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Zuniga, Diana From: Norma G. < Sent: Monday, March 31, 2025 8:31 PM To: eComment Subject: Selection Process Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links. Dear Mayor Amezcua and Council members, I am writing as a concerned resident of Ward 5 regarding the selection process for the Sahuayo Mural Project. As someone who cares deeply about our community and the integrity of public art funding, I find it troubling that this process has lacked transparency, fairness, and community involvement. First and foremost, I strongly believe that the recent appointment of an Arts and Culture Commissioner for Ward 5 should have automatically disqualified them from applying for this project. It is a clear conflict of interest for an individual tasked with advising on public art matters to also benefit from city -funded opportunities. This raises serious ethical concerns, and I urge the city to reconsider their inclusion in the selected lineup of artists. Additionally, there was no community input in the artist selection process. Public art is meant to reflect the voices, culture, and history of our city, yet the residents of Ward 5 and Santa Ana as a whole were given no opportunity to weigh in on who would be representing our city in this binational collaboration. This lack of engagement is extremely disappointing and does not align with the principles of inclusivity and community - driven decision -making that public art should uphold. Another pressing concern is that $49,000 in public art funds is being allocated to an artist based in Florida. Santa Ana is home to an incredible pool of talented artists who understand our city's history, culture, and identity. There is no justification for sending these taxpayer -funded dollars out of state when there are more than enough qualified artists right here in our own community. This completely disregards the mission of investing in and uplifting local talent. Given these serious issues a conflict of interest, a lack of community involvement, and the misallocation of public funds, I strongly urge the city to redo the artist selection process in a way that ensures: 1) A fair and transparent selection process, including the disclosure of scoring criteria. 2) The exclusion of individuals with conflicts of interest, such as appointed commissioners. 3)Active community involvement, allowing residents to participate in selecting the artists who will represent our city. 4) A commitment to prioritizing local artists, ensuring that public art funds remain within Santa Ana to benefit our own creative community. I hope that these concerns will be taken seriously and that corrective action will be taken to uphold the integrity of the Sahuayo Mural Project. I look forward to hearing how the city intends to address these issues.