General (10)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August 11, 2026 5:55 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Jeanine Robbins, District 2, Councilmember Carlos Leon
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 August 11, 2026:
How many current and former employees have filed claims against Anaheim in the last two years?
And has anyone on this dais stopped to ask why?
Behind those costly claims are employees who say they reported retaliation, harassment, unsafe
working conditions, or misconduct - and weren't protected.
Who is responsible for protecting employees? HR Director Linda Andal.
Employees raising serious safety concerns say Cecil Looney told them to “sit the fuck down or you’ll
fucking regret it.” What did Linda Andal do? Nothing.
Employees report Pete Garcia repeatedly harassed staff and created unsafe working conditions.
What did Linda Andal do? Nothing.
Employees report Keith McDonald retaliated against employees for raising water-quality concerns.
What did Linda Andal do? Nothing.
Employees reported John Vasquez sexually harassed and retaliated against employees he
supervised. HR reportedly substantiated complaints, yet employees were still required to report to
him. What did Linda Andal do? Nothing.
Employees reported Fire Dept dispatch manager Brenda Carrion gave her niece a $500,000 contract
and retaliated against employees who reported it. What did Linda Andal do? Nothing.
Employees involved in investigating allegations of police overtime abuse involving Jose Duran and
Tony Lee subsequently reported retaliation. What did Linda Andal do? Nothing.
HR is supposed to minimize the City's liability - not create it. Yet these problems escalate into claims,
investigations, and litigation, and taxpayers pay the bill.
Mayor Aitken meets privately with Linda Andal, yet those meetings don't appear on the Mayor's public
calendar. Why?
Risk Management employees publicly described being overworked and understaffed, while
recommendations addressing staffing were ignored. Then the City spent approximately $100,000 on
a workers' compensation study that Linda Andal also ignored and instead tried to help Jim
Vanderpool and Jose Duran hand off a multimillion-dollar contract to Adminsure. Andal and
Vanderpool met with Adminsure without the Risk Manager. Why?
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Meanwhile, there are allegations HR Manager Alex Mo-Ha-jer uses a marijuana vape pen during
work hours, including before negotiation meetings -yet he is responsible for investigating employee-
relations complaints.
So who investigates HR? Is HR held to the same standards as everyone else?
Council should demand an independent investigation. How many employee claims have been filed?
How much have taxpayers spent defending them? How many employees first complained to HR, and
what did HR do? Again - absolutely nothing.
But Linda Andal isn't the only problem.
Rob Fabela, you're the City Attorney. Your job is to protect this City from liability. Yet taxpayers
continue to pay for claims and lawsuits, while employees say the same problems persist. At what point
do you tell this Council that the problem is not the employees raising concerns, but the department
heads you're protecting?
Protecting leadership from accountability isn't protecting Anaheim. It's creating even greater liability.
And Mr. Fabela, this is all happening on your watch.
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