Anaheim mayor resigns amid FBI corruption investigation

By

Samuel Wonacott

Welcome to the Wednesday, May 25, Brew. 

By: Samuel Wonacott

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Anaheim mayor resigns amid FBI corruption investigation
  2. We’ve got May 24 primary election results!  
  3. New Jersey has the most candidates running for the U.S. House since at least 2014

Mayor of Anaheim resigns amid FBI corruption investigation

On May 23, Anaheim, Calif., Mayor Harry Sidhu announced he would resign after information about an ongoing federal corruption investigation was made public earlier this month. Sidhu’s resignation was effective May 24. 

According to a May 12 affidavit, the FBI was investigating whether Sidhu “shared privileged and confidential information with the [Los Angeles Angels] during stadium sale negotiations, actively concealed same from a Grand Jury inquiry, and expects to receive campaign contributions as a result.” Sidhu’s attorney, Paul Meyer, said Sidhu resigned to “allow [Anaheim] to move forward without distraction.” Meyer said a “fair and thorough investigation will prove [Sidhu] did not leak secret information in hopes of a later political campaign contribution.”

Mayor Pro Tem Trevor O’Neil and members of the Anaheim City Council asked Sidhu to resign on May 18. A timeline of the city’s responses can be viewed here.

The city council has 60 days to fill the vacancy by appointment. Otherwise, the city charter requires a special election to be held. Anaheim is holding a regular general election for mayor on Nov. 8. A news release from the city said, “Given proximity to November’s election, where the mayor’s seat is set to go before voters, an election to fill the seat could be held at the same time.”

Municipal elections in Anaheim are nonpartisan. In 2016, Sidhu ran for the California State Assembly as a Republican. 

The mayors of 62 of the country’s 100 largest cities are affiliated with the Democratic Party. Republicans hold 25 mayoral offices, independents hold four, and seven mayors are nonpartisan. One mayor’s partisan affiliation is unknown. With Sidhu’s resignation, there is one vacancy.

Twenty-four of the 100 largest U.S. cities, including Anaheim, are holding mayoral elections this year. In the four elections that have taken place so far (in Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Lubbock, and Newark), no partisan changes have occurred. 

We use one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder’s partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.

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We’ve got May 24 primary election results!  

Yesterday, three states—Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia—held statewide primaries. Additionally, Texas held primary runoff elections (Texas’ primary elections were March 1). Our team stayed up late into the night collecting results and monitoring the most significant developments. In tomorrow’s Brew, we’ll take a closer look at the biggest storylines to emerge from Tuesday’s results and help you make sense of what they mean for midterm races in November. 

In the meanwhile, check out our May 24 election hub to see the latest results. You can also subscribe to The Heart of the Primaries, our weekly dive into key congressional, legislative, and executive races. The next edition comes out Thursday! 

Click on the links below to see results from the battleground elections that happened last night:

Alabama

Arkansas

Georgia

Texas

The next statewide primaries are on June 7 in Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota. As always, we’ll bring you previews of those elections in the coming days.

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New Jersey has the most candidates running for the U.S. House since 2014

Since January, we’ve periodically looked at U.S. House primary competitiveness data in 17 states. You can find data on those states here. Today, we’re looking at New Jersey. 

The filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in New Jersey this year was April 4. Fifty-five candidates are running for New Jersey’s 12 U.S. House districts, including 20 Democrats and 35 Republicans. That’s 4.58 candidates per district, more than the 4.17 candidates per district in 2020 and the 4.08 in 2018. Currently, Democrats hold 10 districts, while Republicans hold two. 

Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:

  • This is the first election to take place under new district lines following the 2020 census. New Jersey was apportioned 12 districts, the same it had following the 2010 census.
  • The 55 U.S. House candidates running this year most since 2014.
  • Rep. Albio Sires (D) is retiring, making the 8th district the only open district this year. That’s one more than in 2020, when there were no open districts, and one less than in 2018, when the 2nd and the 11th districts were open.
  • Nine candidates — seven Republicans and two Democrats, including incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski (D) — filed to run in the 7th district, the most running for one district this year. That’s two more than in 2020, when seven candidates ran in the 2nd district, and one less than in 2018, when 10 candidates ran in the 11th district.  
  • There are six contested Democratic primaries this year, the lowest since 2016, and 10 contested Republican primaries, the most since 2014. 
  • Five incumbents — all Democrats — are not facing any primary challengers this year. That’s one more than in 2020, when four incumbents did not face any primary challengers. 
  • Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all 12 districts, so no districts are guaranteed to either party this year. 

New Jersey and six other states — California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota — are holding primary elections on June 7. Winners in New Jersey primary elections are determined via plurality vote, meaning that the candidate with the highest number of votes wins.

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