A Stockton City Council candidate who reportedly listed a local bar as her home address has ended her campaign after being arrested on several felony charges tied to her eligibility to run.
Desiree Lynch, a candidate for the District 5 seat, withdrew from the race Monday with immediate effect, her attorney, Allen Sawyer, said, according to KCRA 3.
“Today Ms. Lynch resigned and withdrew from the race effective immediately,” Sawyer said in a statement. “In light of the legal process she is facing, there will be no other comment on this matter. Ms. Lynch is focused on taking care of her daughter and will devote 100% of her attention to her family responsibilities.”
Lynch was taken into custody last week and now faces five felony counts, including three counts of perjury, causing or allowing false voter registration, and filing a false nomination or declaration of candidacy.
The case centers on accusations that Lynch represented herself as a District 5 resident even though authorities say she lived outside the district’s boundaries.
Stockton City Council candidates must reside in the district they are seeking to represent. The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office said investigators found Lynch was living in Lodi and North Stockton, including in an area that falls within District 1.
According to prosecutors, Lynch allegedly used two addresses to support her District 5 residency claim: Harry’s Cocktail Lounge on East Charter Way and the Doyle Garden Apartments on East Oak Street.
Lynch, who described herself as a mother and nurse, had campaigned on a platform focused on delivering “real solutions for working families” while pledging to clean up Stockton’s streets and City Hall.
“Stockton residents are frustrated, angry, and heartbroken by what’s happening in our city. Infighting at City Hall, neglect of our neighborhoods, and rising crime have left too many people questioning whether our leaders are truly listening,” her campaign website said.
Before her arrest, Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi’s office had called on Lynch to suspend her campaign amid questions surrounding her residency. Lynch initially refused.
“If questions were serious enough to raise concerns about the integrity of the process before today, they remain serious enough to answer tomorrow,” Fugazi said in a statement.
Following Lynch’s arrest, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office accused her of attempting to cheat the system by manufacturing a false address.
“The integrity of our elections is the bedrock of our democratic process, and we must ensure that every election is run fairly and without fraud,” the DA’s office said. “The constituents of this community deserve a representative who actually lives in their neighborhoods, not an opportunist manufacturing a fake address to cheat the system.”
Lynch was booked into jail on $100,000 bail following her arrest.
She is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 2 and faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in state prison if convicted.
