Busted! Gustavo Arellano, of the OC Weekly, has discovered that Santa Ana Councilman David “Benapuppet” Benavides has a conflict that may preclude him from voting on the Renaissance Plan. Here are a few excerpts from Arellano’s latest post:
Earlier, we discussed the developmental gerrymandering that seemingly allows SanTana mayor Miguel Pulido and councilmember Vince Sarmiento to vote on the city’s Renaissance Specific Plan (RSP), the controversial project that seeks to “diversify” and “revitalize” SanTana’s downtown. Now, the Weekly has learned that another councilmember might have a conflict of interest that would preclude him from voting on the RSP: David Benavides.
Say hola to PrimeUrban, a SanTana-based developer…owns two properties in the RSP zone–one near the SanTana Train Depot they want to turn into 140 residential units, and another on the northeast corner of Minter Street and Santa Ana Boulevard; they plan to turn the latter into Minter Court, a “a boutique residential community that is a unique vision of simple contemporary architecture.” Construction for the latter is scheduled for this winter, pending city approval–and both plans are being developed with an eye toward complying with the RSP.
Where does Benavides fit in? On PrimeUrban’s website, the developer proudly proclaims it’s “committed to giving back to the communities in which it works” (we’d link to the passage, but PrimeUrban has one of those annoying sites that always keeps the same URL). One of the non-profits they list as supporting is KidWorks. Its board chairman? Benavides.
We can’t fault PrimeUrban for buttering up councilmembers, but we can fault Benavides if he votes on the Renaissance Plan. Even if it’s not technically illegal, David, it sure doesn’t look good voting on something that’s going to greatly benefit your amigos.
This Renaissance Plan is really turning into a nightmare for Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and his council hacks…
Not only that, but remember how the city council had their meeting at Kidworks? Isn’t that a conflict of interest also?
The antics of Benevides are better than any novella.
Benevides will be hard pressed to explain this away, particularly after he accepted a campaign contribution from developer DeRenzio during his tenure as a commissioner and was poised to vote on one of his projects.
BTW … a few years past there was plenty of chatter about DeRenzio buying up available parcels in the Logan neighborhood. From what I’ve read, Logan is within the RSP. Isn’t that a coincedence.
I hope we can keep in mind that Kidworks is a completely different type of animal than are the businesses connected with Pulido and Sarmiento. Kidworks continues to do some amazing things to restore the lives of the residents of the at-risk neighborhoods it serves. I would hate to see a great organization like Kidworks tarnished by some of the allegations being made. I believe Art himself referred to Kidworks as one Santa Ana’s “shining stars” at one point.
Art:
You really are a fool. You proclaim that Mr. Benevides cannot vote even though you cannot point to any conflict. This is typical of your shoot and ask questions later approach to everything.
Mr. Benevides has no conflict. And, Kidsworks is a well respected organization that does great work in this City. Perhaps you could learn from it on your breaks from throwing stones at anything that moves.
“MAY preclude him from voting…”
“MIGHT have a conflict of interest”?
“…it’s not technically illegal”?
Right. Let us know when you’ve got a REAL story.
It’s REAL enough to rile you up, cowardly Anon 5–success!
Gustavo,
Wrong. It’s UN-REAL enough to rile me up.
David is not running for reelection this year, So why are you wasting your hit pieces on him?
What projects has DeRenzio developed in Santa Ana? Which DeRenzio project did Benavides vote on?
Cook,
Aside from the subject at hand. You are not suggesting stories of interest(are not hit pieces) should only be written when an elected is up for re-election,are you?
No I guess not, Doc.
But leaving out any code section reference to a conflict of interest, for something that is not up for a vote, (has these items even come before the planning commission? ) reads like its purpose is to disparage the councilmember. “A hit piece”, more than a story of interest.
It just seems to me to be
Cook: Just because a project hasn’t been voted on doesn’t mean I’m not going to research a story (sorry for the triple negatives!). Read that last sentence again: unless PrimeUrban or one of its bigwigs gave Benavides $250 for his campaign race in the last twelve months (per Section 425 of the Municipal Code), then Benavides can vote on anything involving PrimeUrban, RSP or otherwise. But it sure doesn’t look good voting on something involving a friend, whether you directly benefit from it or not. My post wasn’t a hit piece at all–just connecting the dots.
Gustavo, thank you for doing your homework!
I spoke to a friend from Kidworks about this since it is an organization I deeply care about and I was told that one of the owners of PrimeUrban first became involved with Kidworks over a decade ago when he was a college student. I know this doesn’t mean that shady transactions are out of question, but I think that understanding the nature of PrimeUrban’s involvement may clarify the strength of the allegations being made. Personally, as someone who has been connected to Kidworks for some time, I doubt these allegations are true. I’m not claiming 100% certainty, but I think they are highly unlikely.