General (18)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August 25, 2026 6:28 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Stephanie Mercadante, District 4, Councilmember Norma
Campos Kurtz
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 25, 2026:
Let's talk about Craig Parker's management of Anaheim's Water Department.
Craig Parker manages Cecil Looney, and Cecil demands City employees drive him around as
though they're his personal drivers. They also report Cecil cursing at, berating, and disrespecting
staff.
And Cecil managed Pete Garcia while employees reported years of harassment, retaliation,
intimidation, and unsafe conduct and failed to protect employees. Cecil did nothing about it.
Pete was escorted off City property 2 weeks ago.
Craig and Cecil also manage Supervisor Shane Wilson.
Shane Wilson spends more time in the office instead of the field, while employees have questioned
City credit-card purchases including a $200 Pelican cooler and subwoofer speakers purchased
for personal use.
When Shane is on the field, he is supposed to operate heavy equipment and work on dangerous
excavation projects, yet employees report that he has repeatedly reported to work under the
influence.
Shane struck underground fiber-optic lines on Sunkist Avenue and directed employees to
cover up the damaged lines with dirt. On a State College Boulevard project, Shane hit another
fiber-optic line and caused a service failure. Taxpayers had to pay for the damage that he
caused.
Shane has also accidentally caught himself on fire while working.
Then there's Keith McDonald, another manager under Craig Parker.
Employees report Keith's poor operational decisions contributed to high THMs, brown drinking water,
and excessive flushing, including flushing before compliance testing.
In late 2025, Anaheim flushed more than 10 million gallons of drinking water. And what did Craig
Parker do? He protected Keith.
Employees also reported that Keith encountered a rat in a workplace kitchen and stomped the
screaming animal to death, leaving blood and remains across the kitchen floor.
So Council, look at the pattern:
Pete Garcia, Cecil Looney, Shane Wilson, and Keith McDonald all report to Craig Parker. When
serious allegations repeatedly arise under the same leadership, the conclusion becomes
unavoidable: The leadership IS the problem. It's time for an independent investigation of
Anaheim Public Utilities from the top down. And to Craig Parker, you told the Public Utilities Board
these water issues were “closed.” Ignoring these problems doesn't make them go away. It just
makes the consequences more expensive for taxpayers. These water issues are not closed; the only
things closed were the bathrooms at Disneyland.
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