Anaheim Chamber Luncheon at Angel Stadium Attracted Fewer Council Members, But More Candidates

Berenice Ballinas, Kristen Maahs-Kolberg, Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, and Pepe Avila at Angel Stadium on June 7, 2024.

By DUANE J. ROBERTS
Editor & Publisher

More than 200 photographs currently in the possession of The Anaheim Investigator show that although the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Angel Stadium on June 7th attracted far less council members than it did back in 2023, there were more candidates. Furthermore, a number of new faces were present this year, including Paul Kott, a local realtor, and Josh Newman, a state senator that represents the 29th district.

In two photos, Mayor Ashleigh Aitken can be seen with Kristen Maahs-Kolberg, who is running for city council in district 5. Maahs-Kolberg is no stranger to Aitken or the Anaheim Chamber. Not only did the latter’s website formerly list her as being a part of their “ambassadors committee,” but she is a longtime employee of Alzheimer’s Orange County, a non-profit of which the mayor served on the board of directors of from 2020 to 2023.

Several others show Aitken mingling with Ross McCune, owner and president of Calsteal Builders Inc., and William O’Connell III, director of operations for Stovall’s Hotels of Anaheim. In another photo, the mayor is seated at table in between Jerry Jordan, the new president/CEO of the Anaheim Chamber, and Alicia Valadez-Gonzalez, chairwoman of their board of directors. She is also a community relations manager for Northgate Markets.

Aitken and O’Connell III.

Councilman Stephen Faessal can be seen eating lunch with Dennis Kuhl, chairman of Angels Baseball, and State Senator Newman, who kept fidgeting with his smartphone. Seated right next to him was James Vanderpool, the city manager. Other persons in attendance included the Mayor’s Chief of Staff Berenice Ballinas, Mayor Pro-Tem Norma Campos-Kurtz, Fire Chief Pat Russell, and Third District Supervisor Don Wagner.

Ryan Bailus, a candidate running for city council in district 1, also made his presence known. Unlike Maahs-Kolberg and Campos-Kurtz, both of whom will be facing voters for the very first time in November, this is his second try. In 2020, Bailus ran a spirited campaign against Councilwoman Denise Barnes, an incumbent, and Jose Diaz, coming in third with 19.8% of the vote. This year his only opponent is Ojaala Ahmed.

Bailus and Wagner.

The luncheon, an annual event that is organized by the Anaheim Chamber, typically brings in a youth sports league from the local community to meet and interact with persons who played for Angels Baseball, both past and present. However, the only featured guests this time around were Perry Minasian, the team’s general manager, and Trent Rush, a reporter and host for AM 830 KLAA, a radio station owned by the club.

Visit Anaheim, the tourism industry promotion bureau, was once again the main sponsor, paying $10,000. Manheim California and Republic Services, the city’s trash hauler, each chipped in about $5,000. The Banc of California, City National Grove of Anaheim, ocV!be, Rexford Industrial, and SA Recycling coughed up $2,750 a piece. Northgate Markets, Stovall’s Hotels of Anaheim, and several other businesses spent $1,750.

One notable exception this year was that the city paid for the $200 tickets to this event. A chain of emails reveals the city manager’s office declined those offered by the Anaheim Chamber and instead bought them individually for council members and staff that attended. Mike Lyster, chief communications officer, told The Investigator money for the tickets came from “discretionary budgets” used for this purpose.