General (13)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August 11, 2026 6:10 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Dave Duran, District 1, Councilmember Ryan Balius
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:
Water system failures. Wildfire evacuation discrepancies. Costly lawsuits because of HR’s dereliction of
duties. Contract-management negligence. Conflicts of interest. And allegations that certainly raise
questions about who is doing favors for whom.
But regardless of the department, somehow, they all lead back to the same place:
A complete lack of accountability.
Residents warned you about the water system. They were called the “disinformation brigade.”
Craig Parker declared the matter “closed.”
Six days later, the water system failed.
Meanwhile, taxpayers paid for audits specifically examining public health, regulatory compliance and
vulnerabilities in this water system.
Where are those reports taxpayers paid for?
Then there's wildfire evacuation planning.
Residents, not City staff, identified conflicting numbers and assumptions in a $180,000 consultant
study.
Apparently, in Anaheim, taxpayers don't just pay consultants.
We have to do their quality control, too.
Then we have HR. Employees report retaliation, harassment, and unsafe working conditions, while
taxpayers pick up the tab for the claims and lawsuits that follow.
Then we arrive at the police overtime scandal.
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Chief Cid says there wasn't necessarily “specific culpability” to one person, but rather “systematic or
managerial oversight shortcomings.”
Interesting.
Anaheim hired a consultant to audit itself.
And once again, somehow, the system becomes the problem instead of the people using it.
Do you see the pattern yet?
Water fails? Blame the system.
Questionable overtime? Blame the system.
Employees complain? Protect management.
Consultants produce questionable work? Pay that invoice.
Residents expose problems? Call it disinformation.
I've heard this Council proudly refer to “the Anaheim Way.”
Maybe we need to ask exactly what the Anaheim Way has become.
Because this isn't just about isolated incidents anymore.
It's about a culture.
A culture where problems are dismissed until they can no longer be ignored.
If that's the “Anaheim Way,” then maybe it's time Anaheim found a better way.
Because eventually, you run out of systems to blame.
You run out of consultants to hide behind.
And you run out of employees to point fingers at.
Eventually, there's nowhere left to look but up.
And what you're left with isn't a failure of the system.
It's a failure of leadership.
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