Progressive-backed, first time candidate and attorney Dan Shimell took the lead from police union-backed four year incumbent Valerie Amezcua in the Santa Ana Mayor’s race on Saturday night in the latest election result update.
Amezcua was the only police union-backed candidate in the city’s council races to lead her respective race since Election Night as three progressive candidates remain on track to flip Santa Ana’s ruling council majority and beat the candidates the mayor backed.
Instead, the lead flipped in favor of Shimell, who now stands at about 45% of the vote – up by 1,823 votes.
Amezcua now trails with about 42% of the vote.
Dwayne Shipp, a city commissioner, had roughly 13% of the 58,200 votes counted so far.
Shimell moved to Santa Ana in 2020
Shimell moved to Santa Ana in 2020 and ran on a platform of accountability, affordability and standing up to immigration enforcement. He has also vocally supported a free press in a city where many officials including Amezcua refuse or ignore reporters’ inquiries.
He has received support from progressive backed politicians in Santa Ana, OC Action and Chispa.
Amezcua was first elected in 2022 – the first woman elected to the role – and went on to win her 2024 reelection bid by about 15,000 votes, garnering at the time roughly 60% of the vote.
The police union spent over $110,000 to support
The police union spent over $110,000 to support her 2026 campaign. Shimell and Shipp did not receive independent expenditure support.
If the current trends continue, Shimell would join a progressive city council majority, with three police union-backed council candidates on track to lose their election to three progressive candidates in the city council races.
At least two of the police union-backed candidates have issued concession statements with the latest coming on Saturday night from Incumbent Phil Bacerra issuing a statement after publication of this story.
While this election did not turn out
“While this election did not turn out as we had hoped, my heart is filled with gratitude for everyone who believed in me,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “As this term on the Council comes to a close, I hope that the incoming Council will build upon our successes and guide Santa Ana towards a bright and prosperous future.”
His opponent, Immigrants Rights Advocate Sandra De Anda, said she was in the awe of the support she received.
“I am in awe of the overwhelming support we have received in South Santa Ana,” she wrote in a Thursday Instagram post. “It speaks to the humanity, courage, and political will of our community at a time of profound repression from the political establishment, both locally and nationally.”
During Amezcua’s tenure, the mayor and the city
During Amezcua’s tenure, the mayor and the city council faced scrutiny for agreeing to pay over $600,000 to former City Manager Kristine Ridge to settle a claim Ridge filed against the city alleging Amezcua created a hostile workplace environment for her.
In 2024, city-hired Investigators concluded that they couldn’t sustain the allegations against Amezcua.
Ridge also painted a picture of a pressure campaign by elected officials on behalf of the police union to get her to boost former union president Gerry Serrano’s pay and pension.
That wasn’t the only controversy the city faced.
In recent weeks, City Manager Alvaro Nuñez and elected officials also have faced scrutiny for refusing to answer questions about why city officials held a ribbon cutting for a new aquatic center featuring the entire city council weeks before the election when the pools were not open.
There have been demands for police accountability over
At the same time, there have been demands for police accountability over the viral violent arrest of resident Florentino Lopez and scrutiny over police arresting two immigrant advocates that were observing ICE agents last month, after the federal officers called for help.
Police and city officials – particularly Amezcua – also faced scrutiny for the department’s response to ICE protests in June 2025 when officers fired bean bags, rubber bullets and threw tear gas at peaceful protestors after responding to a request for assistance from federal agents.
In the wake of those protests, Amezcua faced demands for her resignation after she put out a statement on social media questioning the futility of the protests and calling them “pure violence” and “destruction” of property and the city.
She also doubled down on those remarks
She also doubled down on those remarks in an ABC7 interview when she said she “is not about photo ops. I’m not going to stand up and raise my arm and give my Chicano – you know – fist pump because it makes me look good.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him athelattar@voiceofoc.org.
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