As of late September 2026, the City of Anaheim has confirmed that a full, fair, and independent investigation into allegations against Mayor Ashleigh Aitken is underway, according to city spokesman Mike Lyster. No investigator has been publicly named, no timeline has been given, and the city has not released the underlying mediation letter. Mayor Aitken continues to serve in office and has pledged to cooperate.

A four-page mediation letter dated Sept. 11, 2026, sent by attorney Lawrence Lennemann to City Attorney Robert Fabela on behalf of mayoral chief of staff Berenice Ballinas, alleges that on multiple occasions when Ballinas drove Aitken home from city functions, Aitken said she did not want her car driven by a "dirty Mexican." The letter further alleges that Aitken and then-City Manager Jim Vanderpool made inappropriate inquiries into Ballinas' perceived sexual orientation between 2023 and 2026, including statements and insinuations that she is a lesbian. These are allegations contained in a mediation demand — not findings of fact.

Aitken publicly denied the slur allegation, stating: "I did not use the racial slur attributed to me, and I have always been a champion of the LGBTQ community." In a Sept. 25 Facebook post, she added that because Ballinas remains a city employee she is limited in what she can say publicly, and she pointed to her record in office. At the Sept. 22 council meeting, residents called on Aitken to resign; the three Latino Democratic council members did not address the allegations on the record. District 6 Councilmember Natalie Meeks (Anaheim Hills, Republican) called for an expedited internal investigation and said Aitken should resign if the allegations are substantiated.

Running parallel to the allegations controversy, the council has been conducting closed-session deliberations on appointing a permanent city manager to replace Jim Vanderpool, who resigned earlier in 2026 amid scrutiny of his ties to resort interests connected to the FBI corruption probe. Greg Garcia has served as interim city manager since February 2026. Closed sessions were held Sept. 22 and continued to Sept. 30; no appointment has been announced.

Aitken — elected in 2022 as Anaheim's first voter-elected female mayor — faces challengers Dr. Imran Sharief and Alfredo Rodriguez in the Nov. 3, 2026 mayoral election, approximately five weeks away. The investigation's timeline and any findings are not expected to be made public by the city proactively, based on Lyster's characterization of the matter as a personnel issue.