Councilman blows a fuse over blog comment and threatens to F&$K me up

September 7, 2010 Uncategorized 25

It has been a while since a candidate for Orange County elected office threatened a LiberalOC blogger, four years to be exact. Then it was Tan Nguyen, who was challenging Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez in 2006. Nguyen believed that our founder Mike Lawson had been defacing his campaign signs and told Mike that he has a lot of supporters that are “passionate” and he would “hate to see anyone get hurt.”  This weekend however, this experience was kicked up a notch by Santa Ana Councilman Sal Tinajero.

I was walking from the Elks Club parking lot to the Santa Ana Zoo for the OC Labor Federation Celebration, when Sal came walking up to me yelling something about his Dad. It turns out that an anonymous commenter wrote a comment on a post about Tinajero’s campaign financing that he found objectionable. 

The comment mentioned that Tinajero’s father had been killed stealing roosters when he was a teenager. While I understand that that is a painful memory for Sal, it is backed up by this LA Times report (and here) related to the incident. The report quotes Tinajero, who was 15 at the time, saying, “My dad wouldn’t go over there to steal roosters.” That statement was contradicted by the following from a police officer at the scene. “It does not appear that he was an uninvolved bystander,”Police Sgt. Collie Provence said, pointing out that witnesses had indicated that Tinajero had a rooster in each arm when shot. 

I stopped walking and waited for Tinajero to catch up to me as he was yelling explicatives with his kids in tow. “Why are you writing lies about my dad? He was murdered, read the f&$king case.” Tinajero yelled. Through his angry ranting I was able to discern that he was talking about a comment which I quite frankly did not remember. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s my f&$king kids’ grandfather,” Tinajero exclaimed. “If you ever write about my dad, or allow a comment about him, I’ll f&$k you up!”

Sal Tinajero

Okay, this guy is a Fullerton school teacher and coach of the debate team and he can’t even reign in his anger enough to not launch into and explicative laced tirade threatening someone with physical harm in front of his little kids. Maybe politics is getting too much for him to handle. When you’re in politics people are going to say and write things you don’t like, things that may even be painful. That doesn’t mean you respond by threatening physical violence, especially since this was a comment posted that did not violate our terms of service. 

Now, I don’t really think that Councilman Tinajero actually would physically harm me (others on the blog have encouraged me to file a police report on the threat, but I have decided not to), but I’m reminded of Tan Nguyen’s admonition to Mike Lawson four years ago; “he has a lot of supporters that are Passionate” and he would “hate to see anyone get hurt.” I had no plans to ever write about a nearly 25 year old case until I was threatened by Councilman Tinajero. That happens to be the quickest way for an elected official to get me to write about something they don’t want written about. I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t, Dan Chmielewski would have.

As far as threats are concerned I probably am more worried about, one of Tinajero’s most vocal supporters, Orange Juice blogger Sean H. Mill who has threatened physical harm to several people through text, email, and in public. Mill has notorious anger management issues, which Council member Tinajerowas well aware of when he recognized Mill as a model Santa Ana resident for his service as his Planning Commissioner.  Mill recently criticized a former Santa Ana commissioner Glen Stroud for conduct at a recent candidates forum where, according to Mill, Stroud “became unhinged and hurled an “f” bomb right in front of Councilman Tinajero’s young son.” Interesting comment when given the image I remember for of Tinajero’s young son cowering behind his mother as his father launched a F-bombs in my direction.  But Mill will surely defend this since IOKWSTDI “It’s OK When Sal Tinajero Does It.”

This incident happened only a few weeks after Tinajero backed the removal of a city commissioner for allegedly bullying a student commissioner by encouraging the kid not to call people racists based upon, we believe, Mill goading the 42 year old NAMBLA-pedo-promoting School Board Candidate Art Pedroza to persuade or coerce the teenage boy into believing he had been bullied. I find it amazing that Tinajero would engage in far worse behavior, in front of his own kids.

We haven’t written a post about the case of Sal Tinajero’s father’s death until now. I wouldn’t be writing about it if I was not threatened by the Councilman.  Comments about this subject have appeared on the Orange Juice blog and on Navel Gazing.  We don’t know if Tinajero threatened editors for either blog.  Sean Mill defended the deletion of a similar comment on the Orange Juice blog as “not germaine to the post” yet there are hundreds of other examples of comments not germain to the post allowed on OJ regularly, so this comment, like the scrubbing of Tinajero supporter Judy Ware’s “Usual Suspects” card is another example of the Ministry of Truth at work (is Judy Ware a “Usual Suspect” or not?).

But since Tinajero referenced comments about his father at a recent candidate’s debate and has made public statements regarding his father’s “murder,” perhaps it’s time to revisit this as an illustration of Tinajero’s honesty and integrity.  Councilman Tinajero’s statements about the case contradict the statements of the Police Officer on the scene.  The man who shot the senior Tinajero was questioned, released, and ultimately arrested for shooting Tinajero’s father. That arrest did not contradict the circumstances that led to Tinajero’s father being “murdered” while stealing two cock-fighting roosters. We are trying to find out what ultimately happened in that case. Maybe the cock stealing issue was effectively refuted in the murder trial? Tinajero is free to provide that information if he has any other than his assertions reported in 1986.

I believe that the death of his father served as an inspiration to Councilman Tinajero to run for public office to improve his city and make the lives of people who live in Santa Ana better.  Yet there is still considerable crime in Santa Ana. Threatening to commit a crime won’t help reduce the crime rate in Santa Ana.

For political leaders and political bloggers here in Orange County, painful anonymous comments, including those which are personal attacks, are a price to pay for free speech.  This is not a Santa Ana City Council meeting where Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez can silence criticism because it is seen as a personal attack. Tinajero’s beef should be with the commenter who made the statements, not us, nor OJ nor OCWeekly.  And this is bigger than Councilman Tinajero.

25 Comments

    • Assuming all this to be true (which I have no reason to doubt), behavior like this requires not only a personal apology to Chris, but also a public apology for public buffoonery most unbecoming an elected official. Perhaps most importantly, he owes his children an apology for demonstrating vividly such a poor example of conflict resolution. Unlikely at best.

  2. Councilman Tinajero has my email address if he wants to send documentation that the man who shot his dad was convicted on murder charges. Last thing we can find via archieves is that he was arrested weeks later in connection with the shooting. But no explanation of how a trip out for cigarettes turned into a shootout near the chicken coop.

  3. And yet another violation of the worthless city of santana code of ethics and conduct. I’m sure council will blame the messanger, not the message. Get rid of fat Sal the vegetarian – vote for Helen!

      • always remember, if fat sal’s lips are moving, he is lying. autro of park santiago said in a recent post (yes, i know he lies as well) that fat sal AND fat sean are veggies and that fat sean runs in marathons – maybe he trails the runners picking up trash and loose coins.

  4. i remember that comment on here and i remember that shooting because it happened in my neighborhood i just never connected the two. sorry that he lost his father but if he was actually stealing somebodys chickens then he wasnt murdered he was shot while commiting a crime. living here there has always been chickens and roosters there still is. i myself have had chickens stolen and it’s probably one of the worst feelings ive ever experienced in my life because to some people those chickens are like your kids. i never raised roosters for fighting but many around here did and i always felt that was such a shame. i cant speak for anybody else who raises chickens but i know in my heart i wouldnt think twice about using deadly force to protect them. if tinajero’s father was in fact stealing these chickens he should come to terms with how he died and not use the word murder. and if he threatened you prevatt you should file a report with the police dept. and once again this was a great post until you started in with the nambla crap. what is it with you guys?

  5. Claudio, I would be scared because of the crazy posse that Sal has. File a report with the police.
    Thank goodess you don’t have any chickens.

    Hey Sal….Got chicken?

    • I haven’t made a comment until now. It was Chris who wrote the post. I was making a comment, but it is turning into more of a post. It is ironic that Sal is so close to Claudia when one of the reasons I began to detest her is based on a story Sal told me regarding what she was saying about his dad’s death in 2003. Turns out Chris’ links actually prove Claudia was LYING about the circumstances of Sal’s father’s death, so my respect for her is still at a near zero for saying what she said in 2003. What has me floored is how Sal could threaten Chris Prevatt for an obscure comment made on the incident on this blog by an anonymous person, but forgive and even be the closest ally of the person who maligned his father with a slanderous statement. I still hold that statement against Claudia and he wasn’t even my dad, I am shocked Sal could forgive the Wicked Witch of Washington Square.

  7. I have never seen a cockfight and know nothing about what happens in one. Are the roosters big or small? Is anything done to them to make them more aggressive? Do they fight to the death, like the dog fights Michael Vick used to run? And what happens to the loser? Chicken soup or do they get to fight again. What short of wager do people place on these fights? Are there multiple bouts or is it one rooster against new ones? The chickens at my grandmother’s farm in New York State were pretty docile; are cockfighting roosters more aggressive? And lastly, is this still a problem in Orange County? The last time I saw two roosters go at it was an amateur bout in Kauai last summer and the loser walked away

  9. By Sean H. Mill– September 7, 2010
    Miguel (Pulido)… now supports an agenda that is in line with what people such as Art Pedroza and myself want to see for our city.

    Such as lying abusive councilmembers who take donations from Judy Ware, steal tens of thousands of dollars in tax monies disguised as health care and use profanity in front of their own children.

  13. Let’s see, the guys at Orange Juice spend a month eviscerating Councilman Benavides and he reactes by ignoring them and moving forward with integrity on city matters…then one person writes a negative comment on this blog and Councilman Tinajero goes ballistic?

    And we’re supposed to support Tinajero because….??

  16. When Tinajero ran for Council team Pulido accused his father of being fatally shot because of rooster theft. Tinajero’s father was also also accused of being associated with participating in illegal rooster fights, Gangs and with the Mexican Mafia. These attacks were presented at the OC Juice Blog during that election.

    When Michele ran for council and Mayor she was also accused of being a gang member and drug dealer by team Pulido(Claudia Alvarez).

    Does this sound Familiar. This election the same political strategy from team Pulido is being used against Amezcua.

    It is the team Pulido strategy against those Hispanics they appose. Anglos they appose they label as racists.

    The disturbing thing here is that Tinajero and Michele are now members of team Pulido. This team attacks the apposition with these types of arguments as political strategy. They now do to others what was done to them through support of team Pulido.

    Prevatt was not associated with the comment about Sal’s father and was threatened with bodily harm. Team Pulido that was directly associated with attacks against Sal and his father apparently have been forgiven and now Sal participates with attacks against Amezcua, Benavides and others. apparently Michele Martinez has also followed the lead of Tinajero.

    IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE SYMPHATHY FOR TINAJERO’S POSITON AGAINST IDIVIDUALS TALKING ABOUT HIS FAMILY WHEN HE IS SO INVOLVED WITH HYPOPCRACY …….ATTACKS AGAINST OTHERS

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