Voters in Anaheim’s District Three are on track to keep City Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava in office, according to the initial tally of the first recall election in OC’s largest city in over 40 years.
As of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, online results from the county Registrar of Voters showed about 54% of the 4,921 votes counted so far were against removing Rubalcava from office and about 46% were in support of her removal.
It’s a difference of 402 votes.
There are 292 estimated ballots left to process, according to the Registrar of Voters website.
[Read: Will Anaheim Recall its First City Councilmember This Century?]
Officials at the OC Registrar of Voters said there’s another ballot count update expected to be released at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday evening.
Unite Here Local 11, a union representing Southern California hotel workers, launched efforts to recall Rubalcava last year after independent investigators accused her of misconduct – something she’s publicly denied.
It also comes after the councilwoman criticized the union’s failed ballot initiative that would have increased pay for hotel employees.
Rubalcava didn’t respond to requests for comment shortly after the results were released Tuesday night.
Union officials said the election marks a step in their push for transparency.
“The voters of Anaheim have had important conversations during this recall election about what is acceptable conduct for an elected official and who they trust in office. People are paying attention to the actions of politicians who get support from rich companies,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11 in an emailed statement Tuesday night.
“Our members have fought for years to improve transparency and representation in Anaheim politics, and we will keep doing our part to hold elected officials to an unimpeachable standard.”
The union has bankrolled over $600,000 aimed at the recall, while a coalition of hoteliers, Disney, labor, public safety and public employee unions have raised over $700,000 backing the councilwoman.
[Read: Who’s Spending in the Recall Election of Anaheim Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava?]
Rubalcava 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.
Recalling Rubalcava
Efforts to launch a recall election against Rubalcava kicked off last year after a 353-page corruption investigation was released in August in which investigators alleged Disneyland resort interests exert outsized influence over city hall.
The findings echoed FBI sworn affidavits that made that same allegations in 2022.
Independent investigators expanded on those findings and also alleged that Rubalcava violated the city charter and used a contact list from an Anaheim Chamber of Commerce created-nonprofit to help her get elected.
[Read: Was an Anaheim City Hall-Funded Nonprofit Used as a Political Data Mining Operation?]
Rubalcava publicly denied the allegations last fall.
The union’s efforts to spark a recall against Rubalcava also came after she criticized a ballot initiative from Unite Here that would’ve led to an increased safety protections and minimum wage for hotel employees. The measure ultimately failed at the ballot last October.
Rubalcava introduced her own ordinance on safety measures for hotel workers without an increase in pay that city council members unanimously approved last year.
Proponents of the recall said they submitted 9,123 signatures in January – almost twice the 5,100 needed signatures to start a recall against the council woman in a district with over 26,000 voters.
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.
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