Signatures filed for recall of Anaheim councilmember

People hoping to oust Natalie Rubalcava from her seat on the Anaheim City Council said Wednesday that they’ve gathered more than 9,000 signatures in support of their cause — nearly double the number they say they need — paving the way for a possible recall election.

The city clerk and then the Orange County Registrar of Voters will review those signatures before a possible recall can move forward. Proponents need just over 5,100 signatures from registered voters to initiate a recall election.

Rubalcava was elected in November 2022 to a four-year term representing District 3 in central Anaheim. The recall is backed by Unite Here Local 11, which created Measure A, the hotel and event center worker minimum wage proposal that voters rejected in October. 

The union, in a prepared statement, pointed to details revealed in an independent investigation of alleged corruption at city hall as the reason to recall Rubalcava. That report, in part, criticized Rubalcava for directing a city staffer to work with the Orange County Business Council, for which she previously worked, an action that investigators said would be a violation of the city’s charter.

“Our members are fighting to clean up Anaheim’s politics, and councilmember Rubalcava is connected to a corrupt cabal and has been criticized by the City’s corruption investigators. The recall process exists to remedy this exact kind of situation,” said Kurt Petersen, a co-president of Unite Here Local 11.

Rubalcava also drew the union’s ire last year when she opposed Measure A, which would have set the minimum wage for hotel and event center workers in the city to $25 an hour.

Rubalcava called the recall effort “an unnecessary distraction and a waste of time and public money.”

“Too often, recalls are used as political weapons to override the will of voters and take away their voice, and that is what is happening here,” she said in a prepared statement. “Recalls should be reserved for severe cases, not policy differences or political games. We all need to respect our election process and cherish the democratic system we have.”

Rubalcava said she was elected to serve four years and “not for some arbitrary period picked by the outside interests behind this misleading recall effort.”

A notice of intent to circulate a recall petition was filed with the city clerk in August. Two other political committees, in support of Rubalcava, have been formed to defeat any potential recall, according to filings with the city clerk’s office.

It’s unclear how much a recall election might cost Anaheim taxpayers. Based on timing, a recall vote can’t be included on the November ballot, according to city spokesperson Mike Lyster, and the council could schedule one for sometime this summer.

Measure A was a citywide special election that cost $1.6 million. Rubalcava’s recall would be just for her district. She won her 2022 election with 5,437 votes, with her opponent garnering 3,971.

Source: Orange County Register