Disney-funded committees move money into Anaheim election campaigns

Political committees funded by Disney and resort-area hoteliers are moving leftover campaign money through other committees to support Anaheim candidates in 2026, making the original donors harder to trace, according to Voice of OC.

The transfers put resort-industry money behind the mayor and council incumbents, including candidates running unopposed. Voice of OC reported that the funding changes followed federal and independent corruption investigations that found Disneyland Resort interests had outsized influence over city policymaking.

Disney and hoteliers historically donated through Support Our Anaheim Resort, a political action committee whose funding generally came mostly from Disney, according to Voice of OC. In 2024, they shifted to candidate-specific committees. Disney gave nearly $1 million that year to groups supporting Norma Campos Kurtz, Kristen Maahs and Ryan Balius.

Leftover money from committees supporting Balius and Maahs was consolidated into a renamed committee that previously supported Kurtz. The resulting Anaheim Residents, Small Businesses, and Public Safety Leaders committee had roughly $200,000, Voice of OC reported.

That committee sent $80,000 to Neighbors for a Strong Anaheim supporting Aitken for Mayor 2026. The recipient committee spent more than $60,000 on mailers supporting Mayor Aitken on Oct. 2, according to the publication. Resort-funded committees also directed about $100,000 to groups backing Councilmembers Meeks and Leon, who are both running unopposed.

Separately, the Anaheim Police Association PAC suspended its support for Aitken at the end of September and spent nearly $58,000 opposing her on Oct. 16. Voice of OC reported that the withdrawal followed a claim by Berenice Ballinas, the mayor’s chief of staff, alleging racist and homophobic conduct. Aitken denied those allegations.

Police and firefighter political spending also backed Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava’s reelection campaign against Elia Renteria-Garcia. The police union PAC gave nearly $90,000 to a separate committee supporting Rubalcava, while the firefighters union spent more than $10,000 on digital ads, text messages, data and design supporting her as of Oct. 13, according to Voice of OC.

Disney spokespeople and the firefighters association did not respond to Voice of OC’s respective requests for comment, the publication reported.