Hidden In Plain Sight: Aitken Family Political Machine Got Money, Support From The Walt Disney Company

Ken Potrock (l), president of the Disneyland Resort, with Carrie Nocella (r) while Mayor Ashleigh Aitken’s father (c) sits at a table behind them.

By DUANE J. ROBERTS
Editor & Publisher

On the evening of Thursday, June 22, 2023, The Anaheim Investigator emailed a routine public records act request asking Mike Lyster, Chief Communications Officer for the City of Anaheim, to release all photographs his office had that were taken “before, during, and after” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken’s State of the City address and luncheon, an event which took place at the City National Grove in May of that year.

In response, The Investigator got several dozen. Many were shot by Joshua Suddock, a freelance photographer, who had done work for the Orange County Register and other newspapers. Suddock, however, had a peculiar affinity: he loved taking photos of everything involving the Disneyland Resort. And several images that he captured of the audience listening to the mayor speak were quite revealing.

Suddock’s photos show Disney employees, many from their public relations department, came out in full force that day. In one of them, Ken Potrock, president of the Disneyland Resort, can be seen with Carrie Nocella, the controversial director of external affairs for the theme park. Seated in the background is Wylie Aitken, the mayor’s father, who, along with the rest of her family, was at a table right next to them.

Perhaps it was a fluke that both the Aitken family and representatives from The Walt Disney Company were sitting so close to each other. But The Investigator has uncovered evidence suggesting ties between the two have previously been much deeper than what is publicly known. In fact, our reporting about their curious relationship with Nocella in December 2023 and last year was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Through a careful review of campaign finance paperwork filed with the state and federal governments, photos, archived website data, social media posts, and other records, The Investigator has learned the Democratic Foundation of Orange County, the political machine the Aitken family used for many years to exert their influence over local politics, was the recipient of thousands of dollars from The Walt Disney Company.

In addition, The Investigator has discovered that on at least one occasion, the Disneyland Resort gave the Democratic Foundation free meeting space for a fundraiser held at their Grand Californian Hotel, even providing food and drinks for its well-heeled members at absolutely no charge. And photos clearly show Michael Penn, the husband of Mayor Aitken, was with Nocella at this particular function.

The Democratic Foundation was founded in 1983 by Howard Adler, a developer, and Richard O’Neill, a rancher that owned 52,000 acres of land in south Orange County. Both men, who were active in the Democratic Party at the local and state levels, created it to be a counterweight to the Lincoln Club of Orange County, an elite group of businessmen who poured millions into the campaign coffers of Republican politicians.

The idea was to bring together at least 100 big donors who would each kick in about $1,000 a year to not only help finance voter registration drives, but to support Democratic candidates running for various offices. One of the group’s early successes was getting Tom Umberg elected to a seat in the state assembly in 1990. His main opponent was Curt Pringle, who would later become mayor of Anaheim in 2002.

In 1992, Wylie Aitken, a prominent tort lawyer, took control of the Democratic Foundation and became chair. Thanks to encouragement from Tom Daly, he later got the group to pump $100,000 into the congressional campaign of Loretta Sanchez, who was relatively unknown at the time. The sudden cash infusion was instrumental in helping her beat Bob Dornan, a notoriously right-wing Republican, making him a celebrity.

After serving 17 years as chair, Wylie stepped down in 2009. However, he still maintained a tight grip on the organization through close allies like Dan Jacobson, the Tustin-based attorney who succeeded him, and Penn, his son-in-law. Archived website data shows that the elder Aitken ended up on their board of directors and was later joined by Penn, who became vice chair in 2016, and eventually chair in 2019.

Campaign finance records reviewed by The Investigator reveal the Democratic Foundation over the years received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from a tight-knit coterie of lawyers, corporate executives, elected officials, and party operatives. However, it also got money from another source: a billion-dollar entertainment giant whose amusement park in Anaheim claims to be “the happiest place on earth.”

Between 2011 and 2019, The Walt Disney Company funneled about $22,710 into the Democratic Foundation. Though the yearly amounts varied, paperwork the latter filed with the California Secretary of State shows this corporate entity was a member of the group, even paying the required annual membership dues–something that Jacobson, the chair, would quite frankly admit in a message he posted on Facebook.

Data from the Secretary of State.

But the Democratic Foundation didn’t just get cash from The Walt Disney Company. The Investigator has compelling evidence that on at least one occasion, the Disneyland Resort gave them free meeting space for a special fundraiser held at a restaurant located inside their Grand Californian Hotel, even providing food and drinks at no charge. And photos do show both Penn and Nocella were present.

The fundraiser in question, which took place on Friday, July 8, 2016, occurred in the private dining room of the Napa Rose. It was advertised by the Democratic Foundation, both on their website and social media, as being an “intimate meal” with State Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, a Democrat, who was then speaker. “This is not a banquet,” they emphasized. “We will all be seated at one table with Anthony.”

“The cost of the luncheon will be $1,100 per plate,” according to a message posted on their Facebook page in June 2016. “The money raised is slated to go toward the publication and distribution of the Orange County Voter Guide, our award-winning and beautiful mailer that goes to high-propensity Orange County Democratic voters. So, your contribution will get Democrats elected in Orange County.”

Numerous photos obtained by The Investigator reveal about 20 people were in attendance. The images show Rendon, who was the featured guest, had been seated in between Jacobson and Nocella. Directly across from him was Penn, who was vice chair. Further to his left was State Assemblyman Tom Daly; to his right, near the end of the table, was State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva and her husband.

Michael Penn seated across from Anthony Rendon at the Napa Rose.

Dan Jacobson with Rendon and Nocella.

Rendon and Nocella.

Rendon and Nocella.

Penn on the right.

Tom Daly on the right.

According to a Form 461 that The Walt Disney Company filed with the California Secretary of State in 2017, they reported spending $2077.13 on this fundraiser. Under the category which obligated the entertainment giant to at least partially describe what they paid for, it was listed as an “In-kind contribution for event expenses,” which means they footed the entire bill for meals, beverages, and other related costs.

This event was not the only one the Disneyland Resort hosted for the Democratic Foundation. In March 2012, they were allowed to use the Disneyland Hotel for a similar gathering with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. Food and drinks were free for members who paid their dues. But it was not a fundraiser. Beyond announcements posted online, no records of it could be found in any paperwork filed with the federal government.

It is not known if Nocella was present at this function. However, her links to the former congresswoman are well-documented. Last year, The Investigator pointed out that between January 1997 and August 1998, she was an intern for the Campaign to Re-Elect Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, focusing on “campaign strategy, labor outreach and strategy, fundraising, and event planning.”

Moreover, two years after the July 2016 fundraiser, Nocella was appointed to the Board Governors of Chapman University, a body which guides the educational mission of the school. Its vice chair at that time was Penn. The elder Aitken was chair of their Board of Trustees. And Sanchez had been a trustee since 2001. Despite denials, all were in a position to help the Disney executive get installed to this board.

From a Form 461 filed by the Walt Disney Company.

As The Investigator previously reported, this relationship goes back to the early 1990s. Between 1991 and 1993, Ashleigh and Nocella attended Rosary Academy, a small, elite Roman Catholic all-girls college-prep school located in Fullerton. Though they were not classmates, they shared similar politics and career goals: both women did campaign work for Congresswoman Sanchez; they later pursued law degrees.

More than a decade later, the career path Nocella embarked upon would once again intertwine with Ashleigh and her family. In 2010, after being made director of government relations for the Disneyland Resort, she became a visible figure within local political circles, mingling with elected officials who were linked to the Democratic Foundation–all of whom, interestingly enough, had deep ties to the Aitkens.

Indeed, some of Nocella’s friends, such as the late Jordan Brandman, were also Ashleigh’s as well. In one message the latter posted on her Facebook wall on June 11, 2012, she announced a fundraiser was being held for his city council campaign at Jacobson’s law office in Tustin. A Form 460 filed with the city clerk reveals the future mayor and her father collectively gave him a $750 contribution that same month.

Nobody should be the least bit surprised with any of this. The Investigator has long since been aware politics is a game for the wealthy. Out of the 350,000 people who live in this town, only a tiny handful of rich people run it. And they mostly live in the same neighborhoods, send their children to same schools, belong to the same non-profit organizations, and sometimes even share the same circle of friends.

Ashleigh Aitken with Tom Umberg and Jordan Brandman in 2018.

For example, while investigating Nocella, we discovered Ashleigh’s political career was set into motion by Curt Pringle, who as Republican mayor of Anaheim, nominated her to the Community Services Board in June 2004, and then again in June 2006. Despite the fact Pringle and her father had been at odds with each other in the past, the Aitkens allied with him to create the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center.

The relationship between the two former adversaries grew so close that Wylie wrote out a $1500 check to the Curt Pringle for Mayor 2006 campaign committee on June 22, 2006, according to a Form 460 filed that year. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but public records show the contribution, the maximum allowed at that time, was made two days after the mayor moved to reappoint his daughter to a city board.

Furthermore, a Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service reveals that Pringle became chair of the board of the newly formed Muzeo Foundation in 2007. Bette Aitken, who is Wylie’s wife, would also be made a director. Photos published in the December 2008 issue of Orange Coast magazine show that the Aitkens, including Ashleigh and Penn, were with the mayor at a museum fundraiser.

In June 2010, Pringle voted to give Ashleigh yet another term on the Community Services Board. In a letter that was mailed to her Anaheim Hills home on official government stationery, he congratulated her for being “unanimously reappointed” to that seat by the city council. “Thanks for your continued service. Curt,” says a handwritten note scribbled down in pen on the lower right-hand corner.

Wylie Aitken with Curt Pringle in 2008.

This article represents the last one of a three-part series by The Investigator which has explored the Aitken family’s ties to Nocella. During our two-year inquiry, we can now safely say it does in fact exist. But this relationship, like many others, appears to be transactional in nature and mostly a product of them being part of the same overlapping social and political networks that they share in common.

The reason why the Pringle connection was brought up was to show that the former Republican mayor, much like the Disney executive, belonged to similar networks the Aitkens circulated in. What apparently brought them together–besides Wylie’s possible desire to see his daughter be appointed to a city board to use as a stepping stone for higher public office–was the goal of creating the Muzeo Museum.

Like other ruling class families, the Aitkens have sat on the boards and committees of many different non-profit organizations–from the Girl Scouts of Orange County to Segerstrom Center for the Arts. This has allowed them to rub elbows with wealthy donors, corporate executives, and mega-billionaires who control the biggest business interests in Anaheim, such as Angels Baseball, Honda Center, and the Disneyland Resort.

The Democratic Foundation, the political machine they have controlled for years, has a long history of backing “business friendly” candidates for public office. That The Walt Disney Company gave them financial support should be of no surprise because this group has been pivotal in electing politicians who champion policies which make their theme park operations here in Anaheim extremely profitable.