The Disneyland resort interest is organized by corruption scandal in Anaheim

Anaheim's Chamber of Commerce is the latest Disneyland resort in recent years after a corruption scandal that rocked the largest city of OC. Two separate examinations showed how these interests carried out the influence on the city's political design.

Almost three years after the unveiling of an FBI corruption examination in the town hall, the leaders of the chamber – an organization that was a central personality of the scandal – announced at the end of the last month that new leadership would take the reins.

These managers are now promising to reject programs on the needs of local entrepreneurs, especially small business owners.

“The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce is a leading chamber of the 21st century,” said the new CEO Dara Maleki in a press release on April 28th. “We enter into a time of renewal – build trust, listen to our community and create a chamber that works for everyone Anaheim.”

Maleki did not answer a comment on Friday.

He informed the OC register last month that the chamber would reduce relationships with their political action committee and to stay out of politics.

Marisol Ramirez, Co-Executive Director of Orange County Communities, who were organized for a responsible development, said that many people have still not trust units such as the Chamber of Commerce since the FBI corruption.

At the same time, she said she was not surprised to hear that they were renamed.

“It is certainly easy to hear how the commitment is more concentrated on local, small companies. However, I don't necessarily think that it will really take,” said Ramirez in a telephone interview on Monday.

“The expectation that you will only focus on the really uplifting small company is very low.”

It adds that the residents have to keep an eye on the visit to Anaheim and the Chamber of Commerce.

“In order for the chamber to be able to regain the public's trust, there must be a number of transparency standards. I think you should voluntarily disclose financial documents, your lobbying, for example your political affiliation, simply because this is the only way to restore credibility,” said Ramirez.

She also said that you have to honor community performance agreements and invest in residents, not just in company interests.

The announcement of the chamber came about two weeks after the former CEO and President Jerry Jordan informed the employees that he had resigned and the chamber will be closed permanently at the end of April.

[Read: Anaheim Chamber of Commerce To Close in Aftermath of Corruption Probes]

Rebranding takes place for about three years after the former CEO of the Chamber, Todd Ament, who is guilty of criminal charges by the federal government, including cable fraud and submitting false tax returns.

FBI agents Aent described in court files as a ring loader of a group of powerful insiders who controlled public affairs and political decision by elected civil servants in the town hall.

[Read: Anaheim Chamber CEO Todd Ament Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges, Could Face Decades in Federal Prison]

Mayor Ashleigh Aitken and the rest of the city council did not respond on Monday to inquiries about comments.

City's spokesman, Mike Lyster, said in a Monday E -Mail SE -Mail officer greet the “normal, healthy relationship” to the chamber and they have tried to move away from the disturbing practices of the past.

“As a city, we supported a reformed chamber – not with funds, but with moral support – at business openings and other events,” wrote Lyster.

“We welcome a chamber that works with small companies and others in our city, just as you can see in other cities. Our department for economic development supports a lot to support and attract business, and a reformed and revitalized chamber would build on it.”

He also said that there were no plans to enter agreements or to provide the chamber at that time.

At the same time, the OC register reported that city officials are considering the Anaheim Transportation Network -The Bus System of the Resort area -since Budget problems and requirements from network leaders according to more financial resources.

The managers of Anaheim Transportation Network demand that tourism money are used to finance the buses. In a report last year, the state examiners viewed tourism tax funds as public money.

In March, a city committee approved a 1.55 million dollar application for financing after the city had submitted 2.7 million US dollars to the network last summer. They also approved the cessation of a consultant with the implementation of a study on the city, which heads its own transit agency.

Lyster said the city was still mentioning all options.

“A transit agency led by the city could be better located to seek state and federal funds and grants that could lead operational improvements,” he wrote.

“The 1996 development agreement for the expansion of the Anaheim Resort requires a transport system. Every year, around 9 million people use the service, including many workers, which bring art buses to the resort.”

The tourism dollars come from an additional 2% tax resort hoteliers that calculate customers.

A large part of these tax revenue – 75% – visits Anaheim, the city's tourist office. The rest of this money finances the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District.

The Anaheim Transportation Network is financed by tariff income and dozens of hotels in the resort area.

Visit anaheim

The chamber is not the only organization that has grouped or changed in the years after the first time.

City officials are on the right track to implement more supervision of visiting Anaheim.

The examiners said that the chamber did not provide the tourism dollars for the chosen lobby officer properly and used the money for the support of his preferred candidates by the political action committee of the chamber for years because the city leaders could not properly monitor the expenses of visiting anaheim.

The exam was triggered after the city's investigators claimed that $ 1.5 million of $ 6.5 million to the tourist office from visit to an anaheim chamber of the Chamber of Commerce were rejected as part of a conspiracy.

Jay Burress, the former CEO of Visit Anaheim, resigned shortly after publicly published corruption experts in the city.

[Read: Visit Anaheim CEO Resigns After Allegations of Rerouting Tax Dollars]

A year later, the state auditors would conclude that visitors never needed the 6.5 million US dollars for the civil servant elected by Covid to market the resort and book the conventions when pandemy was first hit when the tourism industry was closed for an indefinite period.

Last month, the executives of the Tourism Bureau agreed to repay the city of $ 3 million from the emergency act after they had refused for years and at the same time used the rescue campaign properly – despite the urban auditors and independent investigators, who said differently.

[Read: Tourism Bureau to Repay Anaheim $3 Million From Controversial Pandemic Bailout]

As part of the recommendations of the state auditors, Anaheim officials have set up an advisory committee to keep an eye on the expenses of visitors after the examiners found that the self-rated hotel tax are public funds.

At her first meeting last year, Visit Anaheim Mike Waterman's new CEO said that he tried to speak to city officials from the consulting group, and later apologized for his comments and was publicly interviewed by the city councilor Natalie Rubalcava.

Tonight, city council members are expected to consider a new agreement with Visit Anaheim, which would carry out a variety of transparency measures that are recommended by state examiners, including the requirements of the tourism office, to show how many hotel rooms and congress center have secured bookings.

[Read: Anaheim on Track to Require Tourism Bureau Show Convention, Hotel Bookings]

It happens that local officials have met privately with executives from the Tourism Bureau this year to discuss visits to anaheim and tourism tax money.

Support our Anaheim Resort

Support our Anaheim Resort (Soar)-a political action committee that has been historically financed by Disney-in addition, in affidavit for the FBI and in the urban corruption investigation report.

Independent investigators wrote that Disney's expenditure with those of the hoteliers in Resort Area and the Chamber of Commerce were recorded by Anaheim.

Soar was founded in 2007 as a group group with the help of Ament and former mayor and lobbyist Curt Pringle to oppose a project for housing development near Disney.

Three years later, the group formed a political campaign committee and began to hold donations.

According to the city's corruption report, a Soar Board of Directors commissioned the committee to investigate as a mechanism for the “groom” right-handed candidates and politicians as well as a vehicle to collect money that gave power.

Soar's website has been depressed since then.

In the 2022 – months after the public of the affidavit FBI -Oreidi -in -deputy explanation – soar gave 547,000 US

In the last elections in 2024, however, Disney did not throw any money on their preferred candidates through Soar.

Instead, the entertainment mower made around 1 million US dollars in three political campaign committees for the support of Norma Kurtz, Ryan Balius and Kristen Maahs, who then won.

Kurtz himself was a member of Soar.

Note from the publisher: Ashleigh Aitkens Father, Wylie Aitken, Chair Voice of Oc's Board of Directors.

Hosam Elattar is a voice of the OC reporter and the Corps member with the report for America, a Bodentruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @elattarhosam.

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