Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/anaheim-city-council/)
An update of ballot counts Wednesday evening showed Anaheim and Santa Ana candidates retaining the leads they had in election night counts. At least 40 percent of ballots are still left to count across Orange County, which could take weeks to finish counting.
The election results determine the balance of the Anaheim City Council majority in a year where the Disneyland Resort, hotel industry and unions have spent a record amount on the election.
The Disneyland Resort pumped another $600,000 Wednesday toward influencing the Anaheim City Council election, surpassing its previous spending record with more than $1.5 million spent so far this year.
The Disneyland Resort has spent almost $1 million to influence Anaheim city council campaigns and oppose a minimum wage initiative with three weeks to go before the Nov. 6 election, more than it spent at this point ahead of the 2016 election.
Public commenters told the Anaheim City Council and its city attorney Tuesday that big hotels aren’t the only businesses affected by a proposed $18-an-hour minimum wage initiative on the Nov. 6 ballot.
A unanimous Anaheim City Council has approved $400,000 partly to ramp up visible, private security and park rangers at city parks where large numbers of homeless people are known to visit.
Anaheim City Attorney Robert Fabela said the Disneyland Resort is exempt from a “living wage” initiative on the November general election ballot, known as Measure L, because the company isn’t receiving a tax rebate, according to his report.
The Disneyland Resort has reached a tentative deal with hotel workers to raise minimum wages from $13.25 to $15 an hour starting in 2019, according to Disney and one of the unions.
The Disneyland Resort is asking Anaheim officials to cancel two major tax subsidy deals, saying the deals have become “a flashpoint for controversy and dissention [sic] in our community.”
West Anaheim’s Maxwell Park is facing a spike in homeless people staying in and around the park and homeless-related crimes, according to Anaheim Deputy Police Chief Julian Harvey.