Calexico has voted to oust California’s first transgender mayor 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 they/them pronouns.
Ureña was elected 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 to official appearances, which riled voters who felt duped into thinking they were voting for a gay cisgender man and not a transgender woman.
However, as of April 16, nearly 74 percent of voters supported the councilman’s recall, according to initial results released Wednesday evening by the Imperial County Registrar of Voters.
Calexico has voted to oust California’s first transgender mayor 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 they/them pronouns
Raul Ureña was elected president in 2020 at the age of 23 and came out as gender fluid and transgender in 2022 – after her re-election –
Ureña faced a recall after voters complained they thought they were voting a man president
Maritza Hurtado, 58, was a leader in the recall effort and worked as a former mayor for Calexico
Another Calexico politician and colleague of Ureña was also targeted by the recall campaign.
Councilman Gilberto Manzanarez, another young and progressive, outspoken politician, saw 73 percent of voters vote in favor of the recall.
Despite recall campaign organizers insisting the effort was rooted in concerns about homelessness and the economy, ousted politicians believe otherwise.
Ureña and Manzanarez said they believe the recall was largely motivated by transphobia, the newspaper reported LA times.
Ureña said that despite the results, she “remains hopeful and optimistic.” “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 Wednesday that the young politicians were unfairly blamed for Calexico’s problems that existed long before they were elected to office.
Some of the problems included the deteriorating downtown of the Latino city of 38,000 on California’s border with Mexico, as well as understaffed police, fire and public works departments.
“It’s very easy to point to downtown and make sure people understand that this is not OK. How long has it been like that? Did it start like this in 2022? Absolutely not,” Manzanarez said.
Maritza Hurtado, 58, was a leader in the recall effort and served as a former mayor for Calexico.
She declined to comment on the results, but previously called Ureña and Manzanarez “toxic” left-wing activists.
As of April 16, nearly 74 percent of voters supported recalling the councilman, according to initial results released Wednesday evening by the Imperial County Registrar of Voters.
Ureña said that despite the results, she “remains hopeful and optimistic.” “We will not give up on social justice in the Imperial Valley,” Ureña said. ‘We’re not going anywhere’
Ureña has claimed that her gender identity has been used against her throughout the 26-year-old’s political career. The mayor said that as a transgender you should always be on your guard, but says that as a civil servant she does not feel more vulnerable to trans hatred
In June, she was harassed by protesters at a pride flag-raising ceremony in Jube, where an ardent Ureña hater shouted, “He’s not a woman!”
Hurtado, 58, claimed Ureña used gender “as a card all the time” and said the 26-year-old dismissed people with legitimate political grievances as transphobic and racist, according to the LA Times.
This week’s special election cost the small city more than $128,000, and turnout was about 23 percent with 4,933 votes cast.
Ureña has been fighting recalls since 2022 and was harassed by a protester during a pride flag-raising ceremony last June.
The protester, Rebecca Lemon, had to be pulled away by three police officers when she attacked the city’s mayor and spewed profanities. Lemon shouted, “He’s not a woman! He’s not a woman!’ Then she shockingly kicked the mayor’s father.
Lemon led the recall effort to remove Ureña from office, but withdrew after the attack in June.
Calexico is a city in southern Imperial County, on the border of Mexico and California.
The city’s population is largely made up of Democratic voters, but between the 2016 and 2020 elections, the number of Republican voters increased from less than 10 percent to almost 27 percent.
Those pushing for Ureña’s removal from office have stated, “During this recall, we would like to remind everyone to be respectful of personal sexual preferences as this is not the platform.”
However, Ureña has claimed that her gender identity has been used against her throughout the elected official’s political career.
The mayor said that as a transgender you always have to be on your guard, but says that as a civil servant she does not feel more vulnerable to trans hatred.
Protesters successfully forced a recall election for Ureña and a fellow progressive council member, Gilberto Manzanarez
Ureña opts for dresses that reveal her hairy chest, bold makeup, bright colors, jewelry and high heels – making her stand out, for better or for worse
Ureña, the first transgender mayor along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, told DailyMail.com that she remembered “so clearly” at age 10 while wearing a dress.
“I might even be more vulnerable if I’m not in an elected position where people have elected me to represent many people who don’t identify as LGBT,” she said.
Ureña, the first transgender mayor along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, told DailyMail.com that she remembered wearing a dress “so clearly” at age 10.
Ureña opened up about her struggles as a member of the LGBTQ+ community – and admitted that her parents told her to hide her sexual orientation when she came out at 17 for safety reasons.
“My parents wanted me to keep it to myself because they were concerned about my safety,” she said. ‘My father was not very happy with me publicly talking about my sexual orientation.’
Calexico residents took to social media when Ureña became mayor to bash the politician for her appearance.
When images surfaced of Ureña wearing a dress, people said “this is gross” and “this must be a joke.”
Calexico resident Diana Silva said she was uncomfortable with the image Ureña painted, but she also isn’t happy with her work on the city council, according to Beyond Border News.