Santa Ana Council's Sham Term Limits Initiative

I know I'm late blogging on this subject, but sometimes it's better late than never.

Last week the Santa Ana City Council voted 5-2 to hold a special election term "limits" initiative, to be consolidated with the Feb. 5 presidential primary.

This initiative is such an incredible sham that Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilmembers Claudia Alvarez, Carlos Bustamante, Sal Tinajero and Vince Sarmiento ought to be embarrassed about voting to place it before voters.

Likewise, Councilmembers Michele Martinez and David Benavides deserve big kudos for voting against it. I thought Martinez's stated reason in the LA Times -- "it costs too much" -- was a bit limp, but Benavides summed it up much better:

Benavides said he voted against the measure because he believed four mayoral terms were too many and the cost of the election too high.

"I don't think the voters are going to go for this, and the money will be wasted," he said.

A "maximum" of 16 years for mayor? Someone can "only" serve four 4-year terms as mayor. How can that even remotely be considered any kind of "limit"?

The same goes for these five voting to give themselves -- should the voters fall for this piece of work -- an extra four years in office. Alvarez, Bustamante, Tinajero and Sarmiento should take a long look inside themselves for supporting this scam on the voters.

But the most execrable aspect of this charade is grandfathering in Mayor-For-Life Pulido. He's been in for 13 years. And he wants to use the ruse of sham term limits to give himself the chance to serve 16 more? Is this the Santa Ana City Council or the Soviet Politburo?  It's the kind of maneuver that ought to make one want to take a shower afterward.

Pulido's gambit for the council equivalent of eternal life reminds by of admonition of Oliver Cromwell (awful oppressor of the Irish though he was) to the Long Parliament:

"You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately… Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"

Comments

[cook]

Term limits are a failed concept.

Any term limit initiative should have a choice of No Term Limits.

[Andrew Davey]

Wow, Matt! I guess I'll just have to agree with you here. This "term limits" initiative really is a scam meant to allow our "Mayor for Life" Pulido to serve for ANOTHER 16 YEARS while the council members can satisfy themselves with another term. This is NOT "term limits reform"... It's a continuation of what's DEFORMED and deeply wrong in our city government in Santa Ana.

[killerjoe]

And all the clintoons supporters would have clinton for life. 16 years? Man where do I sign up for that gravy train.

[Bladerunner]

Jubal--I'm not a big fan of term limit efforts(I prefer term limits the old fashioned way--elections!)but you and Orange Juice have certainly nailed a casualty of Truth in Advertising. But you might as well get comfortable in that shower; pending signature verification the state legislators alleged "term limits" measure is headed our way. You'll need alot of Irish Spring for this one.

Speaking of Irish....you're quoting To Hell or Connaught Oliver Cromwell? You'd better get to confession and make a VERY good Act of Contrition boyo. Rather then quoting an ethnic cleanser, when thinking of Santa Ana's vote refer to John Quinton: "Politicians are people who when they see the light at the end of the tunnel, they go out and buy more tunnel."

[redperegrine]

This whole thing reminds me of folks like Chavez and Musharrif, who at the end of their alotted time decide to rewrite the constitution. The idea of Pulido milking his miserablee fiefdom any longer would be comical if the consequences weren't so severe for the people who live there (and drive over the roads). As Santa Ana descends deeper into a Third World chasm this guy's only response is to squeeze more for himself.

As I drove south on the I-5 the other day and saw the new $1,000,000 paint job on the water tower (Downtown OC - what a hoot!) I was struck by the cruel irony of SA trying to present itself as a 21 Century city by deploying its idiotic slogan on something as obsolete as a horse-drawn carriage.

I get the feeling this city council has no sense of irony - or shame.

[gus]

Your applauding of Benavides and Martinez is misplaced. M

Martinez did not vote in favor of the item because she's fiscally prudent. She did it b/c she wants her friend, Yvette Verino to run for Alvarez's seat. Benevides did so for the same reason: He wants his friend, Roman Reyna, to run for Alvarez's seat.

So, you see, everyone has an angle.

[redperegrine]

Gus, you just said a mouthful.

[Patricia]

So Pulido would get another 16 years?! I knew him a long time ago...back before he was Fidel. What a disappointment.

The third-worldization of California continues.

[Eric]

One of my family members helped the Santa Ana Napolean get into office. Once in power, how easy one forgets those who were the key supporters; especially when no one else even had a remote idea of one's existence. The city spends the majority of its money in salaries (80-some-odd percent); of course that includes the ridiculous salaries of the mayor and city attorney. Fix roads? "Education First"? Sure...after we pay ourselves what we want. The city needs new blood AT LEAST every 6-8 years. Extending term limits is so Podrido's Chronies can remain as long as possible. This guy already blew a career in politics as a "Democrat", therefore he needs to milk the citizens of SA as long as possible. The heavy boot to his posterior is long over due.

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