Anaheim Mayor Pro Tem Runs for Mayor, Wants to Restore Trust

Voting signs at The Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Nov. 2, 2020 (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Anaheim Mayor Pro Tem Trevor O’Neil said he is running for mayor in the Nov. 8 election to strengthen public safety, grow the city’s economy, and improve quality of life for residents.

“I would like to ensure that tax revenue from corporations in the Anaheim resort area is reinvested into our neighborhoods to ensure all areas of Anaheim benefit from the success of corporations in Anaheim,” he told The Epoch Times.

(Courtesy of Trevor O'Neil)

The previous mayor, Harry Sidhu, resigned in May after an FBI affidavit emerged accusing him of sharing confidential information with representatives of Angels baseball team management during their negotiations to purchase the city-owned Angel Stadium—with the expectation of receiving a sizeable contribution to his reelection campaign.

Upon Sidhu’s resignation, O’Neil stepped in as acting mayor.

Since then, he said he has tried to “restore trust in local government” in one case by removing a rule requiring councilors to get support from two of their colleagues to put an item on the council’s bi-weekly meeting agenda.

This comes following mounting public concern there was an alliance on the city council, which made it hard for a minority to get things on the agenda.

Now, a councilor can introduce a motion before the council, regardless if he receives support.

“It’s a necessary step to help restore the public trust … to get past the notion that there are people on the council who just want to silence dissenting voices,” he said.

He also removed a rule that limited how long councilors could speak on an item during council meetings. Now, there are no limits.

Additionally, the city council in September adopted stricter campaign finance rules and made it a misdemeanor if a lobbyist files false reports or withholds information when meeting with city officials.

“The public has a right to know who councilmembers are talking to and where campaign contributions are coming from,” O’Neil said.

Elected in 2018, O’Neil said he has helped increase the number of police and firefighters in the city, build shelters with services for the homeless, and improve the city’s parks.

During the pandemic, the city lost more than $350 million over the 15-month closure of the Disneyland Resort, an Anaheim spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

The city had to dip into its reserves and issue bonds to pay off its debts and implemented other programs to avoid laying off its employees, such as incentivizing early retirement, and installing a hiring freeze.

When the resort reopened, the city rebounded quickly, O’Neil said.

“Our revenues are off the charts now—better than they were before the recession,” he said and adding that the city’s priority is now paying the debt it incurred during the pandemic.

O’Neil has served as chair of the Orange County Council of Governments, the county’s regional planning agency, and the Orange County Taxpayers Association.

He also sits on the board of the county’s toll road agency and the Southern California Association of Governments, the region’s metropolitan planning organization.

As the state is mandating cities to plan for more housing, Anaheim must zone for 17,000 new units by 2029.

As Mayor Pro Tem, O’Neil said he has worked closely with city staff to identify sites that could be rezoned for housing that would have the least impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Most, he said, are underutilized commercial spaces.

Angel Stadium Sale

Following the FBI affidavit which became public in May, the city later voided the Angel Stadium deal.

But O’Neil said it would have been good for the city, had it not been tainted by allegations of corruption, because the city had received the appraised value of the land, the deal included the creation of over 450 apartments for low-income renters near the stadium, a public park, and the city would have seen upwards of $30 million a year in tax revenue, which is much more than what it currently makes off ticket and parking sales.

Besides, he said, the sale would have relieved the city of owning and maintaining a stadium.

“It’s not the government’s job to do that,” he said.

The now-defunct sale was also found in December 2021 to be in violation of the state’s Surplus Land Act, which requires public land sales to be made available for bids from affordable housing developers before others.

Anaheim settled the matter with the state in April and paid a $96 million fine into a reserve for affordable housing in the city, a cost footed by Angels’ management.

Prior to City Council

O’Neil earned his bachelor’s in Computer Science from California State Polytechnic University–Pomona.

As a 25-year resident of Anaheim, his now-grown children attended city public schools.

He is also a small business owner of a company that provides home health care services for senior citizens, the disabled, and other vulnerable individuals and has volunteered for Project SAY, or Support Anaheim Youth, a program in many of the city’s middle and high schools that helps students develop leadership, and skills in conflict resolution, problem-solving, and goal setting.

He said it has been “heartwarming just seeing teenagers engaged in positive activity as they grow into adults.”

In his free time, O’Neil said he enjoys playing electric guitar at parties and gatherings, as well as gardening. He said he once grew a pumpkin that weighed nearly 200 pounds and donated it to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Anaheim-Cypress, which used it to make pumpkin pies.

Also in the running for the term that ends in 2024 are businesswoman Ashleigh Aitken, non-profit executive Lorri Galloway, and water systems operator Dick Lopez.