Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken stands accused in a newly released 25-page government claim of repeatedly showing up intoxicated at city-related events, directing racially derogatory remarks at her top aide, and pressing intrusive questions about sexuality. Fox News reported that Chief of Staff Berenice Ballinas filed the claim, alleging harassment, discrimination, and retaliation tied to her perceived sexual orientation, Mexican heritage, and Catholic faith.
The city of Anaheim has said a review is underway and an independent investigation is expected. Aitken is seeking another term in the Nov. 3 election. The filing also charges that the city failed to respond adequately after concerns were raised.
Ballinas has worked in the mayor’s office since December 2022. She says the pattern left her forced to take leave beginning around July 31 after she reported or opposed conduct she believed violated laws or workplace rules.
These allegations against a California Democrat arrive amid other cases where public officials have faced serious scrutiny, including a California councilman’s bribery case exposed by FBI agents.
Voters and taxpayers now watch whether city leaders treat the claim with the seriousness it demands or allow another round of soft accountability.
The claim states Aitken arrived at an April 2025 City Council meeting appearing “visibly impaired by alcohol.” After closed session, Ballinas drove the mayor home in then-City Manager Jim Vanderpool’s city vehicle.
During the roughly 15-minute ride, the filing alleges Aitken searched through Vanderpool’s vehicle and personal belongings and took photographs with her cellphone. Ballinas objected and told the mayor to delete the photos because the information was private.
That episode sets the tone for what Ballinas describes as repeated impairment at official or work-related outings.
In May 2025 at Disneyland, Ballinas offered to drive Aitken after believing the mayor was too intoxicated to drive home safely. According to the claim, Aitken declined because she refused to have “a Mexican” drive her.
The same filing says Aitken made multiple derogatory comments about Ballinas’s Mexican heritage and referred to her as a “dirty Mexican.”
The New York Post reported that the claim places the “dirty Mexican” remark in front of former City Manager Jim Vanderpool, underscoring how the alleged comments spilled into the workplace.
At a team dinner, Ballinas observed Aitken becoming “physically affectionate” with another person, including touching and grabbing him. The mayor’s husband removed her from the event.
While walking back toward the hotel, Aitken allegedly grew angry, knocked or pushed over a bicycle, and damaged its mirror. She later fell in the street.
When Ballinas told the mayor’s husband that Aitken was not OK and needed help, he allegedly responded, “Don’t we all?” He later asked Ballinas to make a Venmo payment to compensate the bicycle’s owner.
Public trust erodes quickly when city leaders turn work gatherings into scenes that require damage payments and damage control. Similar patterns of official misconduct have drawn attention in other places, such as LA homelessness fraud arrests that exposed a system built to fail.
The claim presents these moments as part of a longer stretch of behavior that staff could not ignore.
On June 10, 2026, Aitken took Ballinas to Disneyland’s Club 33 for a birthday lunch. The claim says the mayor consumed alcohol and repeatedly questioned whether Ballinas was a lesbian.
Later at the 1901 Lounge, Aitken allegedly questioned a Disney cast member about whether he was gay or straight and about his dating life.
Disney later sent written correspondence to the Club 33 member whose membership was used for the visit. Cast members had reported “rude, insensitive, and inappropriate remarks” during the outing.
That third-party notice from Disney sits outside the mayor’s office and adds weight to the description of the evening. Workplace questions about private sexuality and heritage have no place in professional settings paid for by taxpayers.
Ballinas links her leave around July 31 to retaliation after she reported or opposed the conduct. The filing accuses the city of failing to respond adequately once those concerns were raised.
Accountability gaps of this kind appear in other Democratic circles as well, including two Massachusetts Democratic officials facing federal charges over alleged COVID relief looting.
The claim remains allegations at this stage. No arrests or final findings are described as complete.
Aitken posted a statement on Facebook last month addressing the matter directly.
In that statement she said:
“These allegations are extremely serious, and they deserve to be investigated. I did not use the racial slur attributed to me, and I have always been a champion of the LGBTQ community,”
She has pledged to cooperate and participate in the city review. Anaheim has confirmed the review is underway and an independent investigation is expected.
Fox News Digital reached out to Aitken’s office for further comment beyond the earlier Facebook post. The timing lands weeks before voters decide whether to return her for another term on Nov. 3.
Local residents deserve clear answers about whether their mayor can conduct city business without the impairment, personal probing, and workplace friction described in the filing. Parallel cases continue to surface, among them a Democratic Senate hopeful who suspended a Maine bid after sexual assault allegations.
The 25-page claim lays out a sequence from the April 2025 council meeting through the May Disneyland drive offer, the team dinner and bicycle incident, the June Club 33 lunch, and the subsequent leave. Each episode is framed by Ballinas as part of harassment and discrimination based on heritage, faith, and perceived orientation.
City Hall now faces a basic test: investigate thoroughly, protect staff who raise concerns, and show taxpayers that rules apply at the top. Soft handling only deepens the damage.
When elected leaders treat public roles as private playgrounds, the people who pay the bills and rely on clean government are the ones left holding the consequences.
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