Lopez Recall: Some Cheer, Some Question

The recall election spoke volumes about the good people of Santa Ana. The overwhelming majority of voters that removed Nativo Lopez from the school board must have been far more impressed with the integrity and leadership of Supt. Al Mijares than they were with the self-serving and divisive performance of Lopez.

While Mijares was willing to put his job on the line to reveal the shady and questionable ethical dealings of Lopez and fellow school board member John Palacio, Lopez was claiming endorsements he never received, such as Sheriff Michael S. Carona’s, and crying the same race-baiting messages he always hides behind.

Did Lopez not realize the citizens of Santa Ana could easily differentiate which of the two men was more honorable, and thus believable? Did he really think the parents of Santa Ana would sit idly by and watch him dismantle the district while he dressed his personal agenda in “It’s for the kids”? Lopez seems to be out of touch with the vast majority of Santa Ana’s citizens.

Mijares’ challenge of school board members was unprecedented. I’m proud to serve a man of such unquestionable integrity and the community.

Ronald Thrash

Santa Ana teacher

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In 1986, Measure C (not the school bond) was presented to the electorate of Santa Ana to introduce a ward system that would enable Santa Ana voters to directly elect city leaders. A racially tainted campaign was used to intimidate voters. Some of the fliers called Lopez the “radical leader of the gang of illegals” that wanted to take over Santa Ana.

Just two years later, the Republican Party placed security guards to intimidate Latino voters in Santa Ana polling stations. In 1992, a political action committee related to the Santa Ana Police Department produced fliers characterizing Latino youths as gang members and criminals. Even our mayor jumped on the bandwagon by supporting Proposition 187, which would have deprived illegal immigrant children of a public education.

Leading the charge against Lopez was none other than Ron Unz, the Northern California multimillionaire who spearheaded Proposition 227, the anti-bilingual education initiative. Why did Unz decide to invest more than $120,000 in this battle against a local community activist?

This part of Orange County may seem like the hole in the GOP’s doughnut, with Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Assemblyman Lou Correa and state Sen. Joe Dunn, all Democrats, representing the area. This only happened because thousands of newly naturalized citizens were mobilized. The main force behind this transformation was Lopez’s Hermandad Mexicana Nacional.

The recall group financed by Unz accused Lopez of subverting the dismantling of bilingual education in Santa Ana. The reality is that 90% of the children are in English-only programs. This is astounding given that 92% of the students are Latino and 70% are not fluent in English.

The board also successfully pushed for a $145-million school construction bond. It doubled the number of students attending its successful and popular fundamental schools. It approved charter schools in the arts, medical professions and science.

So what was this recall about? Was it about quality education? Was it about bilingual education?

It was about dismantling a movement that has developed a mobilized citizenry that spoke truth to power in Santa Ana. This election turned the clock back to the time when the only Latinos elected were those who depended on the power structure that maintained Santa Ana as one of the most segregated cities in Southern California.

Howard O. Kieffer

Santa Ana