2026-10-02 - City Council Special Meeting

10:17like to call to order the special

10:18meeting of the Anaheim City Council. Uh,

10:21pursuant to SB707, this meeting will

10:24include in-person and remote

10:25participation via webinar. Madame Clerk,

10:28will you please call role? Thank you,

10:29Mayor Prom. Council member Bis

10:32>> present.

10:32>> Council member Curts

10:34>> here.

10:35>> Council member Mos

10:36>> present.

10:37>> Council member Meeks

10:38>> here.

10:43[snorts]

10:45>> Council member Ubakalba

10:51>> here.

10:52>> Mayor Prom Leon

10:53>> present.

10:54>> Let the record show we have six members

10:56present.

10:57>> Thank you madam clerk. Are there any

10:58additions or deletions to the special

11:00meeting agenda?

11:02>> Mayor Prom, we do not.

11:04>> Okay.

11:04>> Madame clerk, can you please call

11:05forward speakers addressing the close

11:07session agenda?

11:09>> Thank you, Mayor Prom and City Council.

11:10We do have five in-person speakers. We

11:13will call them and just noting for the

11:14record, we did receive two remote

11:16comments and we will call those speakers

11:18at the end of our in-person speakers.

11:20Um, if the first speaker can please step

11:22forward, Janine Robbins. And the time

11:24limit is three minutes per speaker.

11:42I keep hearing people say innocent until

11:45proven guilty. Let's be clear about

11:46something. This is not a criminal trial.

11:49Nobody is standing here asking you to

11:51convict anyone of a crime. And nobody

11:53needs to prove these allegations beyond

11:55a reasonable doubt before this council

11:57takes them seriously. We believe Brenise

12:00and we believe the employees and

12:02whistleblowers who have come before this

12:04council describing retaliation,

12:07harassment, intimidation, and failures

12:10inside this city. What sickens me is how

12:13quickly everyone suddenly discovered the

12:15word investigation.

12:17Now that the public is watching, now

12:19it's urgent. Now you need answers. Now

12:22you want something expedited. Where was

12:25the urgency when Brenise was asking city

12:27leadership for help? According to her

12:29government claim, she repeatedly

12:31reported concerns to senior city

12:33officials. And she alleges that

12:36leadership minimized what she was

12:37reporting and left her to manage it

12:39herself. Where was your urgency for the

12:42other employees who have already come

12:44forward? Where is your urgency for the

12:46employees who are still sitting silently

12:48inside city hall because they have

12:50watched what happens to people who speak

12:52up and you have the audacity to suddenly

12:55expedite this investigation while

12:57residents have repeatedly stood before

12:59you demanding answers about something as

13:02fundamental as their drinking water. Do

13:04you understand what your job is? It

13:07isn't ribbon cutting. It isn't taking

13:09pictures at community events. It is

13:12governing this city. It is oversight. It

13:16is accountability. It is transparency.

13:19It is making sure the people running

13:21this organization are actually

13:23protecting its employees and its

13:24residents. Instead, employees are paying

13:28the price for leadership's failures.

13:30Taxpayers are paying for lawyers and

13:32claims, and residents are left wondering

13:34whether anyone inside city hall is

13:36actually in control.

13:39And when allegations involving racial

13:41slurs and sexual orientation harassment

13:45reach this level, there is another

13:47consequence. People are hurt. Latino

13:50residents hear the allegation that an

13:52employee of Mexican heritage was called

13:54a dirty Mexican. LGBTQ residents hear

13:58allegations involving a homophobic slur

14:01and repeated intrusive questioning about

14:03people's sexual orientation.

14:06And then they watch city hall scrambling

14:09only after the allegations become

14:11public. This is catastrophic for public

14:15confidence. It is embarrassing and it

14:18did not happen overnight. You were

14:20elected to provide oversight. So stop

14:22governing by crisis. Do your jobs before

14:25another employee has to hire an

14:27attorney, file a claim, or stand

14:28publicly against city hall just to be

14:30heard. You have stayed silent until

14:33there are consequences. And now you know

14:35that your silence can and is being

14:38viewed as participation.

14:43>> Our next speaker.

14:51>> Last week we heard calls for an

14:53investigation into the allegations

14:55involving Bones Bellinus. An

14:58investigation. Where was the

15:00investigation when Bren was asking city

15:02leadership for help? Where was the

15:05investigation when, according to her

15:06government claim, senior city officials

15:09personally witnessed conduct involving

15:11the mayor? Where was the investigation

15:13when Barren says she repeatedly reported

15:16what was happening? And where was the

15:19protection when this interim city

15:20manager told her, "You know how the

15:22mayor is. Just don't let it get to you.

15:25How dare this city act as though it just

15:29learned there was a problem." According

15:31to Bren's claim, city leadership knew

15:34senior officials witnessed incidents.

15:37She reported concerns and instead of

15:39protecting an employee, the alleged

15:41response was to minimize it, normalize

15:44it, and inspect her to manage it. That

15:46is not employee protection. That is

15:48institutional failure. And this is

15:51bigger than Barren. Anaheim has

15:54developed a disturbing pattern when

15:56employees raise serious concerns.

15:58minimize, deflect, discredit, isolate,

16:01and when everyone fin and when

16:04everything finally becomes public,

16:06announce another investigation.

16:08Then taxpayers get the bill. Taxpayers

16:11pay for the attorneys. Taxpayers pay for

16:13the settlements and litigation. And

16:16let's be honest about something else.

16:18When the city controls who investigates,

16:20what gets investigated, and how the

16:22investigation is conducted, people have

16:24the right to question whether that

16:26investigation is truly independent.

16:29And the people who allowed these

16:30environments to continue remain

16:32comfortably seated at the top. That is a

16:35a systemic problem inside city hall.

16:39Council, let's be clear. There had to be

16:41signs. So, do you really expect us to

16:44believe you did not know? Because when

16:48it hits the fan, none of you should be

16:50looking for a way to make sure you don't

16:52get any on any of it on yourselves. And

16:54for years, residents have heard promises

16:57about transparency, accountability, and

16:59reform. But you cannot reform a culture

17:02while protecting the culture that

17:03created the problem. And you cannot call

17:06yourselves leaders if employees have to

17:08become whistleblowers, hire attorneys,

17:10file government claims, or go to public

17:12or go public before anyone listens. Your

17:15responsibility is not simply to

17:17investigate after the damage is done.

17:20Your in your responsibility is to create

17:22a government where an employee can

17:23report misconduct by someone powerful

17:26and know that the institution will

17:28protect the employee, not the

17:30institution. So you don't just

17:32investigate the allegations against one

17:34person. Investigate who knew.

17:37Investigate when they knew. Investigate

17:39what employees reported. Investigate who

17:42minimized those reports. and most

17:44importantly investigate why an Anaheim

17:46employee apparently had to reach the

17:49point of PTSD medical leave and a

17:51serious medical crisis your time is up

17:54before city hall finally decided her

17:56complaints deserve to be taken seriously

17:59>> because if an employee is up I'm going

18:01to finish and you want me to stop don't

18:03you

18:04>> ma'am I'm sorry

18:05>> because if an employee has to suffer

18:06this much before city hall listens then

18:09the employee

18:09>> gets three minutes and we need to be

18:11fair to

18:11>> every I'm going to finish you guys have

18:13not let us

18:14>> ma'am I'm very sorry but we

18:15>> because if an employee has to suffer

18:17this much before city hall listens then

18:19the problem isn't just what happened to

18:21Baron the problem is what city allowed

18:25to happen and what ma'am that this

18:27council needs to answer to you all

18:30should be ashamed you knew

18:32>> next speaker please

18:34>> Mike Robbins

18:42>> some people think if you're not

18:43following the rules. Why? Why should

18:45they? At what point does anyone in the

18:47city become embarrassed by what's

18:48happening in Anaheim? According to

18:50Bernice, uh the government claimed the

18:52mayor allegedly referred to her as a

18:54dirty Mexican. The claim alleges that

18:56the mayor said she did not want a dirty

18:59Mexican and a [ __ ] man driving her

19:02car. I I almost can't believe it. Okay.

19:05The claim describes repeated questioning

19:07of Bernice. And I don't know why you

19:08guys haven't didn't hear this stuff and

19:10know it and know everything that was

19:11going on and didn't do anything. Uh and

19:14there was an illness there that you did

19:15not uh observe and take care of and and

19:19do something about it. Uh according to

19:20the claim Disneyland the mayor

19:22repeatedly questioned a Disney cast

19:24member about whether he was gay or

19:26straight and about his dating life while

19:28he was trying to do his job.

19:30He would have slapped somebody or

19:32spilled something on him. Disney later

19:34documented that cast me the cast member

19:38reported rude, insensitive, and

19:40inappropriate remarks and

19:42characterization the treatment of its

19:43employee as an egregious violation. The

19:46claim describes an incident where the

19:48mayor pushed over a bicycle, damaged its

19:51mirror after a city- related dinner in a

19:54public setting. You guys didn't see that

19:56or report it or do anything. Um, the

19:58mayor of Anaheim was throwing uh drunken

20:01tantrums and none of you guys saw that

20:02or I mean now the world now we got the

20:05whole world watching us as usual and now

20:08the world gets to watch try to figure

20:10out what to do about it. But um here's

20:12what makes the scandal so much worse. Uh

20:15the leadership already knew there were

20:17problems. Well, you guys I'm sure PRICE

20:20allegedly reported incidents. Senior

20:21officials allegedly witnessed incidents.

20:24People attended these events saw the

20:26behavior. People who were there at the

20:29events saw the behavior. Uh nothing

20:32happened. So spare the residents uh

20:36acting shocked now that attorneys uh and

20:39reporters are watching. Uh the problem

20:41isn't simply the conduct. It's city.

20:43It's a city hall culture. Um you have to

20:47demand accountability.

20:49Where were all of you before this became

20:51a scandal? uh leadership knew and uh

20:55this is a real problem. This is not this

20:59is not just Bernice and uh Ashley. This

21:02is everyone here.

21:04[cough and clears throat]

21:05And I have to tell and I have to remind

21:07you that uh when she complained, Greg

21:09Garcia

21:11took her arm

21:13and said, "Bernice,

21:16forget it. It's Chinatown.

21:22Hey,

21:22>> our next speaker,

21:24>> Grace Arzola,

21:29>> you people.

21:32>> Where's the mayor? She's running. Um,

21:36I'm wrote a speech for her, so I hope

21:38she hears it. I'm here to demand the

21:40resignation of Mayor Akens. I believe

21:43that those comments were made and that

21:45the only way out for you is to resign

21:47and drop out of the mayor race. The

21:49allegations against you are serious and

21:51the trust in the Hispanic community has

21:52been eroded.

21:54How can community members trust a leader

21:56who refers to them as dirty Mexicans?

21:58But I don't think I don't think that you

22:01should be the only one losing your job.

22:02Nathan Garcia and the officer who didn't

22:05have his camera on should also lose

22:07their job because although those

22:09comments are serious and horrible, it's

22:11not as horrible as having to bury your

22:13nephew.

22:15We've been here coming for almost 10

22:17months demanding justice. But those have

22:19fell on silent ears because you couldn't

22:22speak because it was an election year

22:23and you needed that police union

22:25endorsement which they took away.

22:33The allegation states that you were

22:35intoxicated while at city council

22:36meetings. I wonder how many contracts

22:39were approved and voted on while she was

22:40drunk. Millions of taxpayers money was

22:43voted while a leader, the most high

22:46elected leader in the city was drunk.

22:48And if you guys knew that's shameful and

22:51I also want to say that Norma Compos

22:53Curts did not kick you when you were

22:55down. She simply did her job and stood

22:58up for the community she serves. She

23:00understands her role unlike Natalie and

23:02Carlos who remain silent regarding the

23:05allegation. And they serve Hispanics.

23:08And shame on you Carlos. You could not

23:09take a stand. We're not saying that you

23:12condemn her. We're saying that you take

23:15a stand for what is right. But instead,

23:17you stayed silent and the next day you

23:21showed up at a Hispanic event. How can

23:24you show up? The hypocrisy is crazy.

23:27[clears throat]

23:29And Natalie, you thought it was more

23:31important to make comments about my

23:32nephew's passing

23:34>> than taking a stand for the Hispanic

23:36community that you serve. It's sad, but

23:38it's not unexpected. I want to tell you

23:41and I don't know if you know Spanish

23:44but Anaheim misses when we had lead true

23:47leadership like Dr. Moreno and let me

23:49tell you something Natalie

23:52in case you don't speak Spanish that

23:54means you don't come up to Dr. from

23:55Moreno's not even to his ankles because

23:59your leadership is weak. Leaderships

24:02bring people that are not talking to

24:04talk. But you divide. That's what you

24:06did on Tuesday. You created drama and

24:09that is shameful. You are here to serve

24:12the people, not to harass a grieving

24:15mother. You go back, hear that video.

24:17You could hear Rosy's voice cracking

24:20because that pain she has is

24:22unacceptable because that pain was

24:24caused from you guys. So for you to sit

24:26here and make allegations and then say

24:28it's an open investigation, we can't

24:30comment, but you were quick to comment.

24:32Shame on you. I hope you get voted out.

24:34And Carlos,

24:35>> I'm sorry. Your time is up.

24:37>> Girl, a backbone. Norma, thank you for

24:39standing with us.

24:40>> Our next speaker,

24:42>> Ariana,

24:45>> Ariana Avalos.

24:52Hi, my name is Ariana Avalos and I'm

24:54here to speak about Mayor Ashley being

24:57removed from the seat. I believe Mayor

25:00Ashley took the seat. That's what we all

25:02believe. That's why she got voted to

25:04take care and protect the community.

25:06That is 70% of this city. How dare you

25:09go and then say dirty Mexican when the

25:12city you're required to take care of,

25:15protect, make changes for is Hispanic

25:18Latinos. How dare you? She probably went

25:21to her office and it was clean. Why?

25:23Because there was a Hispanic who

25:24probably cleaned it after hours. She

25:26went to the restroom and it was clean.

25:28Why? Because there was a Hispanic who

25:30stayed after hours to clean it. She got

25:32to eat breakfast today. Why? Cuz there

25:33was a Hispanic who went to the field and

25:36pescadlo for her so she could have it on

25:38her desk. How dare her? She say dirty

25:41Mexicans when she decided to sit in a

25:43seat for a city that the population is

25:47Hispanic. How dare her? How dare her? I

25:51would came in at least two, three

25:53Hispanics at the front door before

25:54making it into the city hall. Imagine

25:56how they feel that the mayor called one

26:00employee from the city a dirty Mexican.

26:03How dare her? And yes, we are dirty cuz

26:06we work the jobs that the people don't

26:08want to work. That's why we are dirty.

26:11That's why she has a clean office.

26:13That's why she has food on her table and

26:14clean water because of the dirty

26:16Mexicans. and she is mad because the

26:18dirty Mexicans that came are now

26:20creating products, children of products

26:21that are taking seats that you guys

26:23want. And Natalie, that would be taken

26:25from you by Elia. Thank you, Norma, for

26:27standing up. Thank you. And just like

26:30the mayor, Nathan Garcia thinks it's

26:32okay because the na mayor is just as

26:34racist as him. And that's why the police

26:37do what they do because the mayor can

26:38get away with this. So why can't they

26:40behind a badge? Nathan Garcia, it wasn't

26:43his first time. And that's what the

26:44police are never going to tell you,

26:45Natalie. That was not his first time

26:47harassing that street, harassing those

26:49boys. And it wasn't his first Hispanic

26:51brown boy that he had assaulted and

26:53hurt. Except my cousin, unfortunately,

26:55ended up in the ground. And next time it

26:58could be your kid or your kid or your

27:00kid just because they're brown, just

27:02because they're Hispanic. And yes, we

27:04are dirty Mexicans, but I am proud to be

27:06a dirty Mexican cuz we are educated and

27:08we are hardworking and we do not hide

27:11when we are confronted with something

27:13like Ashley. And that's all I got to

27:15say. If you guys are here to serve the

27:18majority of the community of the

27:20population, which is Latinos, who keeps

27:22this city running, you guys would vote

27:25her out because that is not okay because

27:27she, even though it's one Hispanic, that

27:29is all of us, cuz we are one.

27:34[cheering]

27:36>> Our next speaker, Pearl Arzola.

27:45I am here to demand the resignation of

27:48the mayor and for her to stop refle her

27:52reflecting campaign. The allegations

27:54against her are severe and not as severe

27:57as the killing of my brother who some

28:01some who Natalie thought it was more

28:03important to address the killing of my

28:05brother instead of taking a span for the

28:07Hispanics. You were elected to protest.

28:10Ashley needs to resign and Nathan needs

28:14to be fired. And you, Natalie, you need

28:17to be voted out. And I miss Dr. Moreno's

28:21um leadership cuz he actually leaded

28:26this. And Ashley

28:29Ashley and Mayor Akins, it's time for

28:32you guys to go.

28:41This is what we're going to be playing

28:42when you guys are voted out.

29:02Mayor and city council, that concludes

29:03our in-person speakers. Um, we are now

29:06going to turn to our remote speakers.

29:07Our first speaker is Mr. Dwayne Roberts.

29:11Mr. Roberts, if you can please unmute

29:13yourself at this time.

29:15>> Can you hear me? Can you hear me?

29:18>> Yes, we can hear you. Mr. Roberts, you

29:19can go start when you're ready.

29:21>> We'll do right now. Dwayne Roberts,

29:22editor and publisher,

29:23anaheiminvestigator.com.

29:25I'm contacting this body because the

29:27allegations surrounding Mayor Ashley

29:29Akin and Michael Penn's May 2025 trip to

29:33Qatar remain serious and unresolved. I

29:36obtained 344 pages of documents about

29:38this trip through a public records act

29:40request I filed last year. They include

29:42the exact email cited in the Baron

29:45Spelina's tort claim and every

29:47communication between her, aken, Penn,

29:50and the Qatari embassy about who is

29:52responsible for paying for Penn's travel

29:54expenses. The paper trail is blunt in

29:57every communication and it runs through

29:58May 28th. It [snorts] is agreed that

30:00Penn must pay for his own travel. No one

30:04disputes this. Even Aken wrote on April

30:072nd, and I quote, "I will need to

30:10purchase Michael's plane ticket given

30:12the California rules on gifts." End

30:15quote. Those are her words, not mine.

30:18But the records also contain glaring

30:20emissions. We still don't know when the

30:22Qatari embassy purchased Akin's ticket.

30:25That matters. If Akin and Penn flew

30:27together, maybe even seated together, it

30:29raises the possibility Penn misre

30:32misrepresented himself as a Chapman

30:34University delegate to avoid paying for

30:36his travel exactly as Bolina's claim

30:39suggests. And this isn't an isolated

30:41pattern. In 2023, Penn accompanied Aken

30:44on a city finance trip to Washington DC.

30:47A fact later confirmed to me directly by

30:49chief communications officer Mike

30:51Listister in emails copied to then city

30:54manager James Vanderpool and interim

30:56city manager Greg Garcia. I still have

30:59those emails. So in the interest of

31:01transparency, I'm calling on the city

31:03council to demand that Akin release the

31:06following information. One, all records

31:09showing when airline tickets for both

31:10Aken and Penn were purchased, reserved,

31:13or modified, including receipts,

31:15invoices, booking confirmations, and

31:17reservation logs. Two, all

31:19communications between Penn and any

31:22representative of Qatar or the Qatari

31:24embassy, including consular officials,

31:26staffs, intermediaries or coordinators.

31:30And three, all communications between

31:32Penn and any individual or entity in

31:34Qatar in which Chairman University was

31:36discussed, including meeting

31:38coordination, agendas, briefing

31:40materials, and follow-ups. With all due

31:43respect, pointing to the Fair Political

31:45Practices Commission and saying they

31:46looked into this matter is not enough.

31:48Many investigative journalists and

31:50government watchd dogs know this agency

31:52is underfunded, understaffed, and

31:55incapable of conducting a thorough

31:57investigation. If Penn's role as Chapman

32:00University delegate was legitimate and

32:03compliant with state law, releasing

32:05these records shouldn't be a problem for

32:07Aken. But if these records are withheld,

32:11that refusal will speak for itself. I

32:16thank you very much for your time.

32:19>> Our next speaker, Mark Herbert. Mr.

32:22Herbert, if you can unmute yourself at

32:24this time.

32:31Mr. Herbert, you're on the line.

32:34>> Mark Herbert, anaheimgree.com.

32:37Stop pretending this problem began when

32:39Barren Balan filed a government claim.

32:41You attended city functions together.

32:43You attended conferences together. You

32:45attended dinners, community events, and

32:48stakeholder events together. According

32:50to Bones's government claim, senior city

32:53officials personally witnessed incidents

32:55involving the mayor and Bones repeatedly

32:58went to city leadership asking for help.

33:00Yet now, we're to believe this is all

33:02new information to you. [clears throat]

33:05Meeting after meeting, residents have

33:06warned you about the retaliation,

33:08harassment, and questionable conduct and

33:10culture where city employees are afraid

33:12to speak. What happens? You sit there

33:16during council communications carrying

33:18on for over 30 minutes as though

33:20everything is fine

33:22while the people who elected you are

33:24wondering why they have no running

33:26water. Council now wants an

33:27investigation on the mayor. my public

33:30comments on YouTube at the threeh hour 6

33:33minute and 4 second mark of the 92926

33:37council meeting and at the opening of

33:40the session the special close session on

33:4393026

33:45document the failed council

33:47investigations over the past nine years

33:5010 of them the jail report was the last

33:53major investigation it cost 1.5 million

33:56and took 11 months to complete It

33:59produced an ethics office costing

34:01394,000 a year and reams of Mike

34:05Listister orchestrated PR for the mayor

34:07and council. What else? Council member

34:10Meeks has called for an expedited

34:12investigation. City says a review is

34:14underway. Will this be an outside

34:16independent investigation or an inside

34:18job? How much will it cost? How long

34:21will it take? Investigation shouldn't be

34:24limited to the mayor. that people work

34:26to protect Bren should be investigated,

34:28too. According to her claim, Greg Garcia

34:31was repeatedly told about troubling

34:33incidents. His alleged responses

34:35included, quote, "You know how the mayor

34:37is, just don't let it get to you." And

34:40on another occasion, quote, "You know

34:42how they are. They'll make up in no time

34:45and it will go away." Shouldn't Greg

34:47Garcia's responses be investigated?

34:50claim also raises serious allegations

34:52involving human resources director Linda

34:54Andall and city attorney Rob Pel,

34:57including allegations concerning

34:58retaliation and the handling of Bones's

35:01confidential information. Shouldn't

35:03those actions be independently

35:05investigated, too? Those allegations are

35:08substantiated, accountability shouldn't

35:10stop at the mayor's office. Council

35:13determines that Cedarly senior

35:15leadership failed to protect employees,

35:17then great Garcia, Linda Andal, and Rob

35:19Fabella should resign. Anaheim's problem

35:22is bigger than one elected official.

35:24When lawsuit after lawsuit and claim

35:26after claim keep involving the same

35:28institution and the same leadership

35:30structure, council needs at some point

35:32to stop treating every employee who

35:34comes forward as an isolated problem and

35:37it should start confronting the culture

35:39inside city hall that allows these

35:41problems.

35:42>> Mr. Herbert happen.

35:43>> Mr. Herbert, I'm sorry. Your time is

35:44>> zero power policy for employees without

35:46power isn't zero tolerance. It's

35:48selective accountability. Your job is

35:50>> Mr. Herbert. Your time is up.

35:52>> Thank you, Mr. Herbert.

35:56>> Mayor and city council. That concludes

35:57our in-person speakers. I mean, inerson

36:00speakers, remote speakers, and noting

36:02for the record, we did not receive any

36:03electronic comments on the close session

36:05agenda.

36:06>> Thank you, Madam Clerk. Hearing no other

36:07speakers, we will close public comment

36:09on the close session agenda and recess

36:11to close session.

1:50:47I'd like to reconvene the Anaheim City

1:50:49Council meeting back to order. Mr. City

1:50:51Attorney, do you have anything to report

1:50:53out of close session?

1:50:54>> No reportable action.

1:50:55>> All right. With no other business before

1:50:57the council, we stand adjourned until

1:50:59October 13, 2026 for our next regular

1:51:02meeting.