Àlex Pastor

Alejandro Pastor López (born 17 July 1979) is a former Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) politician. First elected to Badalona City Council in 2015, he became mayor in 2018. He resigned on 22 April 2020 after being arrested and eventually convicted of drink driving and assaulting the police.[1]

For the footballer, see Álex Pastor.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pastor and the second or maternal family name is López.

Early life and career

Pastor has degrees in Labour Relations and Labour Sciences. He was a member of a students' organisation and also active in the youth wing of the PSC. He first took part in an election to the city council in 1995, but otherwise spent his early adulthood as a civil servant in a department related to employment.[2]

In 2015, Pastor was elected to the city council, but amidst a poor result for his party. The left-wing, anti-independence PSC had to choose between backing the left-wing and pro-independence candidate Dolors Sabater or the right-wing, anti-independence incumbent Xavier García Albiol as mayor.[2]

In 2018, Pastor tabled a vote of no confidence in Sabater. The motion carried on 20 June with support of the three PSC councillors, the ten from the People's Party and the one from Citizens.[3] In the 2019 elections, he retained his office when Sabater withdrew her candidacy and the separatist parties voted for Pastor.[4]

Resignation and conviction

On 21 April 2020, Pastor was stopped by the Mossos d'Esquadra for driving erratically. Police reports said that he repeatedly brought up his position as an excuse to go free, refused to take a breathalyser test and began assaulting officers, including biting.[5] He was additionally arrested for breaking the COVID-19 lockdown.[6] Suspended by his party, he resigned his office the following day.[7] Days before his offences, Pastor said of people who broke lockdown "there are people who think they're smarter than the rest and that they don't have to abide by the rules. They don't put their health at risk, but ours".[8] Sources close to Pastor said that his job and his personal life had caused him physical and psychological harm.[5]

In February 2021, Pastor went to court in Barcelona. He was convicted and fined €800 and banned from driving for 16 months. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended due to his lack of previous convictions and his agreement to pay damages.[5]

References
  1. "El exalcalde de Badalona Álex Pastor acepta ocho meses de cárcel por conducir ebrio y encararse a los Mossos" [The former mayor of Badalona Àlex Pastor accepts eight months of prison for drink driving and confronting the Mossos]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 16 February 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  2. Cols, Carles (20 June 2018). "Àlex Pastor, de funcionario a alcalde de Badalona en tres años" [Àlex Pastor, form civil servant to mayor of Barcelona in three years]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  3. "El PSC llega a la Alcaldía de Badalona con una moción de censura respaldada por PP y Cs" [The PSC get mayoralty of Badalona through a vote of no confidence with PP and Cs] (in Spanish). RTVE. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. "Álex Pastor, alcalde de Badalona tras la retirada de la candidatura de Sabater" [Àlex Pastor, mayor of Badalona after withdrawal of Sabater's candidacy]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 15 June 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. García, Jesús (16 February 2021). "El exalcalde de Badalona Àlex Pastor acepta ocho meses de cárcel por conducir ebrio" [Former mayor of Badalona Àlex Pastor accepts eight months' imprisonment for drink driving]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. González, Germán (22 April 2020). "Detenido el alcalde de Badalona por conducir borracho y agredir a los policías" [Mayor of Badalona arrested for drink-driving and assaulting police officers]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  7. "El alcalde de Badalona dimite tras ser detenido saltándose el confinamiento y oponiendo resistencia" [Mayor of Badalona resigns after being arrested for breaking lockdown and disobeying authority]. El País (in Spanish). 22 April 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  8. "Así pedía que nadie se saltara el confinamiento Àlex Pastor, el político que se ha hecho 'hat trick' de los "delitos de la cuarentena"" [How Àlex Pastor, the politician who scored the hat-trick of "quarantine crimes", asked for nobody to breach lockdown] (in Spanish). La Sexta. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
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