Santa Ana candidates split over budget deficit plans

Santa Ana candidates for mayor and City Council laid out competing plans for closing the city’s budget gap, from extending a temporary sales tax increase to cutting spending and expanding economic development, Voice of OC reported Tuesday.

The debate comes after Santa Ana officials cut more than $11.5 million in expenditures and placed Measure N on the November ballot to extend the Measure X sales tax increase indefinitely, according to Voice of OC.

At a candidate debate hosted by Com-Link, a group representing dozens of Santa Ana neighborhood associations, six City Council candidates and three mayoral candidates discussed how they would respond if voters reject Measure N, Voice of OC reported.

The city’s recent reductions included about $5 million from vacant positions and part-time employee spending, nearly $1 million from park maintenance, about half a million dollars from a police-run after-school program, five city commissions and a 15% reduction in Arts & Culture programs, according to Voice of OC.

Valerie Amezcua, Santa Ana mayor and mayoral candidate, said officials would cut broadly if the tax measure fails. “We understand that when we say we have to do cuts, that we are all in agreement that the cuts are going to go across the board, not just one department in the city, but across the board,” Amezcua said, according to Voice of OC.

Dan Shimell, an attorney and mayoral candidate, said city leaders have leaned too heavily on Measure X revenue. “Some that have gotten increases in the past years are going to have to see those increases go away if we’re going to be able to keep providing all essential services as a city,” Shimell said in an interview after the debate, according to Voice of OC. Dwayne Shipp, president of the OC Heritage Council and a Community Development commissioner, called for reviewing prior spending and pursuing federal help. “Let’s open up the books from the past three years and three years before, and let’s see what we can move around,” Shipp said.

Ben Vazquez, a Santa Ana councilman and Ward 2 candidate, backed extending the sales tax and pointed to economic development. “Now we have a full-blown department instead of an economic development person to make sure that we have people with vision to fill up empty lots, fill up the empty buildings, create revenue,” Vazquez said, according to Voice of OC. Phil Bacerra, a Santa Ana councilman and Ward 4 candidate, opposed making the tax increase indefinite despite voting to put it before voters. “Rather than continuing to ask our residents to pay for more for our services, what we need to do is actually stop saying economic development and get to it,” Bacerra said.

Sandra De Anda, director of policy for the Orange County Rapid Response Network and a Ward 4 candidate, also opposed Measure N. “I don’t believe that we should be balancing our budget off of working class people,” De Anda said, according to Voice of OC. Giovanni Chavez, an attorney and Ward 6 candidate, criticized the city’s tax burden and service cuts. “Our residents are being charged the most, but they’re not necessarily being given the most. I don’t think that’s a fair deal for the residents,” Chavez said.

The Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce was scheduled to hold another candidates forum at Santa Ana College from 5-8 p.m., Voice of OC reported.