Despite Mayor Ashleigh Aitken pushing the city to adopt Measure A, voters told her to “stuff it” at the ballot box.
Anaheim residents resoundingly voted to put Mayor Ashleigh Aitken “in her place” after outright rejecting Measure A, an Aitken-supported measure that would have threatened the city’s economic stability with its resort industry.
The union-backed measure would have increased minimum wage for hotel and resort workers to a whopping $25 per hour, a 40 percent increase, and in many cases would have increased payments to $50 per hour if a certain amount of square footage was cleaned by hotel workers during their shift.
In May, Aitken voted to immediately adopt Measure A without studying what impacts that action would have on the city’s budget and future tax revenues and labor costs, though she was out voted by the rest of the city council who wanted to give voters the chance to decide.
“This special interest proposal is extremely risky and should be rejected by Anaheim voters,” said Councilmember Jose Diaz, who represents District 1 in west Anaheim. “Measure A will jeopardize critical quality of life services throughout the city.”
Mayor Aitken, who previously bypassed a detailed examination of Measure A’s negative implications for Anaheim’s economy, has been held accountable by the electorate. This rejection serves as a testament to the voters’ understanding of the dangers posed by policies that disregard the fiscal health of their city. The mayor’s attempt to fast-track this measure, which was heavily influenced by the union UNITE-HERE Local 11, demonstrates a concerning disregard for democratic processes and a lack of commitment to transparent governance.
The overwhelming disapproval of Measure A underscores the electorate’s preference for a governance style that balances all interests, particularly those of the local businesses. These businesses, many of them small and family-owned, are the backbone of Anaheim’s economy and their concerns were evidently overlooked by Mayor Aitken in her hasty endorsement of the measure.
The defeat of Measure A is a victory for common sense and a clear indication that the citizens of Anaheim favor policies that support economic growth and stability over short-sighted and restrictive labor mandates.
