OC Mayor Called Staff 'Dirty Mexican,' Used Homophobic Slurs, Legal Claim Says

ANAHEIM, CA — Anaheim officials Thursday released a redacted copy of a recent legal claim filed by Mayor Ashleigh Aitken's policy adviser alleging the mayor had a drinking problem and fostered a hostile workplace that included racial and homophobic slurs.

City spokesman Mike Lyster issued a statement saying the claim, which was received by the city Sept. 22, was being released publicly as the city is "balancing openness on an issue involving the city's mayor and our responsibility to all involved."

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The claim was redacted to "protect personnel, medical and some third- party name references that raise privacy concerns, along with attorney-client information," Lyster said.

City officials are looking to hire an "independent, experienced investigator" to go over the allegations "over the next few months," Lyster said.

"We are looking for a comprehensive, impartial review that balances expediency with due process," Lyster said.

Aitken has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the allegations made in the claim.

Anaheim City Councilwoman Natalie Meeks told City News Service last week that she directed city staff "to investigate the issue fully and expedite it as much as possible. Clearly, we need a full and fair investigation. ... We want to expedite it but also want to make sure it's complete and fair. Getting it right is more important than getting it fast. There are lot of people at stake here."

Other council members requested a closed session to be briefed on the claim from Berenice Ballinas. That meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Friday.

Meeks is mentioned in the claim regarding an "open letter" that was critical of the mayor "concerning the Angels" baseball team.

"These allegations intensified the conflict between the mayor and (former City Manager Jim Vanderpool) and increasingly placed (Ballinas) between the two officials," according to the claim.

Meeks said Thursday she had not yet had a chance to read the full claim and couldn't immediately comment on it.

Ballinas' attorney, Corey Glave, declined to comment on the release of the claim he filed with co-counsel Lawrence Lennemann.

"Unlike the city of Anaheim we choose not to litigate in the media," Glave said. "We'll wait to see how city leadership wants to move forward."

A legal claim is a required part of the process before suing a public agency. If it is rejected by the city, the plaintiff can file a lawsuit. The city has 45 days from the day it was filed to respond to the claim.

Dr. Imran Sharief, who is running for mayor against Aitken, said the allegations were "extremely troubling" and urged Aitken to resign.

"They should investigate the claims, but at the same time the mayor should step down while the investigation is ongoing," Sharief said. "At this time all the focus is now being diverted to one issue, which is obviously very significant and concerning. It's taking away from a lot of resources and attention from the city's work."

Ballinas claims she was forced to take a leave of absence July 31. The claim alleges sexual harassment, retaliation and discrimination based on her perceived sexual orientation, race, religion and disability.

Ballinas served as "chief policy adviser" to Aitken since Dec. 7, 2022.

Ballinas makes numerous allegations of Aitken drinking too much at workplace events and grilling her on whether she is a lesbian, despite Ballinas' insistence she is not gay. She also alleges that Vanderpool was present for many of the incidents and that she was drawn into the conflicts between the former city manager and the mayor until he resigned earlier this year.

Ballinas "alleges that the mayor's behavior when drinking could become erratic, belligerent, confrontational, and difficult to manage, and that even relatively minor disagreements or attempts to challenge her could escalate into unnecessary conflict or dramatic events," according to the claim.

Balllinas said Vanderpool sometimes "participated in conduct she considered inappropriate," but was otherwise also just a witness or "the recipient of inappropriate conduct himself," according to the claim.

"As the relationship between the mayor and Vanderpool deteriorated, (Ballinas) increasingly found herself caught between the two officials and drawn into disputes she had neither created nor could control," according to the claim.

Ballinas, who is of Mexican heritage, accused Aitken of making "racially derogatory comments concerning (Ballinas') heritage on more than one occasion," according to the claim.

She accused the mayor of calling her a "dirty Mexican."

Ballinas said that while they were at a Disneyland in May 2025, she offered to give Aitken a ride home because she felt the mayor was too impaired to drive, but Aitken said she refused to have a Mexican drive her.

Ballinas is also a Roman Catholic and said that once Aitken commented on a cross she wore, saying that God was her "imaginary friend," according to the claim.

"The incident was particularly disturbing to (Ballinas) when considered in light of the mayor's markedly different public presentation concerning religion and faith," according to the claim.

Ballinas alleged that city officials began turning to her as an "unofficial, frequently after-hours crisis-management role as the mayor's `handler,' involving the mayor's personal crises, interpersonal conflicts, public conduct, transportation needs (and related public safety concerns), as well as acting as a family intermediary," according to the claim.

When Ballinas stepped in to handle the problems, she said, it "resulted in the mayor becoming angry or belligerent toward (Ballinas), denying impairment, yelling at (Ballinas), accusing (Ballinas) of exaggerating or fabricating concerns regarding the mayor's condition, claiming any criticism was `politically motivated,' or otherwise reacting adversely when (Ballinas) attempted to establish limits or challenge the mayor's conduct."

Ballinas alleged that the mayor became so obviously intoxicated at the Roses and Radishes Gala on Oct. 23, 2024, that an Orange County supervisor "expressed concern" and asked Ballinas to "stop the mayor's drinking."

As she tried to help the mayor get home from the event, Aitken allegedly said she did not want Ballinas or Vanderpool to drive her car because she did not want a "dirty Mexican" and a "faggot man" in her car, Ballinas alleged.

Ballinas said she reported her allegations of alcohol-related problems at a conference in November 2024 to then-assistant city manager Greg Garcia, who is the interim city manager, but he downplayed the conduct.

Ballinas also alleged the mayor was "physically affectionate" with a man at a Team Anaheim dinner, leading the mayor's husband to take her away with Ballinas. She said that while walking back toward the couple's hotel room, Aitken grew angry and knocked over someone's bicycle, damaging it.

Aitken's husband later asked her to help him send money to the bike owner through Venmo.

The claim also details how she got dragged into a feud between the mayor and Vanderpool over the hiring of the city's new police chief. She said the mayor asked her to investigate the hiring process, which angered Vanderpool, who allegedly referred to Aitken as the Disney character "Maleficent."

She alleged she was also falsely accused of taking a Christmas tree from another city department and that she was scapegoated for it without evidence because she is Mexican.

Ballinas also accused the mayor of showing up to a City Council meeting "visibly impaired by alcohol" in April 2025. After the meeting, Aitken asked Ballinas to drive her home but since she did not have her car she got permission to borrow Vanderpool's car and she claimed the mayor started rifling through the then-city manager's personal belongings in his vehicle.

Ballinas also detailed allegations of the mayor getting drunk at a Palm Springs conference in the spring of 2025 and dragging Vanderpool off a dance floor because he was "being too gay," according to the claim.

Ballinas also alleged that the mayor's drinking had grown to be such an issue that city officials discussed how to "help her sober up before a scheduled stakeholder reception" at Disneyland's 70th anniversary event in May of 2025.

"A Disney representative separately approached (Ballinas) and told her that the mayor should stop drinking because she appeared intoxicated," according to the claim.

The next day Aitken "repeatedly" contacted Ballinas to deny she had been drunk and accused her, Vanderpool and a Disney employee of "attempting to tarnish her reputation," according to the claim.

Ballinas also said the mayor's husband asked her to help her pack and return home during a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Tampa in June 2025. She also alleged that an "emotional" Vanderpool had the mayor and her go with him to an "adult-oriented bar with sexually explicit imagery that made" Ballinas "uncomfortable," according to the claim.

Ballinas said the mayor was "absent for an extended period of time" after she got home from Tampa.

Ballinas also said the mayor's drinking at her birthday party in June at Disneyland included Aitken "repeatedly" asking a Disneyland employee about his sexual orientation, prompting the employee to file a complaint. She said the mayor also continued to insist Ballinas is a lesbian, which she denied.

Ballinas said Disney complained about the mayor's comments to the employee.

Ballinas also raised issues of the mayor's husband having expenses paid for by Qatar during a trip to the country despite Ballinas telling embassy officials that they could not pay for the expenses, which amounted to $16,779.34.