Anaheim’s new mayor, council will face challenges big and small after the elections
With longtime Mayor Tom Tait termed out and half of the city’s council seats up for grabs Nov. 6, this election will change the face of Anaheim government and could determine the city’s future direction for years.
Each of the 19 candidates – eight for mayor and the rest vying for council seats in three districts – may have their own goals and priorities, but there are a handful of issues in the city whomever is elected will likely find hard to ignore.
Homelessness
One of the most visible issues local officials in Anaheim and the rest of Southern California hear about daily is the region’s homeless crisis.
“It’s my No. 1 issue personally because of the impact it’s having on the fabric and the quality of life overall,” said Bill Taormina, a city resident and business owner for nearly 70 years. “I can’t think of anything more important than this.”
Paul Leon, CEO of the Illumination Foundation, a nonprofit homeless service provider, said the next council will likely be asked how Anaheim can help with providing services beyond shelters. With no public hospital, Orange County desperately needs clinics and care centers that can address issues more prevalent in the homeless population, he said, including mental illness, addiction and communicable diseases.
The city is “very, very close” to reaching a settlement in a federal lawsuit with homeless plaintiffs who were ousted from a Santa Ana River Trail encampment, Councilman Stephen Faessel said.
But the challenge after the election will be convincing residents who feel the city already has done more than its share that adding shelters, long-term housing and other services won’t wreck their neighborhoods, he said.
About 1,000 residents showed up at City Hall to oppose the opening of Bridges at Kraemer Place, a warehouse-style building converted to a 200-bed shelter, Faessel said. Now that it’s been operating for more than a year, it has had few if any police calls and resident complaints, he said – and that’s the kind of story elected officials need to tell the community.
“We will have to lock arms and we will have to work together on this,” Faessel said of whomever voters choose as his future colleagues.
Economic concerns
Anaheim is blessed with lucrative entertainment venues that make it “the envy of every city in the county,” said Paul Kott, a longtime local real estate agent and Angels season ticket holder for 25 years.
But recent – and sometimes vitriolic – public debates over the Walt Disney Co.’s wages and city tax incentive deals it received led to the cancellation of a luxury hotel planned at the Disneyland Resort.
And, about two years after talks between the city and the Angels stalled over its future at the stadium, the baseball team recently gave notice it may withdraw from its lease. Execs with the team said they’ll go back to the city after the election to restart talks with the new leadership.
How city leaders handle relations with Anaheim’s big partners could make or break the city’s budget, Councilwoman Kris Murray said. Private-sector investment that boosted tax revenues has helped the city pay down its pension liability, beef up a depleted Police Department and improve parks, she said.
The recently announced framework for a long-term agreement to keep the Ducks at Honda Center is a start, Murray said, but with the Angels now free to seek a new home, the next council will face high-stakes negotiations.
When she last ran for council in 2014, Murray said, “The No. 1, common-denominator question I got over and over and over again was, ‘Are the Angels going to stay in Anaheim?’”
How much money the city has coming in will affect how it can address more basic concerns, such as aging roads, water and sewer lines that can slow or stall development of new homes and businesses, Kott said.
The city also needs more code enforcement staff to ensure landlords keep up rental properties, which make up about half of Anaheim’s housing stock, he said.
Leadership qualities
City staff can handle the details and follow-through, but the mayor and council have to lead the way – and they will achieve much more if they can work as a team, Taormina said.
Besides having “a caring heart for Anaheim,” Kott said he’d like to see city leaders who understand business and can communicate “what makes Anaheim a better place to be” to those who live and work there.
Council members should stand up for under-served residents, such as families struggling to afford housing and immigrants who feel targeted by the federal government, said Miguel Hernandez, executive director of the nonprofit Orange County Congregation Community Organization.
“When we invest in the newcomers in education and job training and other public services, we create a stronger economy and a stronger community,” he said.
Yesenia Rojas, an activist in her Anna Drive neighborhood, said she wants her elected leaders to not just come around for photo ops, but to consider the needs of everyday working people, such as affordable homes and after-school programs for kids.
She and her husband both work, but they can’t afford to get a bigger apartment for their family of six, she said.
“I don’t want to move” out of Anaheim, Rojas said. “I’ve been here for more than 30 years, but this is making us to make a hard decision.”
Who’s running in Anaheim
The Nov. 6 ballot in Anaheim will include candidates for mayor and three council seats. Here are the choices. (Asterisk denotes a sitting council member.)
For mayor: Ashleigh Aitken, Lorri Galloway, Rudy Gaona, Tony D. Martin, H. Fuji Shioura, Harry Sidhu, Cynthia Ward and Robert Williams
For Council District 2: Jordan Brandman, Donald Bruhns, Duane Roberts, Robert Trimble and James Derek Vanderbilt*
For Council District 3: Mitch Caldwell, Jose F. Moreno* and Robert R. Nelson
For Council District 6: Patty Gaby, Grant Henninger and Trevor O’Neil
Nov. 6 election voter guide: Compare Anaheim City Council and mayor candidates on the issues