When It Comes to Giving Up Disney Ticket, He Passes

Herb Leo, a.k.a. “Mr. Anaheim,” had to make a choice: keep the Community Redevelopment Commission seat he has held for about 15 years, or keep his “silver pass” to Disneyland.

Leo gave up the commission post.

“I have a silver pass to Disneyland that I have had for many years and I will not return it,” the longtime Anaheim resident said in a letter to the City Council.

“This will restrict my ability to vote on issues that might involve them (Disneyland) and jeopardize decisions made by the commission. Therefore, I am resigning,” Leo explained in his Feb. 10 letter.

In an interview Wednesday, Leo said that he and his wife use the free pass--which allows the holder and up to three guests unlimited use of Disneyland--”whenever we have company or family come into town.”

“I don’t know--I might not have a happy home if I got rid of it,” Leo observed.

Under the Political Reform Act of 1974, officials cannot vote on an issue affecting a gift-giver for one year following receipt of gifts worth $250 or more. In 1978, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) determined that the Magic Kingdom’s annual passes are worth between $620 and $720.

Anaheim planning commissioners faced a related dilemma last April when a proposal for a new hotel received initial opposition from Disneyland officials. The Planning Commission, whose seven members held the special passes to Disneyland, had to declare themselves ineligible to vote and shipped the issue to the City Council for a decision.

Planning commissioners and City Council members at the time criticized the $250 limit set by state law and the FPPC’s estimated value of the silver passes as “unreasonable.”

Leo said he decided to resign from the seven-member redevelopment commission because the group probably will have to vote on a major redevelopment project in the Katella Avenue area around Disneyland before the end of the year. Council members, expressing their regrets, accepted his resignation Tuesday.

Anaheim Deputy City Atty. Malcolm E. Slaughter, who last year informed planning commissioners of their potential conflict of interest in the hotel proposal, told Leo that he faced the potential for a similar conflict if he kept his pass and voted on the Katella project or any issues that could affect Disneyland.

“I’ve had a silver pass with Disneyland--I couldn’t tell you how many years, probably 15, 20 years,” Leo said.

Around the city, the 69-year-old community activist is known as “Mr. Anaheim,” a title he modestly said he doesn’t like. “I’m not Mr. Anaheim any more than any other guy who wants to work for the city.”

Leo’s long list of volunteer work for the city includes his involvement with the Anaheim Visitors and Convention Bureau and his advice on a proposed, futuristic-looking “people mover” outside the perimeters of Disneyland. The “Transpark” proposal--an above-ground bus system geared to reduce traffic congestion around Disneyland--is “beginning to move ahead,” Leo said.

His involvement with the Transpark plan--which city officials say is Leo’s brainchild--was listed as another reason why “I shouldn’t be a commissioner,” Leo said.

“I’m involved in a lot of things. I told Norm Priest (the city’s community development executive director) that I would continue to be a thorn in his side,” Leo joked Wednesday.

Although he may have resigned from the commission, Leo said, “they’re not going to get rid of me.”