OCCORD Calls for Resignations and Reforms to rid the City of Anaheim of Corruption

There is no room for corruption in Anaheim and we demand action from our elected officials to end the era of pay-for-play politics in Anaheim. Residents deserve local representatives who will serve them and NOT special interest donors.

Orange County, CA - Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) today released the following statement regarding the release of Anaheim's independent investigation report into corruption. 

“Our elected leaders and public officials are expected to have the highest ethical standards in order to represent the best interest of their constituents. What we read in Anaheim’s independent investigation report is appalling, unacceptable, but sadly unsurprising. 

“For years, OCCORD has been calling out the corruption in Anaheim’s City Hall, and this report clearly validates what we knew was happening all along; from election medling, to secretive contracts, and money laundering. There is no room for the types of pay-for-play schemes and backroom dealings shown between ex-mayor Sidhu and other elected officials, Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, Anaheim First and Visit Anaheim. 

“While working class residents were losing their jobs and dying at high rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, greedy individuals inside City Hall were lining their pockets, and companies and corporations were walking away with millions of public dollars that should have gone to help working class families. While our residents were being priced out of their homes and struggling just to put food on the table, Anaheim officials and corporate leaders were making out like bandits, solidifying their economic and political futures. 

“Today, we call on officials in the City of Anaheim to take action to rid the city of corruption once and for all. The time has come for local leaders to take bold steps in order to restore trust with the residents it has failed for so long. If Mayor Ashleigh Aitken wants her proposed advisory committee to have any shred of validity, then OCCORD, our partners, and our community residents must be at the table. 

“The following is a list of actions the City of Anaheim can take to begin building trust with its residents and heal the city:

• Demand the resignation of any elected officials and city staff implicated in the report. 

• Immediately sever ties with Anaheim Chamber of Commerce and Visit Anaheim, and demand that they pay back public dollars that belong to residents who are still experiencing the economic effects of the pandemic. 

• Enact campaign finance and lobbying reforms ahead of the 2024 elections.  

• Strengthen Anaheim’s Ethics Commission to have real power to hold ethics violators accountable. 

• Expand language accessibility for public hearings, allowing for more robust online and in-person participation for non-English speaking residents.

“OCCORD, its partners, and community residents demand the City of Anaheim take swift and lasting actions to rid Anaheim of corruption. The time is now, and we stand ready to work with the City to move Anaheim into a new era where residents can once again trust that their local government is working for them and not special interests.”

Ely Flores

Executive Director