Just a year ago, Councilman David Alvarez was a relative unknown.
The soft-spoken San Diego native regularly showed up at events and press conferences without staffers, and usually left without facing a single reporter.
As a councilman, he struggled to push forward even a modest ordinance to create a foreclosure registry amid a tense relationship with former Mayor Jerry Sanders. (It ultimately prevailed.)
But the mayoral race, where he was buoyed by his own compelling personal narrative and millions of dollars from labor groups, has catapulted him to a contender getting attention from the New York Times and President Barack Obama.
Neither was enough to propel him into the mayor’s office. Republican challenger Kevin Faulconer decisively defeated Alvarez Tuesday.
But the groundswell that emerged to support his candidacy – high-profile national Democrats parachuted in for campaign appearances, and more than 600 volunteers gathered the Saturday before the election walking door to door to rally voters on his behalf – marks a sudden transformation in Alvarez’s nascent political career.
It’s a reality even Alvarez himself likely couldn’t have imagined just months ago.
Councilmember David Alvarez of San Diego was the most prominent elected official to express early support for the accusers. Kasparian was once a strong political ally of Councilmember Alvarez, having endorsed Alvarez and spending millions to support his campaign for Mayor in 2013. However, their relationship began to deteriorate in 2016 as Alvarez says he began to experience the same type of bullying behavior and intimidation tactics that former employees of Kasparian have reported.
Read MoreWorld-famous luchador and South Bay resident was honored Tuesday when the San Diego City Council proclaimed it to be Rey Mysterio Day. Councilman David Alvarez presented Mysterio with the proclamation citing his work in the community where he has organized and participated in “various charity events, educational campaigns and wrestling matches at schools and community centers.”
Read MoreSan Diego City Councilman David Alvarez is leaving his job representing southern communities such as Barrio Logan and San Ysidro after eight years. On a rainy morning last week, Alvarez's office was a mess. He had pulled everything down off the bookshelves, and it was now covering his desk. He and his staff worked to box up the documents that had passed through their office in the past eight years to all be archived by the City Clerk. Alvarez took a break from packing for this exit interview.
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