Councilman Ben Vazquez, a radical leftist who teaches Ethnic Studies in the Santa Ana Unified School District, has decided to challenge the re-election of Santa Ana’s first woman mayor, Valerie Amezcua.
Amezcua, a former school board member and retired probation officer, has deep and widespread ties in the community.
Since Vasquez is in the middle of his term, his candidacy is what is known in campaign parlance as a “free-ride” since he will remain on the council if he loses.
Vazquez eked out a victory in 2022 in Ward 2 over Councilwoman Nelida Mendoza, winning by just 80 votes out of 4,390 cast.
He ran for mayor in 2016 against then-Mayor Miguel Pulido, but lost badly 50% to 36%.
Vazquez’s decision manifests a larger movement by an ideologically-driven coalition of radical activists and amply-funded non-profits to cement political control of one of the county’s largest cities. Amezcua represents a more traditional breed of Santa Ana Democrat focused on bread-and-butter issues closer to voter concerns such as policing, public order, streets and roads and economic vitality.
He is styling himself, as progressive politicians are wont to do, as a “people’s mayor.” In two years on the city council, he has compiled an anti-law enforcement record, voting against contracts to fund more police officers and opposing quality-of-life measures such as targeting public intoxication. He strongly supports the most draconian rent control law in the state – which is being challenged in court as violating the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Most recently, Vazquez strongly supported repeated attempts by his progressive colleagues to pass a resolution condemning Israel’s war of self-defense against Hamas and calling for a cease-fire that would leave Hamas in control of Gaza. He is also helping lead the campaign to allow non-citizens – including illegal aliens – to vote in Santa Ana city elections alongside U.S. citizens.
Santa Ana Radicals Rally To Vazquez
Unsurprisingly, key players in Santa Ana’s radical political ecosystem quickly expressed their support for Vazquez in comments on his Instagram announcement post. Here Councilman Johnathan Hernandez (seeking re-election this November), Manny Escamilla (policy aide to Sup. Vince Sarmiento, twice-defeated council candidate and Ward 2 member of the Planning Commission), and Hector Bustos (radical, single-issue SAUSD Board member and comms director for Tides Advocacy-controlled CHISPA) express their support:
Here, Joese Gloria Hernandez and Tracy La endorse Vazquez:
Hernandez is a district representative for Supervisor Vince Sarmiento and a long-time hand at progressive politics in Santa Ana and Anaheim. He’s the member of the Santa Ana Arts and Culture Commission from Ward 2 and former organizer with left-wing advocacy group OCCORD.
Tracy La runs VietRise, a radical advocacy group currently leading the charge for non-citizen voting in Santa Ana and was directly involved in passage of the city’s rent control ordinance. She is Vazquez’ appointee to the city’s powerful Rental Housing Board, occupying what is intended to be a neutral seat.
