ARTS & ECONOMIC PROSPERITY:
Santa Ana is the geographic center of Orange County, a global hub for creative production and design. Creative Industries generate over a million jobs and billions in wages throughout California, yet Santa Ana has not tapped into these vibrant regional industries. Digital Media & Creative Industries also earn far higher than any other local option and provide an excellent opportunity for our city to invest in becoming the much-needed diverse workforce for this thriving regional economy.
KEY STUDIES:
- Otis Report
- Otis Southern California Focus –
- Arts & Economic Prosperity –
TOURISM & TECHNOLOGY:
Santa Ana is located between Disneyland and the best beaches in Orange County and should be leveraging its historic assets better. To tap into this lucrative industry, that draws millions of visitors from all over the world, quality of experience is key. Art Markets, Music Festivals, Culinary Excursions, Cultural Celebrations and the Cannabis industry are growing areas of revenue for our city that draw thousands of visitors. For a city with an airport & a train station, we could be doing so much more business. City technology also needs an upgrade, with investment in dark fiber, a data center and incentives for employing local residents
21ST CENTURY EDUCATION:
Creative Industries and Technology are poised to transform our county. Santa Ana will either be at the crest of that wave or pulled under. Unable to import in foreign workers, tech companies are hungry for diverse talent. The building trades are also looking for workers to keep up with regional demand. These are great opportunities to offer targeted workforce training for certification in trade skills, judicial careers, coding, design and an update to our school curriculum.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION:
Santa Ana is one of the oldest cities in California and has a wealth of historic resources. Its important to preserve and promote our historic assets, which are reflected in our architecture, music, food, festivals, businesses, diversity and traditions. These treasures can bring our residents a world of wealth, belonging and opportunity if we leverage their presence for increased film/tv production, tourism, placemaking and connection to the history all around us.
QUALITY OF LIFE:
Quality of Life affects all of Santa Ana’s residents. We must prioritize the safety and comfort of our community by encouraging more housing options, innovative zoning and walkability. As the County seat, we’ve carried more than our share of the County’s housing burden. Sandra proposes leveraging regional resources, a carve-out from cannabis and local partnerships to address our housing challenges, encouraging the development of dignified dwellings for all.
YOUTH:
Santa Ana is one of the youngest cities in America. Having half of our population in K-12 instruction provides a valuable opportunity to upgrade our resident’s earning potential. Investing in K-12 STEAM education and Information Technology, Trade certification and Digital Media training for our transitional-age youth will pay off in rich dividends. Currently, Sandra is planning the City’s first Youth Summit in the hopes of building a vibrant network for career development & community involvement.
LGBT COMMUNITY:
Sandra has been a longtime ally of the LGBT community. She hosted an AIDs-Ride fundraiser at her infamous DTLA loft and Associate Produced the hit indie Queer feature, “East Side Story,” a Romeo & Julio story of Love in East LA. Since LGBT youth comprise over 60% of the homeless youth population, Sarmiento proposes designating them a special class so that designated housing can be built to accommodate this vulnerable group. She also supports festive & safety-driven placemaking initiatives to make Santa Ana a more LGBT-friendly environment.
SENIORS:
Orange County has long been a retirement destination. Safety and sustainability is important so that our seniors can enjoy our beautiful weather and neighborly city. Sandra wants to create more opportunities for inter-generational community-building through festivals, health activities, art-making, historic preservation and placemaking. She will address housing instability by encouraging co-operative living, creating elder activity hubs and developing sustainable long-term alternatives for elder renters.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
Santa Ana has been winging it for too long. We need to install a data & business-friendly infrastructure to power our vitality well into the 21st century.
- — Invest in having Dark Fiber installed on all of our major arterials
- — Finance a City-owned data-center to ensure secure service
- — Repurpose the City jail into a Data/Tech startup center
When elected as your Councilwoman, I will:
- — Invest in having Dark Fiber installed on all of our major arterials
- — Finance a City-owned data-center to ensure secure service
- — Repurpose the City jail into a Data/Tech startup center
- — Create at least one Base Camp Facility for increased Film & TV Production
- — Streamline the building permit process with an online tracking system for fast & efficient service
- — Support the development of City of Santa Ana and Neighborhood brands that honor our history
- — Nurture a Sister City program to encourage interstate & international partnerships
- — Formalize a City-driven system to cultivate Creative Innovation, Education & Investment
- — Create revenue-earning vehicles to fund ongoing Public Art and Amenities in the City
- — Establish designated food truck & ambulant vendor hubs that have adequate lighting and services
- — Install public art & amenities in every ward of the city paired with placemaking activities
- — Support a Historic Banner Project to designate Cultural Corridors all over the City
- — Convene Citywide Arts Stakeholders to apply for and win a California Cultural Districts designation
- — Empower creation of an Arts, Culture, Tourism & Visitors Bureau to win a Brand USA designation
- — Promote the SAPD app to encourage increased resident engagement in the snapchat age
- — Promote the SAPD app to encourage increased resident engagement in the snapchat age