campaign finance reports for Santa Ana City Council members and projects…
Santa Ana Council Members Martinez and Tinajero run ‘Pay to Play’ racket in Santa Ana
by Chris Prevatt • • 24 Comments
This is probably one of the most egregious examples of “pay to play” revealed since former Ward 3 Councilmember Ted Moreno was convicted ten years ago on September 5, 2000 for accepting $31,000 in illegal campaign contributions. While the reduction in fees passed on a 7-0 vote, these two council members should have recused themselves from voting on this matter. Who knows what influence these two members exercised over the review of the fees and the recommendation for their reduction.
