Municipal elections in Santa Ana, California (2016)
The mayor's chair and three seats on the Santa Ana City Council were up for general election on November 8, 2016. The city council seats up for election were located in Wards 1, 3, and 5. All four seats up for election were contested. The filing deadline for candidates in the 2016 election was August 12, 2016.[1]
Elections
General election
MayorNote: Although elections in Santa Ana are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia identified the partisan affiliation of the candidates in this race for informational purposes.
City councilWard 1
Ward 3Incumbent Angelica Amezcua did not file for re-election.
Ward 5
|
 |
Results
| Mayor of Santa Ana, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Miguel Pulido Incumbent |
50.71% | 34,317 |
| Ben Vazquez | 36.32% | 24,576 |
| Steve Rocco | 12.97% | 8,774 |
| Total Votes | 67,667 | |
| Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
| Santa Ana City Council, Ward 1 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Vicente Sarmiento Incumbent |
55.56% | 36,486 |
| Jessica Cha | 44.44% | 29,183 |
| Total Votes | 65,669 | |
| Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
| Santa Ana City Council, Ward 3 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jose Solorio |
42.87% | 28,002 |
| Ana Urzua Alcaraz | 16.68% | 10,892 |
| Patrick Yrarrazaval-Correa | 14.23% | 9,297 |
| Shane Ramon Barrows | 11.81% | 7,714 |
| David De Leon | 7.40% | 4,832 |
| Joshua Mauras | 5.38% | 3,512 |
| Juve Dan Pinedo | 1.64% | 1,069 |
| Total Votes | 65,318 | |
| Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
| Santa Ana City Council, Ward 5 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Juan Villegas |
54.79% | 35,187 |
| Roman Reyna Incumbent | 45.21% | 29,035 |
| Total Votes | 64,222 | |
| Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Campaign finance
Candidates for mayor and city council were required to file reports detailing contributions and expenditures through September 24, 2016. A candidate who raised or spent less than $2,000 during the filing period was able to claim an exemption. Candidates reported $127,570.01 in contributions and $69,381.79 in expenditures for the filing period from July 1, 2016, to September 24, 2016. Ward 1 incumbent Vicente Sarmiento led all candidates with $68,910.11 in contributions and $31,503.89 in expenditures. These totals represented 54 percent of all contributions and 45.4 percent of all expenditures.[2]
Mayor
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | |||
| Miguel Pulido (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Steve Rocco | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Ben Vazquez | $11,485.99 | $6,949.60 | $4,536.39 |
Ward 1
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 | |||
| Vicente Sarmiento (incumbent) | $68,910.11 | $31,503.89 | $79,812.33 |
| Jessica Cha | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Ward 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 3 | |||
| Shane Ramon Barrows | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| David De Leon | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
| Joshua Mauras | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Juve Dan Pinedo | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jose Solorio | $19,376.00 | $11,985.82 | $10,445.18 |
| Ana Urzua Alcaraz | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Patrick Yrarrazaval-Correa | $7,591.00 | $2,732.32 | $4,858.68 |
Ward 5
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 5 | |||
| Roman Reyna (incumbent) | $6,791.00 | $1,970.60 | $4,820.40 |
| Juan Villegas | $3,416.00 | $3,120.00 | $496.00 |
Additional elections
- See also: California elections, 2016
The November general election ballot included races for state assembly, state senate, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. president.
Santa Ana voters decided on Measure PP.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of increasing councilmembers' salaries from $125 per month and the mayor’s salary from $200 per month to $1,000 per month. |
| A no vote was a vote against increasing the mayor's and councilmembers' salaries. |
The text of Measure PP is included below.
You can navigate the document by zooming in or out with the + and - buttons or using the vertical scrollbar to change pages.
Issues
Council disagreements with police union over increased police pay
Mayor Miguel Pulido's proposal to increase police pay sparked a debate between the police union and city council members at the council's meeting on August 16, 2016. Pulido's proposal to add $3 million per year for police pay was rejected in a 4-0 vote with Pulido, Roman Reyna, and Michele C. Martinez absent for the vote. Sal Tinajero, Angelica Amezcua, David Benavides, and Vicente Sarmiento rejected the proposal on the basis that the city's contract with police at the time of the vote was approved in July 2016 and contract negotiations typically take place at the beginning of the calendar year. Tinajero said, "It is unprecedented to see an organization come and say, ‘we just finished our negotiations, and now we want you to give us some more money.'"[3]
Santa Ana Police Officers Association President Gerry Serrano advocated for the pay raise during the meeting, citing statistics showing a 500 percent increase in the city's violent crime rate between 2012 and 2016. Serrano, who was selected by union members as president in April 2016, sought higher salaries for police to reduce staff losses to other cities and improve emergency response times. Tinajero countered with statistics showing a decrease in shootings from 2012 to 2016 and argued that Serrano was not negotiating in good faith. Santa Ana Police Chief Carlos Rojas noted that Serrano's data was found to be inaccurate after calculation by the police department with additional study required to determine crime rate trends since 2012.[3] Data reported by the city to the FBI showed a 9.86 percent increase in violent crimes and a 16.4 percent increase in property crimes from 2015 to 2016.[4]
On August 17, 2016, The Voice of OC reported that Serrano sent an email to local labor and business leaders highlighting law enforcement issues in Santa Ana. Serrano's email criticized Reyna for his failure to respond to multiple messages from the union and noted the labor bona fides of Ward 5 challenger Juan Villegas. In an email to Ballotpedia, Serrano stated that the email was not an endorsement of Villegas with official endorsements from the union to be made before the general election.[3][5] The police union endorsed Pulido, Villegas, Jessica Cha, and Jose Solorio in October 2016.[6]
Growing divide between mayor, city council
Pulido was first elected as mayor in 1994 but has faced challenges from city council members at the ballot box and the meeting room. He defeated Martinez in 2008, Benavides in 2012, and Reyna in 2014 with a double-digit margin of victory in each election. Tinajero, the mayor pro tem, has also clashed with Pulido following the city's recovery from the brink of bankruptcy in 2011.
Pulido relied on City Manager Paul Walters to navigate through the city's $35 million budget deficit, forging an alliance that turned Walters into a political force in the city. In January 2013, the city council voted 6-1 to terminate Walters' contract with Pulido the lone dissenting vote.[7] Tinajero explained the council's decision to fire Walters to the Los Angeles Times:
| " |
It's also about laying the foundation of transparency and breaking the shackles of the current centralized form of government that the mayor has enjoyed for the last 26 years. [8] |
” |
| —Sal Tinajero (2016), [7] | ||
About the city
- See also: Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is a city in California, and it is the county seat of Orange County. As of 2010, its population was 324,528.
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Santa Ana uses a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[9]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Santa Ana, California | ||
|---|---|---|
| Santa Ana | California | |
| Population | 324,528 | 37,253,956 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 27 | 155,857 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 40.2% | 59.7% |
| Black/African American | 1.1% | 5.8% |
| Asian | 11.8% | 14.5% |
| Native American | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| Two or more | 2.1% | 4.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 76.8% | 39% |
| Bildung | ||
| High school graduation rate | 59.6% | 83.3% |
| College graduation rate | 15% | 33.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $66,145 | $75,235 |
| Persons below poverty level | 15.7% | 13.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Santa Ana California election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Santa Ana, California | California | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Santa Ana, "City Elections," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ City of Santa Ana, "Public Portla for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed October 26, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Voice of OC, "Santa Ana Council Clashes With Police Union Leadership," August 17, 2016
- ↑ Voice of OC, "City of Santa Ana Crime Report," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Gerry Serrano," August 26, 2016
- ↑ New Santa Ana, "Campaign mailers promote the pro law enforcement Santa Ana City Council candidates," October 9, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Los Angeles Times, "Santa Ana official credited with avoiding city bankruptcy fired," January 23, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Santa Ana City Charter, Article III, Sec. 300
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Regierung |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
