ANAHEIM, Calif. — A few weeks after the resignation of former Mayor Harry Sidhu, the Anaheim City Council will discuss alternatives Tuesday to the vacant mayoral position.
Sidhu stepped down last month after being implicated in an FBI corruption probe relating to the city’s $320 million tentatively approved sale of Angel Stadium and surrounding land to the owner of the Los Angeles Angels.
Sidhu, through an attorney, denied any wrongdoing.
The council is in a somewhat unique position.
According to the city's charter, after the resignation of a mayor, the City Council has 60 days to appoint a qualified person, either a fellow council member or someone from the community, as mayor. If the council cannot select someone, they could hold a special election for the remainder of Sidhu’s term.
However, before resigning last month, Sidhu was up for re-election in November. So anyone taking over the mayoral seat will be a lame duck.
The six-person council could just wait until residents vote for a new mayor in the upcoming November election. Currently, Mayor Pro Tem Trevor O’Neill has taken over the city’s mayoral duties.
Sidhu is the fifth mayor of Anaheim to resign in the city’s history. Three other former mayors of Anaheim who resigned left after being elected to another office. One died.
The FBI claims Sidhu shared sensitive city information regarding the land appraisal before official city negotiations with Angel representatives.
An FBI investigator said that once the city and Moreno completed the deal, Sidhu planned to approach an Angels representative for a $1 million political contribution toward his re-election campaign.
The council on Tuesday will also look into whether there’s a link between those who contributed to Sidhu’s political campaign and city contracts.
The council plans to possibly open an independent investigation relating to the federal investigation against Sidhu.
The council will discuss whether to conduct “an independent audit that examines all campaign contributions to former Mayor Harry Sidhu, city contracts with those contributors, and any malfeasance that may have resulted in city funds paid to those contractors.”
The staff report included 16 pages of hundreds of political donors who, from Jan. 2017 to Dec. 2021, contributed to Sidhu’s 2018 and 2022 mayoral campaigns.
The information had the names of each donor, the amount contributed, and whether they received a city contract.
Among the donors on the list included members of Angels baseball and Disneyland.
Contributions to political candidates are legal. In Anaheim, individuals are limited to $2,200 per election cycle.