Desiree Lynch has withdrawn from the Stockton City Council District 5 race for a second time, ending her campaign less than three months before the Nov. 3 general election.
Lynch, a registered nurse, submitted a letter to the Stockton city clerk's office on Aug. 24 to formally withdraw her candidacy, effective immediately.
"Please accept this letter as my unequivocal withdrawal from the race and remove my name from consideration as permitted by law," Lynch wrote in the letter to the city clerk.
Allen Sawyer, a high-profile criminal defense attorney based in Stockton who has represented former Lodi City Council member Shakir Khan in an election fraud case and former Stockton Police Department Sgt. Nicholas Bloed, confirmed on Aug. 24 that he was
representing Lynch.
"In light of the legal process she is facing, there will be no other comment on this matter," Sawyer said in a statement. "Ms. Lynch is focused on taking care of her daughter and will devote 100% of her attention to her family responsibilities."
Lynch was challenging incumbent Councilmember Brando Villapudua in the November election.
Lynch finished second to Villapudua in the June 2 primary election, receiving 1,054 votes, or 30.59%, compared with Villapudua’s 1,173 votes, or 34.04%.
Her second withdrawal came five days after she was arrested on a local warrant alleging five felony election-related offenses, according to San Joaquin County Jail records.
Lynch was booked on Aug. 19 by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations. Her bail was set at $100,000.
The warrant listed three counts of perjury, one count of voter registration violation and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy.
The charges stem from allegations regarding Lynch’s candidacy for the District 5 seat and whether she lived at the Stockton address listed on her voter registration and candidate paperwork.
The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office said investigators determined Lynch lived in Lodi and north Stockton, in District 1, rather than District 5. Investigators allege she used two Stockton addresses to fabricate her residency: an address for Harry’s Cocktail Lounge at 407 E. Charter Way, also known as East Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and an address at Doyle Garden Apartments at 625 E. Oak St.
A hearing in the criminal case was set for Sept. 2 in San Joaquin County Superior Court. If convicted on all counts, Lynch faces a maximum of six years and eight months in state prison, the district attorney's office said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Desiree Lynch withdraws from Stockton council race for second time after arrest
