Alvarez to Challenge Coontz for Orange Mayor

The filing period for office-seekers will not open for another month, but Councilman Michael Alvarez has already announced he will challenge Mayor Joanne Coontz in November.

The move sets the stage for a race that will focus on the February firing of Police Chief John R. Robertson and the potential fallout from a yearlong investigation of the city’s trash and recycling companies.

“People are telling me that they are looking for new leadership with no ties to the old political past,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez, 42, who runs his own real estate office and is midway through his first council term, voted to support Robertson when City Manager David L. Rudat recommended firing the chief for insubordination and for investigating City Council members, among other allegations.

Coontz joined the majority in the 3-2 vote against Robertson, saying that the chief no longer had the trust of the council.

Alvarez also voted against extending Rudat’s contract in opposition to Coontz.

The mayor is running for her third term, a two-year position that is elected separately from the council. She previously served two four-year terms as a council member.

She said that Alvarez, who would keep his seat on the council should he lose the mayor’s race, has too little experience.

An ongoing investigation by the district attorney’s office into allegations that the city’s trash and recycling companies may have misappropriated millions of dollars in municipal funds is also bound to be a campaign issue.

Councilmen Dan Slater and Mark Murphy have indicated they plan to seek reelection.

Potential candidates can file papers in the city clerk’s office from 8 a.m. July 13 through 5 p.m. Aug. 7. Candidates must be at least 18, be registered to vote and be Orange residents.

For filing information: (714) 744-5501.