Why did Santa Ana’s voters reelect a school board member who had a DUI?

Santa Ana’s voters overwhelmingly reelected SAUSD Trustee Alfonso Alvarez in the Nov. 5, general election with over 4,400 votes versus his nearest competitor, Dana Suarez, who netted 1,963 votes.

Alvarez, a two-term member of the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education, was arrested by the SAPD for drunk driving on Saturday, July 29.

The downfall of Alvarez began at 8:00 p.m. near the intersection of Grand Street and Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana, according to the SAPD. The SAPD had responded to a call from an individual asking them to come to the scene of an auto accident. Their vehicle had been struck by a driver who appeared to be intoxicated.

The SAPD sent a patrol car and their DUI unit to the accident scene. They then figured out that the intoxicated driver was Alvarez.

Yet Alvarez won easily on Nov. 5. What gives?

The power of incumbency

Alvarez has served two terms on the SAUSD School Board. As such the voters know him. He also has a doctorate degree in Education. It is awfully hard to beat incumbents as they have the name I.D. and spend a lot of time in the community as elected officials.

Poor opponents

Alvarez got lucky as his top opponent, Dana Suarez, was virtually unknown and she did not appear to spend a dime on her campaign including not buying a candidate’s statement.

His other opponent, Tamiko Anderson, is allegedly homeless and like Suarez did not invest in her campaign.

The party of DUI drivers

As it turns out Alvarez was not the only DUI Democrat in Orange County to win on Nov. 5. State Senator Dave Min won a hotly contested race to replace House Member Katie Porter, over in the 47th Congressional District.

Min was arrested by CHP officers in May of last year on suspicion of DUI and for having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. He was stopped Sacramento, less than two miles from the Capitol, according to the CHP arrest report.

Why does the Democratic Party allow DUI criminals to run for office?

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Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions.

When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.