First Florida, now California. Disney’s political problems might have just gotten more complicated.
According to a recent piece in the LA Times, a Disneyland employee is said to be part of an influential ‘cabal’ influencing the government of Anaheim, California.
This ongoing federal investigation is looking into corruption in the city of Anaheim, and is investigating former mayor Harry Sidhu as well as the former head of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce in regards to embezzlement, among other things.
While Disneyland was not specifically named in a federal public corruption probe (it was referred to as “Company A”) it was obvious to anyone paying attention which company was being talked about.
Disneyland Resort Director of External Affairs Carrie Nocella is believed to be the ‘power broker’ employee that is accused of “being a key participant in a ‘cabal’ steering Anaheim’s government,” according to the report.
From the Times…
The company has long played a dominant role in Anaheim politics. Some current and former council members, local activists and a past mayor say Disneyland Resort has parlayed its influence into lucrative tax breaks at the expense of city residents and bankrolled friendly politicians with generous campaign donations. Disney has pushed back against such criticism, arguing that the resort provides the city with an important economic engine and is a job creator.
Currently, Disney has not been charged with any wrongdoing. A company spokesman said “We have seen media reports of the complaint and no authorities have reached out to us about it.”
Disneyland has long had a lot of pull in Anaheim, and political donations in the best interests of the company are nothing new.
Anaheim has granted Disneyland Resort many perks over the years. A fairly recent example was the planned luxury hotel resort in Disney Springs, which was ultimately jettisoned in 2018 due to a disagreement between Disney and the City.
And ironically enough, the LA Times got itself blacklisted for movie screenings by Disney in 2017 for reporting “negatively” on Disneyland’s business relationships with the City. That decision was ultimately reversed, but this expose probably won’t do them any favors.
[Source: LA Times]
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