In the years following the scandal, a new roster of city council members implemented a series of reforms at city hall but top city leaders named in the independent investigation reports like Vanderpool continued in their roles without consequence or much official questioning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Until now.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken called for a closed session meeting on Jan. 27 to question Vanderpool in front of the city attorney and the city\u2019s ethics officer in response to residents\u2019 demand to sack him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did spend several of us the first year of our tenure on this dais crafting, debating and eventually passing several transparency measures that I wish we would have had in place in 2019, in 2020 it would have prevented a lot of the issues that we still see raising their ugly head to this day,\u201d she said at the meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cEarning and keeping the public trust is tantamount to both me and I know my colleagues on this dias so I would like for us to have the opportunity to ask questions of our city manager and let this process play out.\u201d<\/p>\n Vanderpool did not respond to email questions on the issue Wednesday morning or speak to Aitken\u2019s request publicly on the dais Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Aitken and the rest of the city council members also did respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n Her request comes following two TimesOC articles this month with the latest reporting<\/a> that Vanderpool did not disclose a retreat to Lake Havasu paid for by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce in 2020.<\/p>\n Vanderpool\u2019s statement of economic interest provided by the city shows he did not disclose the trip.<\/p>\n In an email to city council members ahead of Christmas in anticipation of media reports, Vanderpool said he was invited to Lake Havasu by former Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Ament \u2013 a central figure in the corruption scandal.<\/p>\n Vanderpool also joined a host of other chamber leaders, consultants and other proponents of the land sale at the resort.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a social gathering, not a \u2018retreat,\u2019 as may be incorrectly characterized. I did not engage with any subsequent social or business travel with Todd Ament,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n The timing of the gatherings was curious.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Havasu retreat took place from Sept. 24 to Sept. 29, 2020 just days after a planned mock city council meeting on Sept. 21 to sell Angel Stadium that Vanderpool has privately denied attending.<\/p>\n Just a day after the Havasu retreat ended \u2013 in the early hours of Sept. 30 \u2013 city officials would approve a revised agreement to sell the stadium.<\/p>\n In another email to city council members on Jan. 11, Vanderpool said he didn\u2019t know that the chamber paid for the rental unit he stayed in, he only stayed two nights and that the food and beverages he brought would have offset the need to report the stay.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not running from any of this. I stand firm that the narrative in the article is baseless,\u201d he wrote about the TimesOC article.<\/p>\n Jeanine Robbins, a longtime resident and advocate for the homeless, compared Vanderpool to a snake oil salesman and demanded officials fire him and \u201cclean house\u201d \u2013 something she said was overdue.<\/p>\n \u201cHe attended a retreat with some of the most powerful lobbyists in the city soon after being hired, and claims he was not required to report it because business was not discussed. Yeah, right. Who believes that line?\u201d she said at Tuesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the city manager doesn\u2019t understand the concept behind reporting gifts, then how can he manage the council and the city? After all, that is his title.\u201d<\/p>\n Robbins also said Vanderpool allowed corruption to thrive during his tenure.<\/p>\n \u201cIt started at the top with good old Jim. He needs to resign immediately or be fired,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n He is expected to face council member\u2019s questions just as officials start to mull over the future of Angel stadium and as another land sale could be on the horizon years after a corruption scandal tanked the last deal.<\/p>\n [Read: Anaheim Officials Once Again Put Angel Stadium in Play<\/a>]<\/p>\n Corruption Scandal: Pitching Practice For a Stadium Sale<\/p>\n Both the FBI and independent investigators concluded Disneyland resort interests held undue influence over city hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n The stadium sale ultimately imploded after federal agents alleged in the affidavits former Mayor Harry Sidhu tried to ram through the deal with the expectation of getting $1 million in campaign contributions from the Angels.<\/p>\n Sidhu ultimately ended up going to prison last year for lying to federal investigators about the failed stadium sale.<\/p>\n His plea agreement described how Sidhu, former elected officials and Lyster allegedly participated in a private mock council meeting<\/a> to rehearse public deliberations over the land sale.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, TimesOC<\/a> reported that the mock council meeting took place and potentially included Vanderpool, Angels executives and former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce leaders.<\/p>\n Lyster and Vanderpool did not respond to questions about whether they attended the mock council meeting last week or this week.<\/p>\n After publication of this story, Esther Kwoon \u2013 a spokesperson for the city \u2013 said neither attended the mock meeting.<\/p>\n Vanderpool denied attending the mock meeting in an email to council members.<\/p>\n \u201cI did not attend and was not involved in any preparation for it,\u201d reads the Dec. 23 email.<\/p>\n When the plea agreement surfaced in 2023, Aitken called for attendees to resign.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe any city official who facilitated or participated in the mock city council meeting should come forward and resign. To hang your hat on whether or not the sham meeting was a Brown Act violation misses the point,\u201d she told the Voice of OC in a text message.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was clearly unethical and a violation of public trust.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephanie Mercadante, a resident, pointed to Aitken\u2019s remarks in 2023 and called on her and the council to follow through and fire people who participated in the mock meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cParticipating in a rehearsal for a corrupt deal is incompatible with serving the public. Anaheim cannot move forward while those involved in this mock meeting remain in positions of power.\u00a0<\/p>\n Holding these individuals accountable is essential if Anaheim is going to rebuild public trust,\u201d she said at Tuesday\u2019s meeting<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about hostility. It is about responsibility. It is about ensuring that the people who represent this city are worthy of the authority they hold.\u201d<\/p>\n Lyster wasn\u2019t only named in the plea agreement.<\/p>\n Independent investigators called out Lyster in their report for failing to turn over public records on his private phone for them to review.<\/p>\n [Read: Anaheim\u2019s Chief Spokesman is Detailed in the Corruption Scandal; Now What?<\/a>]<\/p>\n He did not respond to questions Wednesday. An automatic email reply stated he was travelling.<\/p>\n The Rise of a Political \u201cChameleon\u201d<\/p>\n Vanderpool was hired by Sidhu\u2019s city council majority in September 2020 right after former City Manager Chris Zapata was fired after publicly questioning plans to offer the city\u2019s tourism bureau, Visit Anaheim, a $6.5 million bailout weeks after the pandemic began.<\/a><\/p>\n Roughly two years later, Vanderpool admitted to Voice of OC<\/a> that he attended the exclusive Anaheim Chamber of Commerce retreat held on Dec 2, 2020<\/a> called out by the FBI.<\/p>\n A year later, independent investigators would allege attendees discussed a plan Vanderpool was on board with to keep as much as $100 million a year out of the city\u2019s general fund once the 1997 resort bonds are paid off.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CityCouncil_Anaheim_Jan13_2026_Taylor-31.jpg\")
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken at the Anaheim City Council meeting on Jan. 13, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Angels.2019.09.Photo_.EDIT-1.jpg\")
The entrance to Angel Stadium at the Angels vs Cleveland Indians game Sept. 9, 2019. Credit: SPENCER CUSTODIO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP_1644-copy.jpg\")
Anaheim City Spokesman Mike Lyster on Dec. 6, 2022. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CityCouncil_Anaheim_Jan13_2026_Taylor-22.jpg\")
City Attorney Robert Fabela, left, speaks to City Manager Jim Vanderpool, right, at the Anaheim City Council meeting on Jan. 13, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n