ANAHEIM, Calif. — With no mayor captaining Anaheim, the city has canceled its State of the City address this year. 

What You Need To Know

  • Given that the city currently has no mayor, Anaheim canceled its annual State of the City address this year

  • The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce usually hosts the yearly luncheon that attracts local business leaders, politicians and others

  • The State of the City is a way for the city leader to update the community about what city staff has accomplished through the year, recognize community members and provide a plan for the future

  • Anaheim has no mayor since its former mayor stepped down amid an FBI corruption probe in May

An Anaheim spokesperson said the city does not plan to host the annual event slated for Wednesday.

"We have a lot going on in Anaheim, including big plans around Honda Center, rebuilding Beach Boulevard, and the addition of new park space, but we are going without a State of the City event this year," said Anaheim spokesperson Mike Lyster in an email to Spectrum News. 

Lyster said the city would focus on next year's event when residents elect a new mayor.

"With the transition, we've seen in the mayor's office and the election of a new mayor now just about three months away, we'll look forward to the State of the City in 2023," he said.

The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce usually hosts the State of the City luncheon that attracts business leaders, local politicians, nonprofits, and a few community members. The audience would listen to the mayor tout the city's accomplishments, celebrate community members and set a policy plan for the future.

But this year, things are different in Anaheim.

Earlier this month, the chamber's former president and CEO Todd Ament struck a plea deal with the federal government. 

Ament pleaded guilty to wire fraud, making a false statement to a financial institution, and filing a false tax return after the FBI found that he and an unnamed political consultant attempted to defraud a cannabis company looking to open in Anaheim. 

The FBI also nabbed Ament for lying to a mortgage lender. The FBI claims Ament and the political consultant devised a scheme to launder money intended for the chamber through a public relations firm into Ament's bank account, which allowed the latter to buy a $1.5 million home in Big Bear.

Related Stories

 

Ament faces sentencing on Dec. 9.

Though not charged, former Mayor Harry Sidhu, who had given the city's last couple of State of the City addresses, stepped down from his post in May amid an FBI corruption probe. 

The FBI claims Sidhu fast-tracked the city's $320 million stadium land deal with the owner of the Los Angeles Angels in an attempt to secure a $1 million campaign contribution from an Angels executive that would go toward his re-election campaign in November.

Sidhu, who was elected in 2018, denied the FBI's allegations.

The Anaheim City Council opted to keep the mayoral seat vacant since residents could vote on a new mayor in the upcoming November election.