
Anaheim city council stripped a commissioner of his title for comments he made after refusing to partner with a Chinese city.
Council unanimously voted to remove Larry Larsonโs commissioner statusย from the sister citiesย commission during an April 27, 2021 city council meeting.
โTheyโre going to destroy me and my reputation, kick me off sister citiesโwhich you voted to put me onโbecause I said, โChina virus,โโ Larsen told council.
The issue began when the sister city commission, which works to develop Anaheimโs cultural and economic relationships with international cities, considered partnering with Pudong, China on Feb. 22, 2021.
Pudong is a district within Shanghai where the Shanghai Disney Resort is located. Anaheim and Pudong have a โfriendly cityโ relationship, but are not full-fledged sister cities.
Larsen said he was shocked by the commissionโs consideration with a Chinese city, given how the CCP had lied for weeks about having the virus before informing the World Health Organization.
โI am stunned that anybody in Anaheim would consider such a thing,โ Larsen said.
During the Feb. 22 meeting, commissioner Dara Maleki said: โI donโt know who our bigger enemy isโforeign or the domestic. Weโve got a pandemic; weโve got a serious virus.โ
Said Larsen: โItโs called the China Virus. The City of Anaheim is in the tank, and weโre going to invite them into our house?โ
Chair Taline Cole interjected: โLarry, Iโm going to stop you there. This isnโt the place to have political conversations.โ
Larsen fired back: โIโm blown away that this city has taken that invite from China. And now weโre going to smack happy with these people? Iโm absolutely stunned.โ
Commissioner Dara Maleki said the commission chooses sister cities based upon similar industries, such as the Disney Resort.
However, Pudong has not made contact with Anaheim for about six years โbecause of Mayor [Tom] Tait and his relationship with the Dalai Lama,โ Larsen said.
โThe minute Mayor Tait was out of office, here comes Pudong knocking on the door.โ
BYย JACK BRADLEY