Invitees included then-Mayor Harry Sidhu and lobbyists for Anaheim\u2019s most powerful corporations. Todd Ament, the chamber\u2019s former chief executive, now facing sentencing for white-collar crimes<\/a>, planned a birthday celebration during the retreat. <\/p>\n Financial records show the chamber covered rental payments for multiple lakefront properties, including a mobile home where Vanderpool and his husband were assigned to stay with other invitees. <\/p>\n The organization cut two checks in August to cover a $350 security deposit and $1,900 for rent. The memo for the rent check referenced the same unit assigned to Vanderpool in a retreat guest list.<\/p>\n But when Vanderpool filed an annual statement of economic interests for 2020, he did not report having received any gifts.<\/p>\n Vanderpool did not respond to TimesOC questions about the retreat. <\/p>\n Anaheim spokesperson Mike Lyster called the unreported accommodations a \u201cnon-issue.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cNo city business was discussed,\u201d Lyster said. \u201cAs a social gathering, there was no indication of any implied cost or gift and was thus non-reportable. Even if there were something to report, Vanderpool\u2019s expenses in contributed food and beverages would have far offset [it].\u201d<\/p>\n Sean McMorris, a program manager for the nonpatisan government accountability nonprofit Common Cause, said whether city business was discussed or not during a retreat doesn\u2019t negate a duty to report paid-for accommodations. <\/p>\n \u201cAny gift received [in 2020] over $500 is a violation under the Political Reform Act. Anything under that still has to be reported,\u201d McMorris said. \u201cThe gifts prohibition is pretty clear and this includes city managers.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fair Political Practices Commission\u2019s statute of limitations to investigate potential violations is five years since the date a gift is received, a timeframe that expired more than three months ago in relation to the Havasu retreat. <\/p>\n \u201cWhether legal or not, perception always matters,\u201d McMorris said. \u201cThe chamber has a history of engaging in politics, funding campaigns, power brokering and holding a lot of influence at City Hall.\u201d <\/p>\n He added that unreported gifts also potentially bring conflict of interest laws into play. <\/p>\n Vanderpool did acknowledge the Havasu trip in an email sent to Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken and the rest of the City Council last month, amid concerns that news reports would soon surface about it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a social gathering, not a \u2018retreat\u2019 as may be incorrectly characterized,\u201d Vanderpool wrote on Dec. 23. \u201cI did not engage with any subsequent social or business travel with Todd Ament.\u201d<\/p>\n A Sept. 23, 2020, email from former chamber vice president Laura Cunningham to Vanderpool referred to the weekend getaway during the pandemic as a \u201cretreat.\u201d<\/p>\n The chamber\u2019s guest list included former Anaheim City Councilmember and consultant Kris Murray, Disney lobbyist Carrie Nocella, former Visit Anaheim chief executive Jay Burress and Sidhu.<\/p>\n Former Angels consultant Jeff Flint, Cunningham and her husband, Anaheim blogger Matt Cunningham, were assigned to share a unit with Vanderpool and his husband.<\/p>\n \u201cSounds like Aments are stocked for liquor but I know you mentioned you\u2019ll bring vodka and beer,\u201d Laura Cunningham told Vanderpool in the email.<\/p>\n \u201cSaturday we\u2019re celebrating Todd\u2019s birthday and we\u2019re all required to dress in Hawaiian garb,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Flint, Ament and the Cunninghams did not respond to TimesOC requests for comment. <\/p>\n Vanderpool did not disclose a retreat paid for by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce just weeks after his hiring. <\/p>\n (James Carbone)<\/p>\n In his recent email to Aitken and the City Council, Vanderpool claimed that neither Sidhu nor Flint attended the event. Nocella, TimesOC has confirmed, did not attend.<\/p>\n![\"Vanderpool](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768153036_796_.jpeg\")
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