The Race for Santa Ana Mayor Heats Up
The abrupt departures of a longtime city manager and police chief who claim the police union – one of the biggest spenders in local elections – have a tight grip on some elected officials took center stage this week in the race for Santa Ana’s mayoral election.
During a debate hosted by the local chamber of commerce on Wednesday at Santa Ana College, Ben Vazquez (D), a current councilman challenging incumbent Valerie Amezcua (D) for the mayor’s seat, put the blame squarely on Amezcua for the city having to quietly pay out former city manager Kristine Ridge $600,000 to settle a claim alleging workplace harassment related to her resistance to bowing to union requests.
At Wednesday’s debate, Vazquez also publicly called out the police union and their former leader Gerry Serrano, who parted ways with the city last year.
“We know what Gerry Serrano wanted. He wanted an illegal raise, and he put people in office and supported people to give him that raise he wanted. He said, ‘I will burn this city down,’” said Vazquez, who ultimately voted to settle Ridge’s claim.
https://voiceofoc.org/2024/09/the-race-for-santa-ana-mayor-heats-up/