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When I heard from Art that SOMEONE on the Santa Ana City Council would be running for José Solorio’s old Assembly seat, and that Vince Sarmiento’s wife had put the crimp on his plans, and Art and Sean wouldn’t tell me who it was, I went through the list of other possibilities – Pulido, of course not, as Mayor For Life he has much more power; Bustamante – too much of a boob, and a Republican to boot; Claudia – too unlikable; Benavides – doesn’t strike me as that ambitious, more of a local community-organizer type; leaving the two “progressives” Sal Tinajero and Michele Martinez, and Sal just seemed … more likely, more qualified maybe.
But I was wrong! As the Register announced today, it will be 31-year-old “headstrong” Michele – she of the “inspiring life story” and basketball prowess – who will be challenging Anaheim labor organizer Julio Pérez for this safe Latino-Democrat seat.
So I’m going to do an Orange Juice interview with her soon, to be followed by one with Julio. In a safe Democratic district, there’s no reason we shouldn’t try hard to get the best possible Democrat. As in the most “progressive” one. As in, somebody a lot more progressive than José has been. To be specific:
1. We need Democrats in Sacramento that will stand up to the Prison Guards, District Attorneys, vengeful victims’ rights groups and prison-construction interests who keep the War on Drugs going, keep Three Strikes in full swing, and resist all attempts to release non-violent offenders, continuing the most wasteful, unjust, and anti-liberty long-term boondoggle afflicting our state, feeding the insatiable Prison-Industrial Complex. Could Michele, with her 
empathy and youthful experience of being on the wrong side of the law, be someone we could count on here? Would Julio be? I hope at least one of them would improve on José’s terrible record on this issue, documented here by both Duane and myself.
2. José’s deference to big insurance over us consumers has been so Republican-like (should I say Correa-like?) that it even dismayed the very partisan Liberal OC. I would hope that Michele, with her graduate studies in public health and her work fighting childhood obesity, realizes that until we get universal single-payer in this state and nation, the overwhelming power of the health insurance industry has to be fought and contained wherever possible. And I hope Julio knows that too.
3. This might be harder for Julio as a longtime Union guy: Reasonable, fair public employee pension reform is going to be essential to our budgetary sanity, and it’s obvious that Democrats, bucking long habits, will have to accomplish this on their own with no Republican help (especially once we hit our 2/3 goal.) I’d like to ask both candidates how far they would be willing to proceed on that front.
Stay tuned for the OJ Michele and Julio interviews!
Well if that’s the field, it’s Julio walking away.
Don’t forget to ask Michelle about her front seat of the car trystingbthe night away with Alfredo Amezcua and her recent foreclosure. If Michele can’t even manage her own finances, how do you expect her to not have her vote for sale in the assembly? He’ll, all you have to do is buy her dinner the week before a vote to buy her vote these days. Julio is smarter, better educated, and more articulate. He can pronounce the word “important” unlike Michele who makes it sound like “impotent.”
I had fairly good relationship, ON/OFF, with Michele.
As far as I can see she gave up all here revolutionary aspirations simply because she has no supporters who would raise money for her and must rely on papi Pulido so she is his girl and will be in the assembly too as was Solorio his boy.
I thing Pulido will be happy to get her out of the council.
She gravitates around losers like Sin Mill, Zorro and Dr. Amalgam.
So if she gets there it will be an another wasted seat in the assembly.
Maybe she will find someone to marry her in Sacramento.
Julio Perez’s chances of taking the win just got a whole lot better!
Haha, Art and Sean sure don’t think so. Come on, let’s have some Michele backers chime in…
And in a testament to how confident they are in Michele’s chances, they’re encouraging Julio to get out of the race. LOL
Perez is certifiably more progressive than Martinez. I support progressives.
Well, I’m going to talk to them both and see how they answer my questions.
Actually, let me roll that one back. Martinez would actually have to be progressive in the first place for Perez to be *more* progressive than her.
I think we need to find a good Democrat to run. Michele is street smart but not intelligent when it comes to debating or speaking. And if you pay attention, she can not write English well. She confuses words like “there” and “their” or our and are, yikes…Then again, if she wins, she will have her staff to help her with revising (or writing) her work. Also, I’ve heard that she is not professional at all. Well, they used another word but I refuse to write that word here. Lastly, let’s not forget about all the negative campaigning against her when she ran against Pulido and now she claims Pulido is her role model. I don’t know about that…She has to stick to her guns.
Maybe if Julio paid Art and Sean for “web services” they will flip flop- unethical toads they both are. Or perhaps Michele can help both of them fight their losing battle against obesity.
All I’m gonna say is that in photo one she is definitely palming the basketball.
FYI, Busala she is palming more than that.
In addition, nice presentation on J&K today.
With all these basketball photos, I’m thinking she should have announced the move like LeBron James did with “The Decision” last summer!
So, she gave up on her “revolutionary aspirations” because no one with money to contribute would support her? What’s that tell you about how well she is tuned in to the electorate? She came into office like a kid in a candy store, wide-eyed and without a real clue of how to work as a member of a public policy setting body. Other than launching feel-good candlelight vigils, becoming unemployed and losing her house, what has she accomplished in her life or the area of public policy? We do not need any more State legislators who lack a track record of vision, leadership and accomplishment – there are plenty of those in Sacramento now.
The 69th district is wide open. There should be 12 Latino’s running 2 to 4 Viet and Koreans, a couple of blacks too. And only one rich, white, republican. Under the new law of the top 2 vote getters moving on to the November election, the republican would face one of the others.
SIGNATURES IN LIEU OF FILING FEE PETITIONS
December 30, 2011 through February 23, 2012
DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY AND NOMINATION
PAPERS
February 13, 2012* through March 9, 2012
Stanley, the seat is wide open, you going to let Rocco take the prize or the dark horse candidate?
March 9th 2012 is the deadline.
No experience necessary, just be a US citizen. Pay around 95,000 per year and lots of benefits, plus another 150,000 of non-taxable cash per diem. And you get money, lots of money to hire other people to do your job for you.
Party, party, party, it is all about partying with these Demo’s and Repub’s.
Stan, you can hire me after you be elected as your chief of staff, we can leave our wife’s and families here in Santa Ana and paint the town of Sacramento red. Ya man I am salivating already.
“Stanley, the seat is wide open, you going to let Rocco take the prize or the dark horse candidate?”……. Hmmmmm
Unfortunately to be a leader you need followers.
You can’t lead the sheep….. sheepdogs are more effective.
So stop drooling cook.
Well think about it Stan. a high paying job that requires no experience what so ever.
There should be dozens of people looking at this job. I remember 135 candidates ran to replace Gov Davis in another wide open election.
I am done with public service.