The city of Orange is experiencing a period of significant local political developments, marked by a $30 million deficit and an upcoming Charter vote. These factors set the stage for a contentious City Council meeting on July 14, which Councilwoman Arianna Barrios described as heralding a "seismic shift in alliances" and ultimately led her to announce a mayoral bid against longtime ally Mayor Dan Slater.
The primary focus of the July 14 meeting was a proposed PILOT program, which stands for Payments In Lieu Of Taxes. Such programs are critical for municipalities like Orange, which rely on them to secure contributions from large, tax-exempt institutions such as Chapman University and local hospitals that utilize significant city services without paying property taxes. Barrios and others, including citizen Doug Redding, have advocated for a PILOT program for years, with Barrios placing the issue on the July 14 agenda.
Barrios, who is termed out for her Council seat, stated her decision to run for Mayor stems from a commitment to transparency, accountability, and fairness for residents. She criticized the city’s current budget for addressing a "multi-million-dollar operating deficit" with one-time transfers and proposed a "trigger policy" to promptly re-evaluate finances if a November sales tax measure fails. This follows a previous sales tax measure that voters rejected two years ago.
Highlighting a push for fiscal discipline, Barrios recounted taking one of her "hardest votes" to cut all City-produced special events. She later helped secure funding to save "Treats in the Streets," with other community members stepping up for the Tree Lighting ceremony. However, she noted these savings were "wiped out" by the reopening of Hart Park’s pool, The Plunge, at a cost of $250,000, which occurred "without previous discussion or direction from the Council."
For more than two years, Barrios has championed the PILOT program, arguing that institutions with significant endowments, like Chapman University, which recently "crossed the $1 billion threshold," should contribute a fair share to the public safety, road maintenance, and infrastructure costs that Orange residents and businesses currently cover. She noted that PILOT programs are common, citing Ivy League schools and Boston institutions as examples, and stated that Orange has never directly sought such support from Chapman, despite its growth.
Barrios detailed two face-to-face meetings with Chapman regarding a potential PILOT, stating that the university "walked away" from negotiations after she presented "potential deal points" at the second meeting in 2025. In June, she was informed that the new university president was "not interested" in further discussions. The July 14 Council meeting became particularly contentious when, according to Barrios, Mayor Slater "smeared" her efforts rather than supporting a public hearing on the matter. Barrios maintains she "will never be ashamed of fighting for our residents, our public safety personnel, or for what’s right."
With a November sales tax initiative asking residents and small businesses "to sacrifice" for basic services, Barrios finds it "infuriating" that such requests are made while "inequitable" relationships with large institutions persist. Mayor Slater is described as having been "co-opted by the Orange establishment he once railed against," and the upcoming Charter vote is noted as being "mostly about extending term limits into the 2040's."
