Some Turned Away at Mayor’s In-City Speech

Mayor Miguel A. Pulido Jr. took pains to point out that he was in Santa Ana, not Irvine, as he gave his state of the city address Wednesday.

A flap had erupted last week over news that the early morning speech would be held in Irvine at the Orange County Airport Hilton.

Amid the criticism, the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the speech, switched locations to the Turnip Rose banquet room in Santa Ana.

“I want to thank the chamber for that great publicity stunt,” Pulido joked Wednesday. “[The speech] belongs here, but it also points out, we need more large facilities.”

The chamber had originally scheduled the speech for Irvine, citing a lack of local venues for a formal breakfast affair for about 250 people.

Other Santa Ana locales besides hotels might have been able to cater the breakfast, but they were not chamber members, said Mike Metzler, the chamber president.

Metzler stood by the chamber’s reasoning Wednesday, pointing out that although the speech ended up in Santa Ana, some people had to be turned away.

About 200 guests filled the tables, while a handful stood in the back of the room.

In his speech, Pulido acknowledged that Orange County’s largest city has some problems, but highlighted what he believes were successful partnerships among the city, the schools, the businesses and others.

One example was zoning laws that helped convert the downtown Santora building into a bustling home for artists’ studios.

Marie Moreno, who attended the mayor’s half-hour speech, said she agreed with his comments, especially those concerning the need for cooperation.

“I think he addressed the issues that are important to Santa Ana and the nearby communities,” she said, later adding, “A lot of communities are bringing down their walls and working together.”