A union-led effort to oust Anaheim City Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava has failed, according to unofficial vote tallies from the Orange County Registrar of Voters. In a special election last Tuesday, 54% of voters rejected the bid to oust the first-term member.
The recall was spearheaded by Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers in Southern California. Rubalcava, a centrist Democrat, drew the union’s ire when she opposed its failed ballot initiative to raise hotel worker pay to $25 an hour. She also supported a massive expansion of the Disneyland Resort despite some residents’ misgivings about the project. That added to critics’ perceptions that she is a puppet of large corporations.
However, Unite Here says it was an independent corruption investigation that lit the final fuse and sparked the recall. The review concluded that Rubalcava had violated the City Charter by directing city staff to work with the OC Business Council, where she was previously employed. It also found she was “less than candid” about accusations contained in an FBI affidavit. The feds accused her of using a database from Chamber-affiliated Anaheim First to help her campaign.
Opponents tried to capitalize on that during the recall campaign, branding her “Natalie Rubal-cabal” — a reference to the corrupt cabal that FBI investigators have accused of controlling Anaheim’s politics. Rubalcava denied any allegations of corruption or wrongdoing.
In fighting the recall attempt, Rubalcava had support from a diverse coalition of business and labor interests, as well as public safety groups. Disney spent money to oppose the recall, but the councilwoman also had the Orange County Labor Federation and prominent Democratic politicians on her side.
The competing narratives left most voters either too confused or uninterested to make a decision. The election saw low turnout. Just 22.5% of registered voters in the third district cast a vote.
Rubalcava may have survived, but Anaheim’s “Democratic civil war” — in the words of columnist Gustavo Arellano — is sure to continue. The recall was not the first clash between establishment OC Democrats and the party’s more progressive wing. And it won’t be the last.