Some recent campaign ads have claimed that Santa Ana Councilwoman Jessie Lopez “gave herself” a 600% raise. The reality is more complicated. In 2024, Lopez voted with the Santa Ana City Council to place Measure FF on the ballot, a proposed charter amendment that would have changed how City Council and mayoral compensation was calculated that was brought forth by Councilmembers Phil Bacerra and Thai Viet Phan. But the Council could not simply give itself that raise: the measure had to go before Santa Ana voters for approval. The official voter guide made clear that a “YES” vote was required to approve the proposed increase, while a “NO” vote would leave the existing charter provision unchanged. Lopez argued that Santa Ana voters needed to be the ones to vote on the increase and the idea of having full-time councilmembers or keeping things as they were.
So what would Measure FF actually have done? At the time, Santa Ana councilmembers were paid $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year. Measure FF proposed tying council compensation to 33% of the salary of an Orange County Superior Court judge, which would have resulted in an annual salary of $78,698.07. That’s where the “600% raise” figure comes from, but describing it as Jessie Lopez simply giving herself a 600% raise leaves out the most important part: it was a ballot measure that Santa Ana voters, not Jessie Lopez, ultimately decided. Santa Ana voters opted to keep compensation the same.
Read more at truth.votejessielopez.com
