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Santa Ana City Councilmember Johanathan Hernandez has announced his candidacy for the 68th State Assembly District. He was just reelected to Ward 5 in the November City Council election and is already plannint to bail on his consitutents mere weeks into his new term.
Santa Ana voters will have a stark choice in the election for the 68th Assembly District as another Santa Ana City Councilmember, David Penaloza, has also announced his assembly campaign. Penaloza, whose father was killed by a drunk driver, is an ardent supporter of law enforcement while Hernandez, who grew up in gangs, wants to defund the police.
A majority of Santa Ana voters, fed up with crime, voted for Prop. 36 in the November General Election. Prop. 36 promises to jail repeat theft suspects and druggies who continue to cause problems in our community. Penaloza supported Prop. 36 and of course Hernandez, who always sides with the criminals, did not.
Hernandez claims that he is a community health worker but he did not go to college and he has no formal training in health, per his Linkedin page.
Penaloza earned his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Los Angeles, per his Linkedin page.
Penaloza is a businessman who has worked for the same Orange County company for the last 16 years. In addition to his City Council service, David is currently the Vice President for the League of California Cities-Orange County Division and serves as the Vice-Chair for the Transportation Corridor Agencies. He also previously served as the large city representative for the Orange County Housing Finance Trust, a Joint Powers Authority dedicated to making resources available to address the homelessness and affordability crisis.
Hernandez has held five jobs since 2019.
Penaloza has the support of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Assemblymember Avelino Valencia (the incumbent in the 68th Assembly District) and Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua.
Hernandez is endorsed by Santa Ana Councilmember Benjamin Vasquez, who was just soundly thrashed in last year’s Santa Ana mayoral election, by the incumbent Mayor, Valerie Amezcua.
The 68th Assembly District includes portions of the cities of Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Orange, as well as unincorporated areas of Orange County.
Hernandez and Penaloza are both registered Democrats.
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