Why Anaheim District 3 should recall Natalie Rubalcava – Orange County Register

Voters in central Anaheim’s District 3 have received their ballots for a recall election of their Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava. It’s understandable that theRegister editorial board wasunimpressed when they spoke with representatives of the union who launched this recall last year.  But this Recall belongs to the people of District 3 now, and over the past year Ms. Rubalcava has given them many more, and better reasons, to replace her.

Just to start with, her vote last month to rush through Disneyland Forward.�

If the corruption scandals of Sidhu-era Anaheim were about anything, it was the total control Anaheim’s wealthiest special interests wield over the councilmembers they pay hundreds of thousands in independent expenditures to elect.  And despite minor, cosmetic “reforms,” very little has changed.  Rubalcava was elected with over$380,000 from Disneyland’s Support Our Anaheim Resort PAC, and then reliably voted to approve their mammoth expansion with no pushback or delay, ignoring the wishes and pleas of her constituents.

(Sure, she was joined in this by the rest of her colleagues, but they will face voters in their own due time. This month it is Natalie Rubalcava on the ballot; districts 1, 4 and 5 will be up in November.)

Without even the curiosity to request the release of the CSUF Economic Study Disney used to justify it, Ms. Rubalcava:

• Agreed to the abandonment of public Anaheim streets that Anaheim residents want to keep public, including Magic Way and Disneyland Drive;
• Allowed Disney to only provide funding foraffordable housing forless than half a percent of the 13,800 new employees they plan to hire;
• Threw away our first chance in thirty years torequire a study on the long-term environmental and health effects of Disney’s nightly fireworks.

And, reliably, Disney and their allied interests are now gratefully spending hundreds of thousands more to help Ms. Rubalcava stay in office and fight off her recall.  In what world is this not corrupt?

And there’s more.  A lot of wealthy special interests paid good money to elect Councilmember Rubalcava, including housing developers.  Anaheim has a severe housing crisis, and really needs an “inclusionary housing ordinance” requiring new developments to provide a certain percentage of affordable housing.  Many other cities in Orange County have this policy. But last month Rubalcava led the chargeagainst such a policy in Anaheim, claiming that it would “unfairly burden our developers.” Our developers?  Has she thought of representing her constituents?�