More elected officials have joined the call for the resignation of anyone in Anaheim City Hall who may have participated in planning a mock council meeting ahead of a City Council discussion related to the sale of Angel Stadium.
Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, State Sen. Tom Umberg and U.S. Rep. Lou Correa, all Democrats, on Friday, Aug. 18, issued a joint statement calling the idea of mock meetings “unethical,” saying, “If any elected official’s or city staff’s actions as public servants were influenced by this preordained plan, we are calling on them to resign immediately.”
They said it was “imperative” to hold leaders accountable following “one of the most significant public corruption scandals in Orange County’s history.”
Their joint release echos earlier statements by Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken.
An email proposing mock council meeting sessions to be held in September 2020 – when the council was considering the development agreement that outlined what could be built on the stadium property – was among the details in an agreement former Mayor Harry Sidhu signed with the United States Attorney’s Office this week to plead guilty to four federal charges.
Valencia joined the council after the deal to sell the stadium for $320 million was approved by the council, as well as the follow up development agreement. He was voted to the Assembly last year.
The meeting mentioned in the plea agreement, which was proposed to include the then mayor, two council members, two city staffers and Angels representatives, did not occur, according to former Councilmember Trevor O’Neil. “Although the email referenced in the plea agreement proposed a mock council meeting, we did not do that, and instead, we simply had a discussion of items and policy, in compliance with the Brown Act.”
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