Mayor Ashleigh Aitken may soon be the subject of an investigation amid damning allegations she referred to her chief of staff by a racist term and repeatedly questioned and commented on her aide’s perceived sexuality.
The controversy is the latest to hit a city hall that has for years faced scandals like an FBI corruption probe that upended a stadium deal and raised questions about the undue influence of Anaheim resort interests on city leaders, fueling resident demands for transparency and government accountability.
This latest scandal is surfacing months before Aitken, a Democrat, is up for reelection, running against two relatively unknown political newcomers – Dr. Imran Sharief, a physician, and Alfredo Rodriguez, a general manager of an environmental services company.
Thomas Fielder, a homeless advocate, compared the city to the Titanic.
“It had a reputation for being practically unsinkable, but there were warnings about ice ahead, and still the ship kept moving forward,” Fielder said. “We had the Harry Sidhu Angel Stadium scandal. We have seen lawsuit after lawsuit, whistleblower allegations, retaliation claims, and residents repeatedly coming before this council demanding investigation into the misuse of taxpayer dollars and allegations of systemic corruption, and what does City Hall keep doing? Full speed ahead.”
“And then late last night, boom! An enormous iceberg appeared. The mayor’s own chief policy adviser has come forward with allegations of racial harassment, religious harassment, and sexual orientation harassment,” Fielder continued.
While the rest of Aitken’s council colleagues stayed quiet on the allegations Tuesday night, Councilwoman Natalie Meeks publicly requested an immediate probe into the accusations after a host of residents lambasted the mayor and city leadership with some people calling on the mayor to resign.
“I feel like I need to address the really serious allegations that have been made against the mayor. I would like to direct the staff to immediately start an investigation on those and expedite that investigation,” said Meeks, a Republican who is running for reelection unopposed, at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
“We owe it to the community to take accusations like this seriously and to address them. If they are found to be true, then I would join with the community in asking for the mayor’s resignation but she deserves – the situation deserves an investigation.”
Aitken said she would participate in any investigation and said she is limited in what she can say in response to the allegations.
“While I hope that you understand that I’m limited in what I can say, I do humbly ask people to take a moment and look at my record, the initiatives that I have championed, the communities that I have stood beside and stood with, my words, and most importantly, the values that I have demonstrated through my actions,” she said from the dais Tuesday, repeating a similar statement sent to the Voice of OC earlier that afternoon.
“Of course, I will readily and truthfully participate in any way that I am asked going forward.”
Aitken did not respond to a request for any follow up comment Wednesday morning.
Aitken was elected as Mayor in 2022 after running on a platform of transparency and reform
in the wake of an FBI corruption scandal – one that saw her predecessor resign and spend a couple months in prison.
During her tenure so far, she pushed for a host of transparency reforms passed by the city council in the wake of the scandal but did not heed demands to fire certain officials implicated in the corruption scandal at city hall or to adopt wide-reaching restrictions on local campaign finance.
Aitken also called for and supported immigration aid funding amid widespread deportation raids and drew controversy after she invited a group of self-described queer and transgendered nuns to an Angels Pride Night as her guests after the LA Dodgers disinvited them from their event.
At the end of the meeting, City Attorney Rob Fabela said the process was in place for personnel investigations when Meeks followed up on her request for a probe.
Fabela did not respond to questions Wednesday morning on the process of the investigation, how long it will take or whether the results would be made public.
Meek’s request came a day after TimesOC reported on a confidential mediation letter sent to the city on behalf of the Mayor’s Chief of Staff Berenice Ballinas accusing Aitken of making racist remarks to her and repeatedly questioning her sexuality.
The letter also alleges former City Manager Jim Vanderpool repeatedly asked about and commented on Ballinas’ perceived sexual orientation – further alleging that she was retaliated against by city officials in part by them withholding her approved raise, TimesOC reported.
Vanderpool, who could not be reached for comment, resigned near the beginning of the year amid scrutiny over his close ties to Anaheim resort interests who were a major focus of an FBI corruption probe.
Lawrence Lennemann, Ballinas’ attorney, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.
Beyond being the mayor’s chief of staff, Ballinas is a board member of Emerge California – a group that trains and empowers Democratic women from diverse backgrounds to run for elected office.
Ballinas has also worked for the California State Legislature – working for Adam Gray when he was a state assemblyman representing the central valley and OC legislator Josh Newman when he was a state senator and has also worked on local, state and congressional political election campaigns.
Voice of OC filed a public records request for Balinas’ letter to city officials Tuesday.
The city has yet to formally respond to the request or provide the letter despite first amendment advocates saying it should be able to be publicly released under state law, comparing it to a claim against the government.
On Tuesday evening, a handful of residents and local activists publicly condemned the mayor over the allegations, criticizing a lack of transparency and accountability at city hall and throwing their support behind Ballinas.
David Duran, a resident and homeless advocate, said Aitken’s alleged remarks were incredibly offensive and every resident in the city, regardless of their race, deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.
“The allegations stated that you referred to an Anaheim employee as a dirty Mexican is racist,” he said.
“Mexican and Latino families are not a lesser class of residents in Anaheim. Our neighborhoods are not less deserving of respect and civil rights. Our communities are not political props whose dignity matters only when our votes are needed.”
Residents and family members of Alberto Arzola, a 19-year-old who was killed by an Anaheim officer in December, also criticized Aitken for the allegations.
Leslie Lopez, Arzola’s cousin, said it was saddening to read and hear about what the mayor allegedly said.
“Mexican people are a big part of this community, working hard and contributing to the city of Anaheim every single day,” she said.
“It makes me question whether that is part of the reason my family has not been taken seriously, and why you guys have not been willing to meet with the grieving family. Maybe my cousin wasn’t important to you. Maybe in your eyes he was just another dirty Mexican.”
Arzola’s relatives have been showing up to city council meetings regularly demanding transparency and accountability for Albert’s killing, arguing the officer used excessive force to kill him and his death could have been avoided.
Police officials say a gang suppression unit tried to approach Arzola for suspected vandalism and chased him to his home where a struggle ensued and an officer fired his gun. They also say a loaded firearm was recovered in the grass next to him, releasing an eight minute video with snippets of the body camera footage.
Arzola’s mom on Tuesday night reiterated their public calls for the full release of the video unedited.
Meanwhile, Meeks isn’t the only one calling for a probe into the allegations against Aitken.
Santa Ana Councilwoman Jessie Lopez, a Democrat running for State Assembly, said in a text message statement the reported allegations were disturbing and called on the city to launch an investigation into them.
“It takes courage as a young Latina in politics to speak truth to power,” reads her Tuesday statement. “The city of Anaheim needs to take these allegations seriously and conduct a full investigation into the mayor and former city manager’s conduct.”
Chispa, an organization aimed at getting young Latinos politically engaged, also called for an investigation into the allegations against Aitken – especially as immigrant residents across OC continue to feel the impact of widespread deportation raids.
“When an elected official uses language that degrades Mexicans, they are sending a message to every Mexican child and family they represent about whose dignity matters. There is nothing dirty about being Mexican. What is shameful is using our identity as an insult,” reads a statement by the group posted on social media.
“Now Anaheim’s political leadership needs to show what it actually stands for.”
Editor’s note: Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken’s father, Wylie Aitken, chairs Voice of OC’s board of directors.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.
