Mayor Ashleigh Aitken hails Anaheim as a visitor city for all in annual address

The Dapper Dans of Disneyland crooned as they introduced Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken during her annual State of the City speech at the Grove of Anaheim.

Taking helm of Orange County’s most populous city three years ago in a time of turmoil and political corruption, Aitken implied by omission that Anaheim is in a more harmonious place now.

With Disneyland’s 70th birthday a few months away and the Honda Center investing in renovations ahead of playing host to Olympic volleyball in 2028, Aitken looked forward to “greater things” to come.

Eschewing a lectern, she confidently strolled along the Grove’s stage on Tuesday while boosting Anaheim as a city of immigrants and a global destination.

“As a visitor city, we welcome everyone; from those around the world who have made Anaheim their adopted home to those who come here to visit and enjoy all our city has to offer,” Aitken said.

While Disneyland’s milestone arrives in July with commemorative merchandise already on the shelves, Aitken touted the arrival of a “new era” with DisneylandForward, a $2-billion expansion plan on its existing properties.

“Our city has cleared the way with approval on zoning and planning that will expand Anaheim as a global visitor economy in the decades to come,” she said of Anaheim City Council’s vote approving DisneylandForward a year ago.

With nearly 70% of Anaheim’s general fund coming from the Anaheim Resort District, Aitken expected Disneyland’s expansion to bring more money for the city’s parks, libraries, community centers and public safety.

Anaheim also negotiated additional community benefits from Disneyland beyond expected tax revenue increases.

“In the coming weeks we will see Disney’s first $15 million contribution to affordable housing in Anaheim,” Aitken said. “It is the first of two payments, with another $15 million coming in the next few years.”

The corporation has also pledged to contribute $8 million to the city’s parks.

Aitken hailed OC Vibe, another multibillion-dollar project in Anaheim, as “transformative.” The development will turn the land around the Honda Center into a hub of entertainment and housing.

“OC Vibe represents a $4-billion — with a ‘b’ — investment in our city,” Aitken emphasized. “That’s not even counting the $450 million being directly invested in our Honda Center.”

Guests watch Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken deliver her State of the City address.

(James Carbone)

For as vibrant as the business climate in the city appears to be, the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce almost disbanded before the speech in the wake of an FBI political corruption probe that first surfaced three years ago.

Todd Ament, the Chamber’s former president and chief executive, pleaded guilty to four felonies, including wire fraud, in connection to the investigation.

Ament cooperated with federal agents and surreptitiously recorded former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu wanting to ask for $1-million from Angels Baseball in political spending in return for negotiating the now-defunct deal to sell Angel Stadium and the land around it to a company controlled by team owner Arte Moreno.

A judge recently sentenced Sidhu to two months in federal prison for related crimes.

Slated to close, a new board of directors announced that the Chamber is going to reorganize a day before the speech.

The Chamber also passed a resolution disassociating itself from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce PAC, a spending vehicle that poured hefty sums into mayoral races, including in support Sidhu against Aitken in 2018.

“Having a chamber of commerce is a good thing, in general, for cities and it’s a way to bring businesses together for the common good,” said Tom Tait, who served as Anaheim mayor from 2010 to 2018 and butted heads politically with the local trade association. “That wasn’t was what the Chamber was in Anaheim. It was run by special interests for special interests. Time will tell if this will truly be a fresh start.”

The Chamber’s political influence in Anaheim even extended to past State of the City addresses that it organized until Tait wrested the event away from it in 2015.

“Ament wanted to control my speech,” Tait said. “If he couldn’t, he threatened to have Councilwoman Kris Murray give the State of the City.”

Aitken touted Anaheim as a global destination in her address on Tuesday

(James Carbone)

Aitken mentioned political corruption in her past two State of the City addresses and the city has approved several reforms under her tenure as mayor to increase accountability and oversight, including the hiring of an ethics officer.

But in her latest speech, Aitken preferred to focus on the changes coming to Anaheim, from east to west.

She touted Rebuild Beach Boulevard, an effort to redevelop seedy motels along the highway into housing and retail. The city has spent nearly $35 million buying, closing and clearing motel properties on Beach.

“In the days ahead, we will tear down the Rainbow Inn, our fourth demolition in four years,” she said. “That will clear the way for townhomes and affordable apartments.”

Aitken praised popular chains slated to come to the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, which will also be home to the first Dutch Bros location in Anaheim.

“As a city, we are building on a track record with our transformation of the Anaheim Resort, downtown Anaheim, the Platinum Triangle, and we are now leading the way on Beach,” she said.

The mayor also praised Little Arabia, an enclave populated by small businesses, as a continuum of the immigrant entrepreneurial spirit that led Germans to start a wine colony in the late 1850s that turned into the modern city Anaheim is today.

She concluded with a Disney-like message on Anaheim’s behalf to anyone looking to come to the city and better it by their own ambitions.

“To all looking to build their American Dream, to inspire their imaginations, to find prosperity and success, to embrace the future and to be part of something bigger than ourselves,” Aitken said, “well, you’ve come to the right place.”