Anaheim Observer Civic affairs in OC's largest city.
District 3 Councilman Jose F, Moreno is at it again – assuming the worst about the fallen with whom he shares the council dais. In yesterday’s LA Times, Moreno besmirches the motivations of Mayor Sidhu and several of his council colleagues:
Jose Moreno has expressed concern that Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu is the council’s lone representative on the city’s negotiating committee, given that Sidhu last year received $2,000 in campaign contributions from Angels President John Carpino and $1,600 from Angels chairman Dennis Kuhl, according to city records.
“No political contribution could ever keep me from my duty of fighting for the best deal possible for the residents of Anaheim,” Sidhu said in a statement. “Period.”
UNITE-HERE Local 11 Co-President Ada Briceno and District 3 Councilman Jose F. Moreno
It’s a testament to the sad state of contemporary reporting that Moreno’s false framing goes unchallenged by the Times. The two contributions that so worry Moreno represent 0.6% of the $583,230.47 that Sidhu’s campaign spent on his election. If those two contributions had ever been made, it would have made literally no difference in the outcome of the mayoral race. But that doesn’t stop Moreno from maliciously suggesting all efforts to secure a stadium deal that is mutually beneficial to the team and the city hinge on two campaign donations. No reasonable person would buy that.
Moreno, on the other hand, has been faithfully carrying political water for the special interests responsible for him being a councilman. Moreno edged out then-Councilman Jordan Brandman by 72 out of 12,923 votes cast – a razor-thin margin of 0.6%. A significant percentage of Moreno’s campaign donations came from unions with a stake in Anaheim city council decisions. UNITE-HERE Local 11 came to Moreno’s aid in a big way with dollars and legions of precinct walkers, pushing him over the finish line and into the city council seat. And he’s been carrying their political water ever since.
When Local 11 and other Resort union donors were attacking the Disneyland Resort during labor negotiations, Moreno used the council dais to amplify their narrative. When his Resort union donors paid for a study supporting their $18 minimum wage initiative campaign, Moreno invited the study’s authors to testify at a city council about their claims that such a large minimum wage hike would be economically beneficial.
When UNITE-HERE Local 11 Ada Briceno asks him to join union protestors in getting arrested to illegally shutting down a busy city intersection, Moreno agrees.
UNITE-HERE Local 11 represents many Angel Stadium employees and wants to use stadium negotiations with the Angels to advance the union’s interests – and Moreno uses his council position to support those interests. It can be hard to tell where Local 11 boss Ada Briceno ends and Moreno begins. A few weeks ago, he joined Briceno and his union donors at a political rally they organized to make stadium negotiations part of their strategy to taking control of the Anaheim City Council in 2020.
Anaheim Councilmember Jose F. Moreno and allies absorb UNITE-HERE Local 11 boss Ada Briceno’s Angels negotiations agenda.
Doubtless, Moreno would say he’s acting on a political philosophy shared by his union campaign donors. And that’s likely the case. The hypocrisy stems from his refusal to give the same benefit of the doubt to this pro-business council colleagues and operate on the assumption they are acting on political values shared by their campaign supporters.
Moreno’s posturing is lack of self-awareness or plain shamelessness – or maybe both. Physician, heal thyself.
This is typical of Moreno’s M.O.: manufacture the “perception” of special interest influence on his opponents while faithfully advancing the agenda of the special interests that helped put him on the council.
In the last photo in the article, the female sitting next to Dr. Moreno is District 1’s Council person Denise Barnes.
Jose Moreno is a two headed snake.
Actually, I believe it’s just Dr. Moreno’s little group of his insiders that doesn’t trust the Mayor. Seems like Moreno’s meetings are about 40 people, based on what I have heard and read.
Like I said. No one and I mean no one has any faith that Sidhu will pass a deal with the Angels that will be fair for the city.
Maybe because Moreno is the most accessable and has weekly meetings so that people done need to show up to ONE meeting every 6 months.
You know there is a reason residents from other districts go to him instead of their unreachable councilmembers .
Have you seen all the events and meetings Steven Faessel does every week. Check out his Facebook page. Seems he does a lot more than Dr. Moreno, who has to split his time with CSULB.
And all 6 council members totally agreed with Mayor Sidhu’s list for the Angels negotiations, including Dr. Moreno.