Tim Shaw has resigned his seat on the Orange County Board of Education in order to avoid costly incompatible offices litigation by an close ally of a political opponent.  However, Shaw could very possibly be re-appointed to the 4th District seat in the near future. The litigation was filed in in January of this year by Melissa Louden, a friend ...

Just as athletes are supposed to leave it all on the field, political candidates (leastways, competent ones) aren’t supposed to finish the election with full campaign treasuries. Unspent campaign funds are useless once the voting stops. Yet, according to her end-of-the-year campaign report, District 4 council candidate Annemarie Randle-Trejo still had $6,185 cash-on-hand after Election Day.  Keep in mind, she ...

Remarks delivered by new Anaheim Councilman Avelino Valencia following his swearing in as representative of District 4: Good evening Anaheim. It is an honor to stand here before you. I would like to thank God, my wife Monica, my parents – Avelino, Olivia –  and my brother, Alejandro, for accompany me this evening, as well as expressed my appreciation to ...

We have just come through a test — and triumph — of our local democracy. As coronavirus challenged voting this year, Orange County’s democracy emerged stronger, with a smooth election and nearly 90% turnout, the highest in half a century. In Anaheim, Orange County’s largest and most prominent city, voters sent a clear message of support for our city’s ongoing ...

The Anaheim City Council elections are over, and as noted earlier, candidates supporting of economic growth and law enforcement swept the races in council districts 1, 4 and 5: Jose Diaz defeated Councilwoman Denise Barnes in District 1 by 42% to 37%; Avelino Valencia dispatched his opponents with 50% of the vote; Councilman Steve Faessel won re-election with 52% of ...

Marilyn Anderson, a long-time Placentia resident, community and school volunteer, defeated political professional LaShe Rodriguez for the open Trustee Area 2 seat on the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Board of Education.  Joshua Correa, a local artist and preservationist activist, finished third. Anderson is a life-long resident of Placentia, where she has raised her family and sent them to the ...

The Anaheim City Council elections were swept by candidates supportive of economic development, law enforcement, neighborhood investment and re-opening the local economy. Council seats in Districts 1, 4 and 5 were on the ballot. In Districts 1 and 5, incumbents Denise Barnes and Steve Faessel, respectively, were seeking re-election to a second four-year term.  District 4 was open, as term ...

Election Day is here at last. While most eyes are focused on the presidential election, there’s a lot at stake in Anaheim, with elections in three council districts that will decide whether the current council majority retains control or if District 3 Councilman Jose F. Moreno controls the dais for the last two years of his term. One measure of ...

There are three candidates running this November to represent Trustee Area 2 of the Placentia Yorba-Linda Unified School District. Two of them are long-time residents with histories of community involvement.  The third is a political operative with no ties to the community who only moved into Orange County at the beginning of 2019. Area 2 includes parts of Placentia, Fullerton ...

Anaheim Independent reported last week how District 4 council candidate Annemarie Randle-Trejo has been blowing off laws governing disclosure of her campaign donors. She isn’t the only one. Over in District 5, Ken Batiste has been having trouble complying with campaign finance disclosure law. The period during which candidates are required to disclose contributions of more than $1,000 within 24 ...