By Monday morning, City Spokesman Mike Lyster confirmed Vanderpool picked up his personal belongings from his office after requesting a closed door discussion to the city council meeting related to \u201cpublic employee resignation.\u201d<\/p>\n
[Read: Is Anaheim\u2019s Controversial City Manager Calling it Quits?<\/a>]<\/p>\n Resignation<\/p>\n Vanderpool\u2019s resignation comes on the heels of him facing official questioning from elected officials related to the corruption scandal that broke in 2022.<\/p>\n Last week, Aitken spearheaded the questioning of Vanderpool behind closed doors about why he didn\u2019t disclose the 2020 Lake Havasu trip \u2013 a trip with Chamber of Commerce officials on the eve of selling Angel Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n It marked the first time Vanderpool was officially questioned by council members about his ties with resort interests.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: Is Anaheim\u2019s City Manager on the Chopping Block?<\/a>]<\/p>\n While the city attorney reported no action from the closed session meeting, a local Republican group seemingly leaked a failed attempt by Aitken to nix Vanderpool \u2013 sparking questions if California\u2019s open meeting law was violated last week.<\/p>\n [Read: Who Leaked a Failed Closed Door Vote to Nix Anaheim\u2019s City Manager?<\/a>]<\/p>\n Last week, the Mayor also publicly called on her colleagues \u2013 some who voiced support for Vanderpool \u2013 to consider releasing a memo by the city\u2019s ethics officer about gift reporting requirements and an analysis of the city manager\u2019s trip to Havasu.<\/p>\n [Read: Where\u2019s Anaheim\u2019s Ethics Officer?<\/a>]<\/p>\n That discussion is expected to take place during tonight\u2019s city council meeting.<\/p>\n At the same time, the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state\u2019s campaign finance watchdog, launched an investigation at the end of January into Vanderpool for potential violations to the economic interests disclosure clause of the Political Reform Act.<\/p>\n In a Jan. 11 email to city council members, Vanderpool said he didn\u2019t need to disclose the trip.<\/p>\n In the email, he argued 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 Vanderpool also said the city\u2019s ethics officer told him that he didn\u2019t have to disclose the trip, but that he could amend his gift disclosure form from 2020 to include it.<\/p>\n He also sent an email responding to the TimesOC article to other Anaheim business interests \u2013 including the Angels.<\/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 Yet by Saturday \u2013 less than a month after revelations of the Lake Havasu trip \u2013 Vanderpool had requested the closed session discussion on public employee resignation for Tuesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n Vanderpool\u2019s Tenure<\/p>\n Vanderpool became the City Manager in September 2020 after former Mayor Harry Sidhu\u2019s majority fired former City Manager Chris Zapata, who had publicly questioned plans to offer the city\u2019s tourism bureau a $6.5 million bailout weeks after the pandemic began.<\/a><\/p>\n Two years later, FBI affidavits attached to a court filing revealed a shadowy group of consultants and Disneyland resort interests held undue influence over the inner workings of city hall.<\/p>\n At the time, the city was in the middle of settling a Surplus Land Act violation with state officials <\/a>for selling Angel Stadium.<\/p>\n The deal fell apart at the 11th hour<\/a> after the FBI corruption probe surfaced.<\/p>\n In the affidavits, the FBI described a phone call they intercepted between Todd Ament, the former CEO of the Chamber and an alleged ringleader of the group, and an unnamed consultant discussing who they should invite to a retreat on Dec. 2, 2020.<\/p>\n According to the affidavit, the consultant said the retreat should be \u201cfamily members only\u201d and include only people they could trust.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CityCouncil_Anaheim_Jan13_2026_Taylor-10.jpg\")
City Manager Jim Vanderpool 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\/02\/CityCouncil_Anaheim_Jan13_2026_Taylor-16.jpg\")
City Manager Jim Vanderpool at the Anaheim City Council meeting on Jan. 13, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n