Valerie AmezcuaVoted no
49:39Said rules seem to apply only to certain people, citing earlier matters where she felt standards had differed.
18February
2025
2025
Regular City Council Meeting · One key issue
The reappointment of Amalia Mejia to the Police Oversight Commission won four votes to three and still failed, because the city's own code requires five votes for that appointment.
▶ Check this moment · 50:47
2.9 hours
19 agenda items
16 located in video
78% attributed to a named speaker
Brief
What happened
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
- 01
Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza said he could not support her because he believed she had shown an anti-police bias; Councilmember Lopez said the council was holding one commissioner to a standard it did not apply to others.
▶42:46Explore this issue
Related agenda item 7Open agenda item →Appoint and Re-Appoint Various Boards and Commissions Members Nominated by Councilmember Hernandez as the Ward 5 Representative for…
Member positions
Phil BacerraVoted no50:47Voted against the reappointment; the clerk recorded his no vote in the tally.
David PenalozaVoted no42:46Said the commission must be impartial and that in his view she had shown a clear anti-police bias.
Thai Viet PhanVoted yes50:47Recorded as an aye by arithmetic: the clerk named three noes on a four to three vote of seven members.
Benjamin VazquezVoted yes49:01Described her as a respected resident of his ward whom he had previously appointed to a commission.
Jessie LopezVoted yes47:24Seconded it and objected to holding one commissioner to a standard not applied to others.
Johnathan Ryan HernandezVoted yes43:45Moved the reappointment and said the exchange showed why the oversight commission exists.
- 02
The council reopened an ordinance banning contracts to officials' family members, widened it to stop former staff taking city work for a year, and had to restart it at first reading because the change was substantive.
▶53:56Explore this issue
Related agenda item 14Open agenda item →Agreements with Akel Engineering Group, Inc., Cannon Corporation, EEC Environmental, Huitt-Zollars, Inc., JIG Consultants…
No named councilmember contribution could be reliably linked to this item.
- 03
A proposal to formally oppose new regional air quality rules on gas appliances was dropped without a vote after most members called it premature.
▶1:03:32Explore this issue
Related agenda item 13Open agenda item →Agreement with IDS Group for Architectural Design Services for Santa Ana Downtown Parking Structures Improvements (Project No.…
What councilmembers said
Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.
Johnathan Ryan HernandezCouncilmember46:18that is a step toward creating safety is educating our neighbors to the rights that they are afforded And that's what this is. This is a democratic process. And I'm going to disagree respectfully with my colleagues because Amalia Mejia's opinion is welcomed at…
Jessie LopezCouncilmember48:03of the city or the ethics and code of conduct of the city. So again, let me make myself perfectly clear. Staff came to this body and said, you have an issue, this commission is compromised. The city manager's office, the city attorney's office gave this body…
David PenalozaCouncilmember42:46yeah thank you mayor i just wanted to simply state my opposition uh to 7.5 to the reappointment of the police oversight commissioner i cannot in good conscience support the reappointment to the police oversight commission the commission is meant to ensure…
Valerie AmezcuaMayor42:36That's perfect. Everybody's okay with that? We're fine with that. Madam City Clerk, thank you very much. if you commissioners if you can hold off one second all right item 7.5 please councilman
- 04
A work study on parking found the city loses money running its meters and structures, and members disagreed about who should carry the cost of fixing that.
▶1:38:30Explore this issue
Related agenda item 16Open agenda item →Final adoption: Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana Amending Chapter 2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code by Adding…
What councilmembers said
Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.
Phil BacerraCouncilmember1:43:46didn't bring any nickels or quarters and um i saw the the little sign underneath it that said no you can use the app to pay for the parking which was a major convenience i think though we do have to recognize that while i think overwhelming majority of folks…
Valerie AmezcuaMayor1:47:49Thank you. Just to answer your question really quick. How many spaces are in Spurgeon structure 648, Birch structure 396, Main structure 364?
How this brief was made
The current summaries were prepared during an in-session review of the transcripts. This prototype shows only sentences with a timestamp citation. 1 uncited sentence was withheld from this page.
Focus
Where they differed
Splits in votes or reasoning
A majority of the council voted to reappoint Amalia Mejia to the Police Oversight Commission, but the appointment failed because the city's code requires five affirmative votes and she received four. The division was about whether she had shown bias against police, or was being singled out.
Said rules seem to apply only to certain people, citing earlier matters where she felt standards had differed.
Voted against the reappointment; the clerk recorded his no vote in the tally.
Said the commission must be impartial and that in his view she had shown a clear anti-police bias.
Recorded as an aye by arithmetic: the clerk named three noes on a four to three vote of seven members.
Described her as a respected resident of his ward whom he had previously appointed to a commission.
Seconded it and objected to holding one commissioner to a standard not applied to others.
Moved the reappointment and said the exchange showed why the oversight commission exists.
Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza wanted the city to oppose proposed regional rules on gas appliances. Most of his colleagues thought it too early to take a position while the rules were still being written. No vote was taken.
Called it premature, since the air district was still revising the rules and the final language did not exist.
Said the air district's analysis was extensive and that some claims in the request did not match what had actually been submitted.
Was reluctant to submit a resolution either way on a fluid situation.
Was not in support at that time but open to it returning later.
Argued the rules would impose significant costs on homeowners and renters and wanted a formal resolution of opposition.
Agenda
Every item
19 items in agenda order
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Certificates of Recognition presented by Mayor Amezcua to Santa Ana High School Boys and Girls Wrestling Teams for their Exceptional…
- A ceremonial presentation of certificates or a proclamation.48:28
Ceremonial Presentations
Not located Certificate of Recognition presented by Councilmember Hernandez to Tyrone Tripp and the Tripp Family in honor of Black History Month…
- A ceremonial presentation of certificates or a proclamation.48:28
Ceremonial Presentations
▶48:28 Proclamation presented by Councilmember Lopez to Santa Ana Unified School District declaring February 19, 2025, as “We Care Day”
- A ceremonial presentation of certificates or a proclamation.48:28
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Excused Absences
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Minutes from the Regular Meeting of February 4, 2025
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Minutes of the Regular Meetings of Arts and Culture Commission on November 21, 2024, Workforce Development Board on July 18, 2024…
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶1:28:24 Appoint and Re-Appoint Various Boards and Commissions Members Nominated by Councilmember Hernandez as the Ward 5 Representative for…
- Most of the appointments passed with the consent calendar, but the reappointment of Amalia Mejia to the Police Oversight Commission was pulled out and voted on separately.40:17
- Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza said he could not in good conscience support her, arguing the commission is meant to be impartial and that she had shown a clear anti-police bias.42:46
- Councilmember Hernandez supported her and said the debate showed exactly why the oversight commission was created.43:45
- Councilmember Lopez said the council was singling out one commissioner while holding others to a different standard.47:24
- Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez, who had appointed her to an earlier commission, described her as a respected resident of his ward and a doctoral candidate.49:01
- Four members voted to reappoint her and three against — the mayor, Councilmember Penaloza and Councilmember Bacerra.50:47
- The clerk then explained that this appointment needs a supermajority of five votes, so the motion failed despite winning a majority.53:26
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Workforce Development Board Bylaws
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Application to the California Workforce Development Board to Request Governor Approval to Continue as a Career Services Provider for…
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶41:31 Purchase Order Contract to Magnet Forensics, LLC for Digital Forensic Annual License Subscription (Specification No. 25-018)…
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Purchase Order Contracts with Action Plumbing Supply, LLC, Famcon Pipe & Supply, Inc., and Ferguson Enterprises, LLC for Copper…
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Purchase Order Contracts with Fil-Trek Corporation, Pure Process Filtration Inc., and Vytal Filtration Technologies-West for…
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶41:36 Agreement with IDS Group for Architectural Design Services for Santa Ana Downtown Parking Structures Improvements (Project No.…
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.41:36
Consent Calendar
▶41:36 Agreements with Akel Engineering Group, Inc., Cannon Corporation, EEC Environmental, Huitt-Zollars, Inc., JIG Consultants…
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.41:36
Consent Calendar
▶1:24:16 Cooperative Agreement with Orange County Transportation Authority for the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study (Project No.…
- Routine business, approved together with the rest of the consent calendar without separate discussion.1:24:16
Consent Calendar
▶1:38:31 Final adoption: Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana Amending Chapter 2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code by Adding…
- This ordinance, banning the city from awarding contracts or grants to the immediate family of the mayor, councilmembers or city officials, was due for its final reading.53:56
- Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza pulled it to add a "revolving door" rule stopping former city employees from taking city work for a year after they leave.53:56
- The city attorney said the existing revolving-door rules cover only elected officials and senior staff, not all employees.55:24
- Councilmember Phan asked that it apply only to full-time staff, so that a student who had interned part-time would not be shut out.55:47
- The city attorney drafted the new wording during the meeting and read it into the record.58:10
- She also confirmed it would not apply retroactively to contracts already approved, and an exception was added for retired staff brought back under state pension rules.1:01:29
- Because the change was substantive, the ordinance had to go back to a first reading rather than being adopted; it passed seven votes to none and returns at the next meeting.1:02:47
Public Hearing Public Comments
Not located Public Hearing for Five-Year Economic Development Subsidy Reports for TACenergy and THRIVE Santa Ana, LLC
No cited discussion summary was prepared. The title above is a shortened version of the official agenda record.
Councilmember Requested Items
▶1:47:59 Discuss and consider directing the City Manager to direct city staff to bring back the attached Resolution for Council consideration…
- Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza asked the council to oppose proposed regional rules affecting gas water heaters and furnaces, arguing they would impose significant costs on homeowners and renters.1:03:32
- Councilmember Phan said the proposal was premature because the air district was still changing the rules and the final wording did not yet exist.1:11:49
- Councilmember Hernandez said he was not in support at that time but would back bringing it again later.1:15:00
- Councilmember Bacerra agreed it was premature to take a position either way on a moving target.1:15:15
- Councilmember Lopez said the air district had done extensive data-based analysis and that some of the information in the request did not match what the district had actually submitted.1:19:34
- Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez asked staff to publish information about existing rebates and grants for residents who want to switch appliances voluntarily.1:18:54
- Councilmember Penaloza said for the record that the rules would not force anyone to replace a working appliance.1:23:54
- No vote was taken; staff were left to follow the rules as they develop.1:23:43
Work Study Session
▶2:10:30 Work Study Session for Parking Enterprise Fund 27
- Staff presented a study of the city's parking meters and structures, which was pulled out of the budget for its own discussion.1:26:10
- Councilmember Bacerra said the city has managed to lose money collecting parking revenue, and questioned charging less for prime kerbside spaces than for structures.1:38:30
- Staff put the cost at about 1.5 million dollars a year for meters and 2.1 million for the structures, plus 705,000 dollars for the downtown clean and safe programme.1:39:21
- Mayor Pro Tem Vazquez said he did not want downtown businesses carrying a three million dollar shortfall.1:48:09
- The mayor said the city has been in the red too long and that she would support an option that generates revenue.1:53:45
- The city manager clarified that parking revenue is spent citywide rather than only downtown.1:57:45
- Councilmember Phan said the city had subsidised downtown businesses for four years and was not fully persuaded by either option on the table.2:03:42
- Councilmember Lopez asked again for an update on the parking contract, saying downtown businesses continue to report they are unhappy with it.2:08:25
- No decision was taken; staff were asked to come back with options.2:03:42
Full transcript
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