Signatures submitted for second recall attempt on Catherine Alvarez

Volunteers with the campaign to recall Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Alvarez submitted over 4,500 signatures on Thursday.

DOWNEY - Members of the recall campaign against Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Alvarez submitted signatures to the City Clerk for the second time on Thursday, after initial attempts to oust the councilmember failed by a slim margin.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office will have 30 working days to verify the number of signatures. If sufficient, the city council will then have 14 days to call a special election. Should the council fail to do so, then the county would have five days to schedule it.

According to proponents of the recall, a total of 3,471 verified signatures from within District 3 is needed, per the county. Over 4,500 were collected, 4,210 of which they say were verified as good by volunteers.

“We have it; trust me, we have it,” said volunteer Lissette Rivera. “We triple, quadruple checked. We worked late nights, meetings, we went above and beyond because we care for this community, and it’s not a personal matter, it’s about what’s right.”

Volunteers have also maintained their stance that the recall is not about policy or retribution, rather that Alvarez did not discloser her prior criminal convictions when she ran for office in 2020. Alvarez had previously faced charges of welfare fraud and shoplifting from the Michael’s Craft Store at the Downey Landing.

“In all the different cities that have issues with council people, this is a key component to being honest and transparent so that we don’t jeopardize having somebody making bad decisions or anything in line with representing us,” said volunteer Dorothy Pemberton. “Let them have a revote. If they still feel she is the right one for this position, so be it; but let’s have a revote.”

Alvarez only narrowly escaped having to face a recall election earlier this year, when organizers came just 35 signatures short.

Recall volunteers anticipate that the current batch of signatures will be verified or rejected by mid-October, with a potential election following early next year.