Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez recalled in a landslide
This story has been updated.
DOWNEY - In Downey’s first recall election in city history, Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez was successfully ousted from office by the voters of District 3.
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.
Alvarez did not respond to a Downey Patriot email asking for comment, however appeared to concede her defeat in a statement Tuesday evening, pinning blame against “Downey landlords” as she has for the last several months.
“Tonight, I was recalled because I stood up against the Downey landlords,” she wrote. “They have been getting more aggressive about evicting tenants. And now, they got their wish to evict the only tenant on the Downey City Council. They want zero representation for working class families.”
Alvarez’s statement was first reported by the Press Telegram.
Despite her claims, proponents of the recall maintained throughout their campaign that they sought to recall Alvarez because they felt she had “deceived Downey voters” when she ran for office in 2020 by not disclosing her prior criminal history.
“This recall was about fairness and accountability,” they said in a statement sent to the Patriot Tuesday evening. “Voters deserve to know if a candidate has been arrested, and in this case, Catherine Alvarez had numerous arrests that she hid from voters. She never would have been elected had District 3 residents known of her prior arrests.
“Even after taking office, Alvarez showed no inclination of a desire to change. She was cited by Code Enforcement after her son was found living on the floor of a utility room closet in her apartment building. Alvarez also voted against a Code of Ethics for the city council and said the American flag ‘brings her pain.’
Supporters of the recall stand outside the polling station at Furman Park on Tuesday. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)
“Supporters of the recall included former Mayors Rick Rodriguez, Mario A. Guerra, Alex Saab, and current mayor Claudia Frometa. The recall was organized and driven entirely by District 3 residents.
“This week’s election marks a significant day for Downey. It’s a turning point for our community, the start of restoring character and decency to the city council. Residents may not always agree on policies and ideas, but we stand united in agreement that our elected representatives should be honest, trustworthy and have Downey’s best interest at heart.”
Mayor Claudia Frometa said it was “a new day for our city.”
“The message from D-3 residents is loud and clear, character counts in this community,” she said in a statement to the Patriot. “You cannot lie, steal and defraud your way onto a position of leadership, not in Downey. Ethics and transparency matter.
“Thank you District 3 residents for taking back our Downey. A special thank you to the recall team and all those who worked tirelessly to restore our city.”
Rodriguez, whom Alvarez replaced after he opted not to run for reelection for reasons of health, called it “a great day for Downey.”
“The voters have spoken, and she’s out of office. That’s a great thing,” said Rodriguez. “It was a lot of work. We are very fortunate that our residents, you know, they stood up and they took charge. They took charge of the idea of recalling somebody that is not fit for office, and they did it.”
Voter turnout was relatively low.
According to the county registrar’s online results page, only 3,225 (just under 19%) of eligible voters cast their ballots. Of those who voted, a vast majority (2,656, or 82%) did so early via vote by mail.
Election results will still need to be certified by the county to be official, currently scheduled to happen on Feb. 10. Alvarez will then be immediately removed from office.
Alvarez’s recall does come at significant cost to the city.
Tuesday’s election cost the city $571,000. With Alvarez’s successful recall, the city will spend another $571,000 for a special election, likely to take place in November, according to a city staff report presented to the city council in October last year. Per the city’s charter, the city will not be able to appoint an interim council member in the meantime.