[Update]: Another Group Joins Effort to Recall Gordo

Update – We received the following statement on Tues, March 5th, 2019 at 10:48 pm:

‘Pasadenans and Altadenans Against Police Violence,’ after more carefully considering the logistical nightmare of unseating a five-term Councilmember who in the last election garnered 64% of his district’s vote, has decided a recall of Victor Gordo isn’t feasible. ‘Pasadenans and Altadenans Against Police Violence’ therefore withdraws its announcement and will not be taking part in a recall of Councilmember Gordo.

Pasadena City Hall (Photo – staff) Victor Gordo (Photo – victorgordo2013.com)

Pasadenans and Altadenans Against Police Violence group has decided to join the effort to recall Councilmember Victor Gordo.

By News Desk

In a statement to our newsroom, the group has vowed to co-organize the effort to recall Gordo and replace him with a progressive candidate.

Here’s the statement in full:

‘Pasadenans and Altadenans Against Police Violence’ is proud to announce that we are co-organizing the effort to recall Councilmember Victor Gordo and replace him with a progressive leader who will champion police reform and accountability. Gordo is one of the police union’s closest allies and beneficiaries. In his latest run for Pasadena City Council in 2017, he accepted $7,500 from the Pasadena Police Officers Association PAC, the largest outside contributor to his campaign. Gordo has made an earnest effort to repay the union’s largesse by vigorously defending the Pasadena Police Department’s actions in the brutal murders of Kendrec McDade in 2012 and Reginald Thomas in 2016 and the near-murder and savage beating of Chris Ballew in 2017. Gordo has for years opposed the installation of an Independent Police Auditor, which would be similar to the LAPD’s Inspector General, and he has pushed back on efforts to pass an ordinance banning Pasadena Police from collaborating with ICE, saying he supports such collaboration to catch so-called bad guys. He has stalled many other police reform efforts.

But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of Councilmember Gordo’s corruption. He has additionally attacked local efforts to pass a just-cause-eviction ordinance in Pasadena which would protect tenants from arbitrary eviction by landlords, a stance which is perhaps not unrelated to the fact that during the 2017 election he took in $1,000 from the California Real Estate PAC and that he is himself a landlord managing horrifically run-down rental properties. He has on many occasions opposed the creation of affordable housing to get Pasadena’s homeless housed. He is gentrifying District 5 by buying up properties and renovating them into multimillion-dollar homes for the wealthy. And in recent years he has established himself as Pasadena’s number-one opponent of cannabis dispensaries, chairing the committee which drafted Measure CC which legalizes recreational retail of cannabis in Pasadena but bars dispensaries which operated without a license from 2017-18 from applying for a license.

District 5 deserves better than Victor Gordo. We’re going to organize, we’re going to canvass, and we’re going to turn out the votes to oust this shill to a murderous police union and monied special interests, and we’re going to elect a fighter for progressive ideals.

Victor M. Gordo began serving in the city of Pasadena back in 1997 as then–Vice Mayor Bill Crowfoot‘s field representative for District 5. In March 2001, Gordo was elected to Pasadena City Council and has represented District 5 ever since.