By: Alex Dominguez| Downey Patriot
DOWNEY – In Downey’s first recall election in city history, Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez was successfully ousted from office by the voters of District 3. This was their second attempt to recall her.
Early results from the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office showed Alvarez overwhelmingly behind in the polls, with over 2,900 (over 90%) votes for her removal.
At the time of writing, Alvarez had only mustered 318 votes in favor of her retention.
According to the local website Downey Latino News, Alvarez was recalled due to her not fully disclosing prior convictions despite an outside law firm finding she was not in violation of state election laws.
Recall supporters argue, in the official ballot argument, that voters were intentionally misled by Alvarez about her “criminal past” when she was elected to represent District 3 in 2020 and that she “took away their ability to make an informed decision.”
Alvarez received two misdemeanor convictions related to welfare fraud in 2014 and a misdemeanor petty theft conviction in 2013. Felony charges against Alvarez in relation to the welfare fraud case were reduced to a misdemeanor following a guilty plea.
EXPLAINER: Recall Election in District 3
“I represent working-class families. I think all working-class families go through something. It could be a ticket; it could be stealing something from the store just because they couldn’t afford it. I don’t think they should criminalize my poverty,” said Alvarez. “I paid all the money (back), I paid my dues.”
According to their site, the recall was funded in part by real estate lobbyists, including California Real Estate Independent Expenditure Committee. Alvarez was president of the Downey Tenants Union who ran on a campaign of stronger rent protections.
The New York Times has dubbed Downey the “Latino Beverly Hills“.
Donors include: Ronald A. Kolar, founder and chief executive officer of the L’Abri Organization, a large property management company in Downey ($900); Atlantic Properties ($500); Reliable Group Property Management ($2,500); and the California Real Estate Political Action Committee, the campaign contribution arm of the influential California Association of Realtors (CAR), which donated $4,000 to both the current and earlier recall effort.
Cartozian Associates Real Estate donated $1,000 to the pro-recall campaign; Guerra, who owns rental property in Huntington Park, donated $1,000; Saab, an attorney and member of the Downey Association of Realtors (DAOR), donated $900; and Rodriguez, who owns rental property in Downey, and his wife Lupe donated $1,000.
In accordance with state law, a replacement election will be held at the next regularly scheduled election date on Nov. 7. In accordance with the city charter, the council will not be able to appoint an interim councilmember to represent District Three between Alvarez’s removal and the election of her successor, meaning the seat will remain empty until Nov. The replacement councilmember will then be up for re-election at the end of Alvarez’s term in Nov. 2024.
