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Anaheim City Council Eyes Reforms Ahead Of First Meeting Since Corruption Report
Former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu gives a thumbs up during a parade in Anaheim on Feb. 5, 2022. Sidhu resigned in May 2022, a week after FBI documents revealed he was under federal investigation for an alleged quid pro quo scheme involving the now-canceled sale of Angel Stadium.
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Elected officials in Anaheim are taking initial steps to address what investigators described as influence peddling in Orange County's biggest city.
On Tuesday city councilmembers will meet for the first time since an independent investigation released late last month revealed potential criminal behavior and pay to play politics at city hall.
[Read: LAist's recap of the 353-page report]
The meeting’s agenda includes discussions on several items that stem from recommendations made by the report’s investigators:
- Reduce the city manager's authority to sign contracts without city council approval from a maximum of $200,000 currently to a proposed $100,000.
- Consider conducting an audit of the $6.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds granted to Visit Anaheim, the city's tourism promotion bureau, to determine if funds were misused.
- Discuss creating a whistleblower policy for city employees, including a hotline where employees can report misconduct.
- Consider strengthening the city's lobbying ordinance, including requiring city staff and councilmembers to report meetings with outside lobbyists.
- Consider requiring all city councilmembers, the city manager and assistant city manager to post their work calendars on the city’s website.
All of these agenda items were requested by Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken.
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Aitken announced Thursday the members of a new advisory committee that she's convening to review the report and make recommendations to city council. Their first meeting was scheduled for Friday.
Committee members include former state Assemblymember and former Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly, former U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, prominent real estate agent Paul Kott, OC Black Chamber of Commerce President Bobby McDonald and longtime activist Cynthia Ward, among others.
"I know my colleagues on the City Council will also have ideas and insights into how we can improve our processes and procedures," the mayor wrote in a news release. "Together, we will chart a course toward a more honest and transparent government.”
Anaheim resident Jeanine Robbins, a frequent critic of former mayor Sidhu and others singled out in the investigators' report, said campaign finance reform would be "a big step towards cleaning up the city."
FOR ANAHEIM RESIDENTS
Read the full report yourself: You can find it here.
How to stay updated: The next city council meeting is Sept. 12. Check the council calendar here.
Where to submit feedback: You can contact the mayor or your city councilmember directly. You can also request a meeting with the mayor.
Send us a tip: Submit a tip at the bottom of this story or send an email to our Orange County correspondent: jreplogle@scpr.org.
But, she said, if those reforms don't materialize soon, she thinks the state should take over the city temporarily and "clean house."
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