Voting Underway In Anaheim Recall Election. Here's What You Need To Know

Anaheim Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava faces a recall election in one week after she was accused of using a nonprofit database for influence peddling.

How we got here

UNITE HERE Local 11, a local union representing hotel workers, launched the petition that garnered enough signatures that led to Rubalcava's recall being placed on the ballot.

The recall effort began after a report detailing corruption and corporate influence in Anaheim politics, said Austin Lynch, an organizing director at UNITE HERE Local 11.

Anaheim’s city officials commissioned the report after an FBI corruption investigation into former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu and other key players in the city came to light.

Sidhu has since agreed to plead guilty.

Independent investigators accuse Rubalcava in the report of using a contact database of Anaheim First to call a potential voter in District 3 during her election campaign. Anaheim First is a nonprofit organization started by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce that was first proposed by Sidhu. She and the former head of the chambe, Todd Ament, were accused of “influence peddling” in the report.

From the report: “Anaheim First's initial creation was essentially a political data-mining operation wherein information from individuals attending and participating in local District meetings was captured and thereafter used improperly for political purposes.”

The report also stated that Anaheim First was being used as a “mechanism” to "freeze out the City Council’s political minority.”

In a statement to LAist, Rubalcava said the report's findings regarding Anaheim First "stemmed from a miscommunication" and that the voter she contacted was someone she attended school with.

“Anaheim is an industry town, the industry is the resort, the goal of the powerful is to exploit our members,” Lynch said. “If a council person is getting inappropriate help from cabal organizations then we take that pretty personally.”

Did Measure A play a role in the recall petition?

UNITE HERE Local 11 sponsored Measure A last year that would have required hotels and event venues to pay workers a minimum of $25 an hour. The employers would have also had to implement safety measures for housekeepers and adhere to workload limits and overtime for room attendants.

Rubalcava opposed the measure, as did Disney, which spent $1.5 million against in opposition.

The ballot measure did not pass.

“It's definitely an example where she sides with corporations, against regular people but again, that's not unique to her,” Lynch said, as other Anaheim council members also opposed the measure. He said that her opposing Measure A was not a factor in the recall effort.

About the election

“I think that when we win, it's going to send a strong message that you can stand up to corporate power,” Lynch said about the recall. “For politicians, they should be aware it's bad for their political health to be corporate tools.”

Results for the June 4 election are expected on June 28.

Meanwhile, Rubalcava told LAist she has enjoyed connecting with residents in the last few months.

"I’m incredibly proud of the diverse coalition of Anaheim leaders and organizations who have publicly endorsed against the recall," she said. "I’m optimistic as we head into the final week of the campaign."