The mayor of Anaheim’s chief of staff alleges that her boss referred to her using a racist term and asked inappropriate questions about her perceived sexual identity, according to a confidential letter seeking mediation with the city.
Berenice Ballinas made the allegations against Mayor Ashleigh Aitken in a Sept. 11 letter signed by her lawyer and sent to the city attorney. The four-page letter, reviewed by TimesOC, alleges Ballinas sometimes drove Aitken home from city functions when the mayor had been drinking alcohol.
“On various occasions when Ms. Ballinas was forced to drive Mayor Aitkin [sic] home, Mayor Aitkin [sic] exclaimed that she did ‘not want her car driven by a dirty Mexican,’” employment attorney Lawrence Lennemann asserted in his mediation request to Anaheim City Atty. Robert Fabela.
Aitken, who is seeking a second term as mayor in November, did not answer calls or texts for comment. Fabela couldn’t be reached.
“We’re reviewing the issues raised,” said Anaheim city spokesman Mike Lyster. “We want to respect all involved with nothing else to share at this time.”
The letter details a June lunch at Disneyland’s exclusive Club 33 followed by a visit to California Adventure’s 1901 Lounge.
Aitken questioned her chief of staff’s sexuality in front of other people, the letter claims. She also allegedly made comments about a Disney worker’s perceived sexual orientation and ethnicity.
“Mayor Aitken’s conduct was so concerning that, as a result, the City’s own business partner, Disney, suspended a third party’s Club 33 membership and at least two Disney employees separately complained about the Mayor’s conduct,” the letter asserts.
Former Anaheim City Manager Jim Vanderpool is also described in the letter as acting “horrifically unprofessional” on other occasions.
“Beginning in or about 2023 and continuing through at least June 2026, Mayor Aitken and Mr. Vanderpool repeatedly and habitually made unwelcome comments regarding Ms. Ballinas’ perceived sexuality,” the letter claims, “including myriad statements and insinuations that she is a lesbian, directly referring to her as a lesbian, pressuring her to admit that she was a lesbian, questioning of her romantic relationships, and comments directed at her guests and companions.”
Lennemann‘s letter did not provide a specific example of Vanderpool’s alleged inappropriate comments regarding Ballinas’ perceived sexual orientation.
Vanderpool did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Former city manager Vanderpool flanked by current City Atty. Rob Fabela
(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
The letter also alleges the former city manager pressured Ballinas, who is Mexican American, to admit fault for the disappearance of a Christmas tree from another city department in 2024, despite a white employee allegedly removing it, according to the letter.
Vanderpool resigned earlier this year amid a state agency investigation into an unreported Lake Havasu trip paid for by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce in 2020.
Ballinas, 31, is on leave from the city recovering from a brain aneurysm that required surgery, according to her attorney’s letter.
Lennemann argued that a “sustained pattern of harassment, discriminatory treatment and, most recently, retaliation” led Ballinas to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by city medical personnel.
Lennemann alleges that Anaheim officials have retaliated against his client by withholding an approved raise, scrubbing her from the city’s website and insinuating to external stakeholders that she is no longer a city employee.
On Monday, the city website listed Ballinas as Aitken’s chief of staff.
Ballinas began working as chief of staff in December 2022, shortly after Aitken, a Democrat, won election as Anaheim’s first female mayor in its 165-year history.
Prior to the post, Ballinas served as a representative in the offices of former Democratic members of the state Assembly and Senate and worked on several political campaigns.
In hiring Ballinas, Aitken elevated a young Latina to a powerful position at City Hall. According to Transparent California, Ballinas made more than $140,000 last year.
Aitken during last year’s State of the City address.
(James Carbone)
Ballinas declined to comment through her attorney.
Lennemann’s letter states that he hopes to settle the matter before possible litigation.