From influence peddling and secret lobbying to the funneling of tax dollars toward private interests and the skirting of state open-meeting laws, the allegations piled up in the pages of an independent investigation released this week for how people took apparent advantage of Anaheim City Hall to suit their needs.
With the unveiling of the city-commissioned report by the JL Group, the question becomes: How does Anaheim dig itself out from years of alleged “pay-to-play” politics? Additionally, how does the city regain credibility with its citizens and the business owners who were not part of the apparent favored few?
An early sign of how Anaheim leaders plan to address the report’s allegations came from Mayor Ashleigh Aitken. Hours after the report’s release on Monday, Aitken announced her intention to create a mayor’s advisory committee to discuss reforms Anaheim could make.
“I do promise that this report is not going to collect dust on a shelf,” Aitken said later in an interview. “Restoring residents’ faith is not going to be an easy task.”
The committee would have government, community, business and legal leaders and enlist public input, Aitken said. Residents can expect more details on her committee by next week, she said.
Aitken said the City Council needs to tackle transparency, campaign and election reforms and the city’s lobbying laws, among other raised concerns. Action can be taken quickly on at least some, she said.
The next council meeting won’t be until Aug. 15.
The JL Group detailed through interviews and records the appearance of prominent lobbyists in the city skirting disclosure laws and alleged coordination between PACs and campaigns, especially during the 2018 mayoral race that Aitken lost.
The report’s conclusions were not a complete surprise to some. Activists, business leaders, political insiders and council watchers had long talked about apparent problems at City Hall. But few listened until the FBI outlined in a pair of 2022 affidavits allegations of how a cabal of business and political interests would influence Anaheim lawmakers and staff. Mayor Harry Sidhu resigned following the revelation he was also under federal investigation.
Several watchful eyes will closely monitor City Hall and how this new council and leadership responds. Among them will be Anaheim resident Cynthia Ward, once an aide to former Councilmember Denise Barnes, who said she was encouraged when she heard Aitken say her committee will look at reforms for months.
“I (was) so afraid,” Ward said, “that our leaders were going to look at this report and say ‘Glad that’s behind us, let’s move on.’”
Anaheim city spokesperson Mike Lyster said the report is part of a process, which detailed “serious questions raised about a former mayor and chamber executive.”
“Anaheim’s staff works in good faith on council policy direction and expects that good faith to go both ways. This is reflected in the report’s conclusions and recommendations,” Lyster said in a statement. “We look forward to thoughtful consideration of those recommendations and any direction our new City Council may have.”
Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College, said a good place for Anaheim to start repairing its reputation is to simply follow the law.
“I don’t know how you repair trust, the only way is by proving yourself over and over,” Balma said. “For a lot of us, that’s going to take a long time.”
She added that city officials must rethink their relationships with big corporate interests and work with them without catering to them. She was unsure whether the current council will be able to turn the ship around.
“Why would anyone change the system that got them elected?” Balma said. “In the past, the actions of the council have not seemed to matter at the ballot box.”
But change is crucial for Anaheim, she said.
“Reform is the only hope of moving past this toxic culture,” Balma said, “that favors money interest over people.”
The JL Group investigators argued that Anaheim in recent years has drifted toward a “de facto strong mayor form of government,” especially under Sidhu, and the city should rededicate itself to the council/city manager structure. Investigators said the shift away of power from the city manager’s executive position to elected officials “further created the environment that gave rise to many of the issues” they found.
Aitken called Sidhu a “rotten apple,” and said past mayors in Anaheim found success “because they respected the law and the city manager-mayor system.”
“That’s definitely the type of mayor that I intend to be,” Aitken said.
Neither Sidhu nor his attorney could be reached for comment this week. Sidhu has not been charged with anything.
Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava said she looks “forward to thoughtfully discussing the report and looking at what makes sense for our city. At the same time, we have to stay focused on what our residents are focused on, which is public safety, libraries, parks, roads and other issues that touch their daily lives.”
JL Group investigators alleged $1.5 million had been funneled to an Anaheim Chamber of Commerce nonprofit via coronavirus pandemic relief funds sent to Visit Anaheim. Rubalcava said she would consider all the recommendations in the report, especially the one to withhold public money to the Visit Anaheim tourism bureau until a forensic audit is done of the group’s finances.
“Given the serious concerns raised about funding provided to Visit Anaheim, I believe we have an obligation to look at that recommendation,” Rubalcava said.
Councilmember Natalie Meeks said, “It’s an important process to understand what happened and definitely prevent misdeeds moving forward.”
And Councilmember Carlos Leon in a statement said he was committed to exploring policy recommendations, and raised the idea of reviewing the city charter.
Many problems in Anaheim could be addressed with campaign finance reform, former Councilmember Jose Moreno said. The previous City Council in 2022 was deadlocked at 3-3 in enacting new campaign regulations. He believes the council should take action immediately and hear from the public.
“We have what I would call a political wildfire,” Moreno said.
Lawrence Rosenthal, a former federal prosecutor and a professor at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, said Anaheim had taken an important first step toward rebuilding its credibility by ordering the independent investigation.
The previous City Council commissioned the investigation last year. While the new council toyed with the idea of ending the probe early after the JL Group requested more money and time, they ultimately agreed to see the investigation through. The final cost was $1.5 million.
Rosenthal said most cities would not have launched their own probe for fear of interfering with law enforcement.
“(Anaheim didn’t) go into a deep stall. They really tried to be proactive,” Rosenthal said. “It seems to me that was a courageous and correct decision.”
Veteran Anaheim real estate agent Paul Kott, who was interviewed by investigators, said the city’s future may lay in making better choices in the voting booth, “We’ve got to do a better job in electing better people.”
“We have an opportunity to learn from this,” he said, “to be better and evolve.”
Ward said the issues the report highlighted aren’t going to be fixed overnight, and residents have a responsibility to pay attention to City Hall.
“It’s on us to hold them accountable,” Ward said. “When we don’t, this is what happens.”
