Montebello Mayor Vanessa Delgado
By Brian Hews
Vanessa Delgado, just weeks after she was appointed Mayor of Montebello, has pulled papers to run against State Senator Tony Mendoza in November.
“I am seriously considering it,” Delgado told the L.A. Times, “we’re unrepresented.”
Delgado was alluding to Mendoza’s Jan. 3 forced leave of absence from Sacramento while a sexual harassment investigation is ongoing by the State Senate.
The Senate investigation is scheduled to wrap up in the near future but Delgado is not wasting any time, as there are rumors other candidates will jump in the race to take advantage of Mendoza’s alleged harassment scandal.
It was ironic that Delgado used the word “unrepresented” in referring to Senator Mendoza
A 2015 Hews Media Group-Community News investigation found that Delgado moved into Montebello, just months before the City’s election, so she could run for council; many in Montebello were calling Delgado a “carpetbagger” and did not feel she represented them.
At the time, Delgado was touting herself as a “Montebello home owner and a product of the local community.”
A truer statement would have been, “Montebello home owner for less than a year.”
The investigation found that Delgado bought the home in mid-2014, moving from Pico Rivera.
The investigation also found that she waited nine months to register to vote under her new address, coming just weeks before the state mandated deadline to register to run for City Council.
What was more even questionable, HMG-CN found that Delgado had personal ties with the Calderon family, and in particular with former California Assemblyman Tom Calderon, who, along with his brother Ron, pled guilty in federal corruption cases.
Ron was sentenced to 42 months in prison; Tom was sentenced to one year.
The relationship with Tom Calderon was discovered via a campaign flyer where Ms. Delgado listed the location of her June 11, 2015 fundraiser as the “Delgado Residence” at 412 N. 10th Street, Montebello, Ca. 90640.
A search on the address revealed the house was owned by Tom Calderon, sold to Ms. Delgado on August 8, 2014 for $555,000, well under market value in the area.
When questioned by email about purchasing the house from Tom Calderon, Delgado responded, “my broker did the entire transaction, I had no idea who the owner was.”
She also recently told that to the L.A. Times’ Patrick McGreevy.
But in another email she contradicted herself and indicated she knew Calderon owned the house saying, “I did buy my current home in Montebello from Mr. Tom Calderon, I actually never met Mr. Calderon.”
Finally, after a series of emails, Delgado admitted she knew the home was owned by Tom Calderon telling HMG-CN that, “he (Tom Calderon) had not lived in the home for some time.”
Delgado never responded to questions about the price she paid for the house, which, at the time, was undervalued compared to other homes in the area.
To the surprise of many, Delgado won her Council seat, with many residents crying foul in relation to the election.
I dont even. Think she lives there . I live on the next block and home is always empty no car parked there.
I live on 10th Street and seldom see any vehicle, lights on, or sign of life at the supposed home. This woman does not live there. Another story used to get ahead. Typical of these affirmative action/DACA recipientes with a sobb story to tell. “Passion for affordable housing”, please Degado. Peddle that story somewhere else.