Last week, we detailed the ongoing drama in Anaheim as Mayor Ashleigh Aitken’s chief of staff accused her of using slurs and drunkenness. We reached out to Aitken to see where the city goes from here.
As she has done since the beginning, she denies using slurs and says she was blindsided by the allegations. She admits having a drinking problem and is taking steps to deal with it, but denies drunkenness took place at City Hall.
Even so, residents need to know the city is in steady hands as it handles major issues — from negotiations over the stadium with a new owner to budget challenges.
We endorsed Aitken in 2018 and 2022 as the reform candidate and, aside from this unpleasantness, have seen no reason to lose confidence in her. She describes herself as a fiscally responsible Democrat who has been a champion of marginalized communities, and she has largely governed in a manner consistent with that self-description.
Unfortunately, Anaheim recently approved unaffordable 17% raises for police officers over the next three years. Nevertheless, the city’s police union has pulled its endorsement of Aitken. That’s presumably because of the allegations, but Aitken says the union “is not happy that I’m continuing my investigation into officers’ overtime practices.”
The union released an ugly hit mailer that says Anaheim needs a new mayor. That conclusion is premature. The mayor is doing the right things. She’s working with city staff to complete an investigation, meeting with community groups and going door-to-door to talk with Anaheim residents. And most importantly, nothing has been substantiated as far as the allegations against her.
She’s been criticized for not attending meetings with a former council member, noting: “I don’t find it necessarily genuine or productive when people only show up when there’s a camera or a microphone.” We can’t really blame her for avoiding events likely to turn into a circus.
We also think this matter should be put into perspective. Previous mayor Harry Sidhu resigned after the feds leveled felony charges regarding his obstruction of an investigation into the proposed sale of the city-owned Angel Stadium. The Aitken scandal, however unseemly, doesn’t come close to that level of seriousness.
No one else on the November ballot has the experience to be the mayor of California’s 10th-largest city. We urge residents to remain patient, withhold judgment and let the matter unfold.