Anaheim Councilwomen Slam Mayor Tom Tait for Getting Money from Garden Grove Hotelier…then Do the Same

Anaheim councilwomen Lucille Kring and Kris Murray have made a sport of bashing Mayor Tom Tait over his private hotel-related business dealings in Garden Grove. The animosity stems back to the Mayor's dissenting vote opposing the $158 million mega-subsidy given to the now-infamous GardenWalk hotel project. Sycophants of Dark Lord Curt Pringle have laughably tried to scream hypocrisy as if they were in a position to criticize!

With Kring running for Mayor against Tait and Murray seeking a second term on the city council, the latest campaign forms hilariously show both politicians getting their coffers stuffed by a Garden Grove hotel company!

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In the ongoing OC GOP slap boxing match, Tait's opponents say he harms Anaheim job creation by being a recent stickler on developer welfare in his own city while collecting contracts over years for subsidized projects in the Garden Grove resort district. Better yet, developers have kicked down cash for his election bids, including Timothy Busch of Pacific Hospitality Group.

If that's the argument, why is money now coming to Kring and Murray from the Irvine-based hotel company that does business in Garden Grove? As recent forms show, Steve Arnold, President of Pacific Hospitality, is supporting the campaigns of the Mayor's rivals.

His hotel management and ownership company runs the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort…of Garden Grove. Arnold gave $250 a piece to both Murray and Kring late last year according to the latest 460 forms. Busch, an attorney and hotel developer, was a financial backer of Tait's political aspirations once upon a time. Does this recent donation from the company signal a shift in loyalties?

Leaving the question aside for the moment, what it does mean is that every time Kring and Murray justify Anaheim's corporate welfare by bringing up Garden Grove giveaways, all that needs to be asked is: What's that Garden Grove hotel resort money doing in your campaign coffers?

Follow Gabriel San Román on Twitter @dpalabraz

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