Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, a Democrat who is on the November 3 ballot, is accused by her own chief of staff of being drunk on city business and calling the aide “a dirty Mexican,” in a 25-page claim the city released Thursday, October 1, about a month before voters decide whether to keep her. Aitken has denied using the slur.
Story Snapshot
- Chief of Staff Berenice Ballinas filed the 25-page claim. Everything in it is her allegation, and none of it has been proven.
- The claim says the mayor was regularly drunk at city events, needed rides home and used racist and homophobic slurs.
- Aitken has said, “I did not use the racial slur attributed to me,” and that the allegations should be investigated.
- The city is hiring an outside investigator, and the mayor faces two challengers on November 3.
What The Filing Alleges Against The Mayor
Ballinas has been the mayor’s chief of staff since December 2022. Her filing is a claim against the city, which is a formal written complaint that California law requires before a person can sue a city. The claim says Aitken was “regularly drunk on city business” and had to be driven home from city events. It says she showed up “visibly impaired by alcohol” at an April 2025 City Council meeting. It also says she tried to search the former city manager’s car while intoxicated.
JUST IN: Anaheim Mayor @AshleighAitken is facing explosive allegations from her own chief of staff, including claims of harassment, discrimination, inappropriate conduct and appearing intoxicated at city-related events.
The 25-page government claim alleges Aitken made racially…
— Erik Hoffmann (@TheErikHoffmann) October 2, 2026
The claim says Aitken called Ballinas “a dirty Mexican” in front of then-City Manager Jim Vanderpool. It says that at Disneyland in May 2025 the mayor refused a ride home from Ballinas and said she would not have “a Mexican” drive her. According to the claim, Aitken pressed Ballinas about her sexuality at a June 2026 lunch at Club 33, a private members-only club inside Disneyland, and used a homophobic slur for Vanderpool. The claim also says she referred to God as Ballinas’ “imaginary friend.” Vanderpool could not be reached for comment, according to reports.
How The Mayor And City Leaders Are Responding
Aitken has denied the slur. “These allegations are extremely serious, and they deserve to be investigated,” she said. “I did not use the racial slur attributed to me, and I have always been a champion of the LGBTQ community.” She did not respond to requests for comment on the full claim on Thursday, according to reports.
Ballinas says the mayor punished her for speaking up. The claim says a raise was held back and that she has been on leave since late July. City spokesman Mike Lyster said, “Anaheim takes all claims seriously.” He said the city expects to hire an independent investigator soon and that the review will take place over the next few months. The City Council set a special closed-door session on the claim for Friday, October 2. A closed-door session is a meeting the public cannot attend, which the law allows for legal and personnel matters.
Why This Case Resonates Beyond Anaheim
The slur allegation first became public in September, and some council members called for a fast investigation. The full claim is the new part. It names city officials Ballinas says she told, including the city attorney, the interim city manager and the human resources director. That makes this a test of how City Hall handled the complaint, not only of what the mayor did or did not say.
The timing matters to voters. Aitken has been mayor since December 2022 and leads the city that is home to Disneyland. The political arm of the Anaheim police union has suspended its endorsement of her. An investigation that takes months will not be finished before ballots are counted, so voters will decide with the claim on one side and her denial on the other.
What To Watch Next
The city has said it will name the outside investigator soon. The council can take up the claim again in closed session. If the city rejects the claim, California law lets the person who filed it go to court. Ballinas’ lawyer, Lawrence Lennemann, declined further comment. The election is Tuesday, November 3.
Sources:
voiceofoc.org, latimes.com, noticias.foxnews.com, ocregister.com, mynewsla.com
