(Oops! : ) – promoted by atdleft)
Check out this latest
chisme from Orange Juice. Santa Ana City Council Member Sal Tinajero is considering a primary challenge to newly elected Assembly Member Jose Solorio in the Democratic-leaning 69th Assembly District in Central Orange County next year.
Here’s what Art Pedroza has to say about this juicy rumor:
Solorio has, according to another source, always had his eye on the State Assembly. He once tried to win an open seat on the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees. He was rebuffed by the other board members because they figured he only wanted the appointment in order to run for the State Assembly. They were right. They ended up picking John Hanna for the seat and he has been a loyal, and exemplary, board member ever since.
So, as it turns out, Tinajero and Solorio have the same type of animosity for each other that Lou Correa and Joe Dunn have. (Don’t forget that Dunn attended a fundraiser for Reep Lynn Daucher when she was running against Correa, who went on to become our State Senator in the 34th District)
Will Assembly Member Jose Solorio really be in for a primary challenge next year? And will Sal Tinajero really run for Assembly, so soon after being elected to Santa Ana City Council JUST LAST NOVEMBER? Follow me after the flip for more on this wild rumor…
So what exactly does this all mean? Well, let’s take a deep breath and look at the facts here. Sal Tinajero pulled his endorsement of Solorio just before last June’s primary as he changed his mind to support Claudia Alvarez. Solorio didn’t retract the endorsement from his campaign publications, and Tinajero has been angry ever since.
Also, let’s remember the role that Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido plays into this little political game. While Solorio himself was on the Santa Ana Council (from 2000 until last year), he was allied with Pulido and local business interests. And with Tinajero now on the council, the new council majority is much more hesitant to support Pulido and the interests of downtown developers. And though both candidates can call themselves “progressive”, both have interesting not-so-progressive supporters. Pro-business Pulido will probably support Solorio, while the once-conservative (turned progressive?) council member Claudia Alvarez will probably support Tinajero.
And Tinajero might have a tough time keeping up with Solorio’s community support. He’s built up a strong list of endorsers, and a rather strong list of financial donors. Perhaps this will scare away Tinajero in the end…
Or perhaps not. We’ll see.