Lobbyist involved in Angel Stadium controversy returns to advise police union

A once-powerful lobbyist who represented Disneyland as a client, led a mock Anaheim City Council meeting to rehearse a proposed sale of Angel Stadium, discussed secret bonuses on city-approved hotel projects and scripted a disgraced former mayor’s comments, has reemerged in local politics.

Jeff Flint, an unnamed but central figure in an FBI corruption probe into a political “cabal” described as pulling the strings in the city four years ago, now counts the Anaheim Police Assn. as his principal client ahead of a contentious city election.

The union’s executive board meeting minutes from Oct. 14, 2025 listed Flint in attendance as “staff.” According to the minutes, board members discussed a proposed Disney gate tax ballot measure set for debate at council later that month as well as the 2026 council elections.

With the election cycle in full swing, recent campaign disclosure files show HexaCom Group, Flint’s new Tennessee-based consulting company, receiving more than $18,500 from an APA-sponsored PAC for mailers in support of Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava’s reelection.

Flint, referred to in court documents as “Political Consultant 1” and “Co-Schemer 1,” but never accused of wrongdoing in the probe, did not respond to a request for comment.

APA President Jose Duran declined to comment on this story.

“There are some organizations that just see Flint as a knowledgeable operator in Anaheim politics,” said Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College. “He wasn’t charged. Unfortunately, in politics, there are countless examples of people making extraordinary comebacks that didn’t seem possible.”

Before the FBI probe — which led to the convictions of ex-Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu, former Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive Todd Ament and cannabis consultant Melahat Rafiei — Flint became a dominate figure in city’s political life by 2016.

Once a protégé of former Mayor Curt Pringle, he counted the biggest corporations and hoteliers in town as clients and flexed political muscle that sidelined his onetime mentor.

Despite a temporary political setback in the 2016 elections — when politicians critical of Disney formed a council majority — Flint helped orchestrate pro-resort candidates’ return to power two years later, a victory celebrated at the Disneyland Hotel’s Blue Sky Suite.

When revelations from the corruption probe surfaced, Flint’s political operations in Anaheim appeared to implode. He took a leave of absence as chief executive of Core Strategic Group, his former company, amid the ongoing investigation.

Anaheim’s lobbyist registry showed Flint’s former clients, including developers and hoteliers, terminating services through May 2022, when court documents related to the probe emerged.

Flint eventually moved from Orange County to Tennessee. The veteran lobbyist rebranded with HexaCom Group, whose website describes him as “one of the most widely-respected and experienced political and public affairs consultants in the nation.”

Outside of Anaheim, Flint’s new company found political work in San Diego, Newport Beach, South Lake Tahoe and San Rafael. He has publicly appeared as the executive director of the Newport Beach Short-Term Rental Assn. at Newport City Council meetings. The organization is a client of Todd Priest and Associates. (Priest also represents Wincome Hospitality, a former Flint client in Anaheim).

Some of Flint’s most lucrative work came in San Diego this June. A successful campaign against a proposed tax on vacant homes paid HexaCom Group nearly $630,000 for election work. Two years earlier, a campaign in South Lake Tahoe paid his company more that $385,000 to help defeat a proposed tax on second homes in the city.

But it’s Flint’s return to Anaheim through the police union, which just secured a three-year labor contract with 16% raises, that’s been whispered about as an open secret for the past two years while rankling his rivals in town ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

“It just shows the deficiencies of reform in our city,” said Dara Maleki, interim president and chief executive of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. “We leave loopholes for lobbyists like him to find a way back in.”

The chamber named Flint as a defendant in a lawsuit against Ament, the organization’s ex-leader, accusing both of “self-dealing.” Flint declined to comment when the lawsuit was filed in May.

“Not only are we seeking restitution, but we are also seeking justice in bringing the truth out about how these types of schemes happen in cities through trusted organizations,” Maleki added.

Flint’s return to Anaheim’s political arena comes during an election cycle that has taken several unexpected turns.

Disney, which has reliably pumped over a million dollars into every election cycle in Anaheim since 2016, has not contributed new money heading into November.

Instead, “Anaheim Residents, Small Businesses and Public Safety Leaders,” a PAC principally funded by Disney two years ago, shifted unspent donations from 2024 races to support Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, Councilmembers Carlos Leon and Natalie Meeks, but not Rubalcava, who championed the failed gate tax effort.

Leon and Meeks are running unchallenged.

Meanwhile, the APA is playing an outsized role and contributed nearly $90,000 into a PAC supporting Rubalcava, who faces Elia Renteria-Garcia.

Political observers also expected easy reelection for Aitken before her chief of staff filed a legal claim against the mayor for allegedly making inappropriate comments about her race, faith and perceived sexual orientation. (Aitken has denied the allegations made against her, but admitted to an “unhealthy relationship” with alcohol).

The police union suspended its endorsement of Aitken and cited the importance of due process. The city has hired Sacramento-based Ellis Investigations to conduct an independent probe.

But just weeks later, the APA’s independent expenditure committee spent roughly $58,000 on polling and mailers opposed to Aitken over her alleged conduct.

“The police union hasn’t been the biggest player in Anaheim,” said Balma. “Now, suddenly, Flint appears to be directing them to be far more involved. I don’t know what other conclusion to draw. The dots connect.”