Catherine Alvarez recall election set for Jan. 31, 2023

Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez protests outside a home in Whittier. (Photo by Eric Pierce)

DOWNEY — The recall election of Catherine Alvarez will take place on Jan. 31 next year.

The city council scheduled the special election at their meeting Tuesday, following the successful collection and verification of the 3,471 District 3 signatures needed to send the recall to ballot. In total, more than 4,500 signatures were submitted.

Whether Alvarez is recalled or not it will not come cheaply for the city, potentially costing the city over $1 million over the current and next fiscal year.

January’s special election will cost Downey taxpayers $571,000. Should Alvarez be removed, $571,000 more in the upcoming fiscal year will also need to be spent on an election to find her replacement

To try to circumvent these costs, there were calls Tuesday – both by residents in attendance and Councilwoman Claudia Frometa – for Alvarez to resign.

However, under the California elections code, the recall would need to proceed regardless whether Alvarez resigned due to the recall petition already having been filed.

This marks the first time the city of Downey will see a recall election.

Recallers have said that they have pursued Alvarez’s removal due to her failure to disclose her criminal history – which include welfare fraud, lying under oath, and shoplifting from the Michael’s Craft store at the Downey Landing - when she ran for her seat in 2020. They say a recall election would allow for residents of District 3 to make a more informed choice.

While commenting on the City Council candidates forum held last week, Councilman Mario Trujillo voiced frustration with the recall, suggesting that voters should “do their due diligence.”

“I think it’s important, in light of all the controversy we’ve seen involving the 3rd District and the recall, that we inform ourselves of who the candidates are and what they stand for. And we should ask them all those questions like, ‘Do you have a misdemeanor conviction if that’s so important to many of you, even though many of us – or at least I do – believe in redemption,” said Trujillo. “But if that’s important to you, then ask people but later don’t say 'Well, they never disclosed it,’ when you never asked.”

“Ask candidates absolutely all the questions so you can make an informed decision when you cast your vote, and perhaps that way we can avoid these entanglements with recalls that are absolutely costly to the city.”

Though silent on the matter Tuesday, Alvarez has contested that the recall is instead over matters of rent control, of which she has been an outspoken advocate for and unsuccessfully attempted to bring into the city on several occasions. She claims that the recall effort is being led by Downey’s landlords, specifically singling out former mayors Mario Guerra and Rick Rodriguez.