California's first transgender mayor Raul Ureña is kicked out of office after ... trends now
Calexico has voted to oust the first transgender mayor in California in a long awaited recall vote as the politician blames transphobia for the decision.
Mayor Raul Ureña, 26, identifies as a transgender woman and prefers she/they pronouns.
Ureña was elected into office in 2020 at the age of 23 and came out as gender-fluid and transgender in 2022 - after her re-election.
She eventually started wearing dresses and makeup in official appearances, which riled up voters who felt duped because they believed they were voting for a gay cisgender man and not a transgender woman.
However, on April 16 nearly 74 percent of voters supported the recall of the City Councilmember, according to early results released by the Imperial County registrar of voters on Wednesday night.
Calexico has voted to oust the first transgender mayor in California in a long awaited recall vote as the politician blames transphobia for the decision
Mayor Raul Ureña, 26, identifies as a transgender woman and prefers she/they pronouns
Raul Ureña was elected into office in 2020 at the age of 23 and came out as gender-fluid and transgender in 2022 - after her re-election
Ureña was hit with a recall campaign after voters complained they thought they were voting a man into office
Maritza Hurtado, 58, has been a leader in the recall campaign and worked as the former mayor for Calexico
Another Calexico politician and coworker of Ureña was also targeted by the recall campaign.
Councilmember Gilberto Manzanarez, another young and progressive outspoken politician, saw 73 percent of voters vote in favor of the recall.
Despite recall campaign organizers insisting that the efforts were rooted in concerns about homelessness and the economy - the ousted politicians believe otherwise.
Ureña and Manzanarez said they believe the recall campaign was largely motivated by transphobia, according to the LA Times.
Ureña said she remains 'hopeful and optimistic, despite the results. 'We will not give up on social justice in the Imperial Valley,' Ureña said. 'We're not going anywhere.'
Manzanarez said in a City Council meeting on Wednesday that the young politicians were being unfairly blamed for Calexico's problems that had existed long before they were elected into office.
Some of the issues included the deteriorating downtown of the Latino city of 38,000 sitting on the Californian border to Mexico - as well as understaffed police, fire and public works departments.
'It's very easy to point to downtown and make sure that people understand that it's not OK. How long has it been that way? Did it start being that way in 2022? Absolutely not,' said Manzanarez.
Maritza Hurtado, 58, has been a leader in the recall campaign and worked as the former mayor for Calexico.
She declined to comment on the results, but previously called Ureña and Manzanarez 'toxic' left-wing activists.
On April 16 nearly 74 percent of voters supported the recall of the City Councilmember, according to early results released by the Imperial County registrar of voters on Wednesday night
