Carmen Avalos, Cerritos College Trustee President and South Gate City Clerk, recently survived a trumped-up recall in June from her College Trustee Area 2 seat that sources said was a result of her abstaining on a vote to elect Cerritos College Area 6 Trustee Dr. Sandra Salazar as President of the Board.
Four of the 10 needed signatures on the “Notice of Intent to Circulate a Recall Petition” were declared “questionable” by the County Registrar/Recorder’s office.
The petition was brought into the June 3 college board meeting by a woman who was never identified by local media, until now.
Hews Media Group-Community News has learned that the person who brought the petition into the boardroom is long-ime Los Angeles political operative Sylvia Ortiz.
Ms. Ortiz, as first reported by us, was accused by the County Registrar-Recorder of forgery and of willfully adding deceased people to Commerce recall petitions in 2014.
In reviewing the Commerce signatures, the Registrar representative said, “We never have seen anything like this. It is about as bad as it gets in terms of willful forgery, and we will call on the Los Angeles district attorney to investigate Ortiz.”
Ms. Ortiz reportedly admitted to the forgeries and adding names of deceased people.
Ms. Ortiz has a long history of signature gathering in Los Angeles and is a colleague of Angel Gonzales, a convicted felon who pleaded down to a misdemeanor. Mr. Gonzales was involved in a high-profile corruption case involving another convicted felon Rick Mayer.
Similar to Ms. Ortiz refusing to identify herself, the proponents of the recall have remained hidden.
This Is an Old Story
But we have been told by reliable sources that Dr. Salazar and her partner Enrique Aranda, in retribution for Ms. Avalos’s abstention vote to elect Dr. Salazar as President of the Board, are assisting in the recall.
Reportedly they are trying to recall Ms. Avalos again, this time from her position as South Gate city clerk.
This type of battle is nothing new for Ms. Avalos. She has been attacked in the past by politicians and their supporters for “doing the right thing.”
In 2001, Ms. Avalos beat South Gate Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba’s sister for the city clerk’s office.
Mr. Ruvalcaba was incensed that Ms. Avalos defeated his sister. Just days after the election, Ms. Avalos found a teddy bear on her front lawn with its throat slashed and its arms torn off.
Eventually, Ms. Avalos found the corruption so rampant in South Gate that she complained to then-Secretary of State Bill Jones.
After reviewing Ms. Avalos’ allegations, Jones declared South Gate “one of the most corrupt cities in the state.”
The allegations eventually sparked a movement to recall Mayor Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel, Councilwoman Maria Benevides and Treasurer Albert (Big Al) Robles.
The four were furious at Ms. Avalos. They conducted a yearlong smear campaign that stripped away almost all of Ms. Avalos’s duties, including her right to oversee the upcoming recall election.
Ms. Avalos’ salary was reduced from $76,000 to $7,200. She was prohibited from attending staff meetings. Her three-person staff was eliminated. They even took away her office.
But Ms. Avalos fought back. The four were eventually recalled in 2003, and Ms. Avalos’s rights and duties as City Clerk were restored.
“She is a fighter,” former South Gate Councilman Henry Gonzalez told us.
“Ortiz is a longtime questionable operative. She will help anyone to make a buck.
“Avalos is honest as the day is long. Anyone questioning her integrity does not know what they are talking about, or has other motives for their behavior.”
Former state Sen. Martha Escutia said of Ms. Avalos: “She maintains her integrity and honor while fighting corruption. She holds her head high. She does her job to protect the voters of South Gate.”
Now the same proponents, frustrated in their failure to recall her from her Cerritos College seat, are mounting a recall of Ms. Avalos from her City Clerk position.
Reportedly the same cast of characters, Dr. Salazar, Mr. Aranda and Ms. Ortiz, is involved.
When contacted by us and asked if they were behind the recall, Mr. Aranda said, “Avalos is not a good elected official. Hence there appears to be a growing movement to recall her. I’m a steadfast advocate for transparency and accountability in local government, as you know.”
After several emails asking for her level of involvement, Dr. Salazar finally responded saying, “I am not certain of that level of detail and all parties involved. I do know that there is a growing community movement in her city and district calling into question her leadership or lack of.”
If the recall movement is successful, it could end up costing the city $300,000 or more. City Manager Mike Flad told us that he does not know how to operate a recall election. So the city would be forced to call in a consultant or the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorders office.
Mr. Hews may be contacted at loscerritosnews.net