Anaheim Stadium Probe Spurs Mayoral Candidacy

Anaheim City Hall in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 26, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

“I was appalled when I read in transcripts that people involved in the FBI investigation actually called themselves ‘cabal’,” said Dick Lopez, an Anaheim mayoral candidate in the Nov. 8 election, in an email with The Epoch Times.

Lopez said he decided to run for the seat after learning about the agency’s investigation of former Mayor Harry Sidhu’s alleged involvement in corruption related to the sale of Angel Stadium.

“[The officials involved] were so secure in their belief that they were untouchable that their self-interest was paramount,” he said.

Anaheim Mayoral Candidate Dick Lopez. (Courtesy of Dick Lopez)

Sidhu has since resigned and Councilman Trevor O’Neil, who is also running for the seat, has temporarily assumed the role of mayor.

In response to the scandal that became public in May, the city council has been working with an independent firm since August to investigate the alleged corruption.

The council also introduced a campaign donation reform ordinance—which failed to receive enough votes to pass in July—to require councilors to disclose contributions they received and to sit out on any votes involving donors that contributed over $250 to their campaigns in the last 12 months.

If elected, Lopez said he wants to limit campaign donors to residents and businesses based in Anaheim.

“Any reform would have to start with who can donate to a campaign,” he said.

Homelessness

Lopez said that one of the most pressing issues in the city is homelessness.

Anaheim has the highest homeless population in Orange County with over 1,000 living on its streets and in shelters, according to Orange County’s 2022 Point In Time Count report.

He said it is important for the city to work with professional organizations that can assist residents with mental health needs and who are at a socio-economic disadvantage.

He also said it is important to increase the number of city employees that can offer support services to the homeless population.

Making sure housing is affordable is also key to prevent homelessness from worsening, he said.

“To keep people from becoming homeless we have to increase low-income housing,” he said.

He additionally said he would like to push to relax the city’s zoning rules so commercial facilities and housing can exist together in more areas, especially for new construction projects.

Water Quality, 1 Percent Entertainment Tax

Lopez, 48, has lived in Anaheim since 1979, and for the past 19 years has worked as a water system operator in the city’s water treatment plant.

If elected, he said he also wants to improve the city’s water quality by installing equipment to extract PFOS and PFOA, chemicals that studies suggest have negative health effects on humans, from groundwater.

The cost for such, he said, would be at least $50 million, which he said should be paid for by the manufacturers of those chemicals.

Lastly, he said he supports adding a one percent entertainment tax on Disney. The issue was previously raised by the city council, but the company argued such would be onerous.

“I don’t believe that a one percent ticket tax would be a tax burden on [Disney],” Lopez said, as the company had raised ticket prices several times in the past few years.

“Mayor will be my job, not my identity,” he said. “All I have is integrity and the drive to right what has gone wrong.”

Also in the running for mayor are businesswoman Ashleigh Aitken, non-profit executive director Lorri Galloway, and Anaheim Mayor Pro Tem Trevor O’Neil.