The political fate of Anaheim Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava is on the ballot tonight in Orange County, where voters are about to get their first look at the results from a recall election that’s been playing out in city politics since the start of this year.
It’s the city’s first recall election in over four decades, centered on a councilwoman who’s been in office less than two years.
Ballots went out to voters on May 6, with in person vote centers opening May 25, but today is the final day to turn in a ballot to get it counted in the recall.
The first results will be released shortly after 8 p.m. according to county Registrar Bob Page.
The push for a recall was started by Unite Here Local 11, the union that represents hotel and hospitality workers in Anaheim, after independent investigators hired by the city accused the councilwoman of misconduct in a corruption probe report last summer.
[Read: Anaheim’s Own Look at City Hall Finds Disneyland Resort Businesses Improperly Steer Policymaking]
Rubalcava has publicly denied she committed any wrongdoing.
“Recall elections are supposed to be reserved for special circumstances when an office holder violates the public trust. This recall is about one LA-based organization that hasn’t gotten over losing the last election,” Rubalcava wrote to voters on the ballot. “Please stand up for Anaheim and Vote No.”
[Read: Was an Anaheim City Hall-Funded Nonprofit Used as a Political Data Mining Operation?]
She did not respond to a request for comment last week.
Rubalcava also criticized a ballot initiative from Unite Here that would’ve led to a new, higher minimum wage for hotel employees. The measure ultimately failed at the ballot last October.
It’s also been an expensive race – Unite Here has bankrolled over $600,000 aimed at the recall, while a coalition of hoteliers, Disney, labor and public safety unions have fired back in equal force.
[Read: Spending Rockets in Anaheim City Council Recall Ahead of Election Day]
Rubalcava – who raised just over $8,000 to defend herself from recall – was elected to the District Three seat in Anaheim in 2022 with over 5,400 votes and overwhelming financial support from Anaheim’s resort district interests.
[Read: Who’s Spending in the Recall Election of Anaheim Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava?]
Proponents of the recall said they submitted 9,123 signatures – almost double the 5,100 needed signatures to start a recall against the council woman in a district with over 26,000 voters.
“Natalie Rubalcava sides with the same powerful business interests who have corrupted Anaheim politics, not our residents,” proponents of the recall wrote on the ballot. “She has
wasted taxpayer money to help hotel interests.”
Martin Lopez, a recording secretary for Unite Here Local 11, said in a Thursday statement the union is fed up with the city’s “broken politics.”
“Housing costs keep rising and wages for many workers remain too low. But what has Councilmember Rubalcava done about those issues?” he said.
“The people of Anaheim deserve better.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.