General (25)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, July 14, 2026 5:58 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Georgia Price, District 6, Councilmember Natalie Meeks
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
For public comment on July 14, 2026:
Tony Lee and Jose Duran were among the highest overtime earners in the Anaheim Police
Department.
And although Councilmember Rubalcava received campaign donations and endorsements from the
Anaheim Police Association, she certainly isn't the only one. Those campaign activities are matters of
public record, and several other members of Council have also benefited from those endorsements
and donations.
What residents want to know is this: Did those endorsements or campaign donations influence the
City’s decision to NOT seek an independent law enforcement review of the overtime audit?
An independent review protects everyone—the officers, the City, and, most importantly, the
taxpayers.
Residents also recognize that the Council often relies on information provided by City leadership, and
that information may not always be forthcoming.
So, could it be possible that Vanderpool downplayed the audit to Council? Why would he do that?
Meanwhile, here at City Hall, former City Manager Jim Vanderpool and Human Resources Director
Linda Andal were actively advocating to outsource the City's workers' compensation program.
What's interesting is that the City had already paid for an independent study. According to that study,
taxpayers would save money by keeping the program in-house rather than hiring an outside
contractor.
Yet despite that recommendation, Vanderpool's own calendar shows that he and Linda Andal met
with the president of AdminSure, the very company seeking to administer the City's workers'
compensation program.
And why does this matter? Because the public deserves answers to two important questions: Did
Jose Duran advocate for the AdminSure contract? And did that advocacy overlap, in timing or
influence, with the City's handling of the overtime audit?
The public deserves transparency and the truth, wherever it may lead.
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