ANAHEIM – Mayor Tom Tait is ready to walk into Tuesday night’s City Council meeting knowing he’ll be on the losing end of one of the biggest decisions in Anaheim’s history.

And, he’s OK with that. Tait has been here before.

“As mayor, going against Disney is no fun,” said the Republican. “I’m always going to do what I think is in the best interest of the people of Anaheim. Sometimes that’s also in the best interest of Disney, but this is not one of those times. I couldn’t sleep if I voted for this.”

At least three of Tait’s council colleagues – a majority – have said they’re willing to ban a gate tax at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for another 30 years in exchange for Disney promising to pump at least $1 billion of yet-to-be-disclosed improvements into the theme parks by 2024.

An estimated 25.4 million visitors passed through Disneyland and California Adventure last year, according to the Themed Entertainment Association, a trade group. If a $1 ticket tax was implemented on the $99 price of admission at the parks, another $25.4 million could flow into Anaheim’s coffers.

Tait, 56, doesn’t see his stance as confronting Orange County’s largest employer, but just the latest instance of his recent opposition to corporate subsidies and tax breaks.

While he isn’t advocating a gate tax, Tait said the potential revenue could be used to hire more police officers, build additional parks and help close a $560 million city-employee pension liability. And even if no new taxes are levied now, he doesn’t want to tie the hands of future taxpayers.

Anaheim’s City Council unanimously agrees on most issues. But Tait’s opposition to hot-button topics has made him a fly in the ointment in deals supported by Disney, the Angels, the city’s Chamber of Commerce and the council majority.

Tait’s list of supporters is as broad as his opposition, ranging from a grass-roots Democratic activist to the county Republican Party, both of which endorsed Tait’s re-election bid last year over two Democrats and a chamber-backed Republican. He easily won a second term in November.

“Tom is the embodiment of a public servant who looks at community issues through the eyes of the people,” said Scott Baugh, a longtime friend and chairman of the county Republican Party last year.

“Some Republicans can learn from that. A lot of times we just talk about tax cuts and people think of Republicans as just supporting business.”

Accidental politician

Tait’s entry into local elected politics was an accident.

After serving on two city committees, he was appointed to the City Council when an unscheduled vacancy came up in 1994 and the divided council couldn’t agree on other candidates.

“I was always interested in politics, but I never thought I’d run for anything,” said Tait in an interview at the Santa Ana offices of Tait & Associates, the civil engineering and architectural firm his father founded and that Tait heads as chief executive. “I completely stumbled onto the council. I thought I’d only do it for two years, but I came to love the city.”

It wasn’t long before he butted heads with Disney. Tait voted against a 1996 stadium lease agreement with the Angels, which were owned at the time by Disney. The deal, which went through, called on the city to contribute $30 million worth of upgrades to the city-owned venue.

That same year, Disney offered to build California Adventure in exchange for not levying a ticket tax on the new theme park or neighboring Disneyland. The city agreed to pay up to $546 million for a new parking garage on Disney property and other infrastructure improvements primarily financed by city bonds.

The entertainment tax ban was intended to last forever, but Tait said he persuaded his colleagues and Disney to reduce the term to 20 years. Tait signed on when the compromise was struck.

“Disney came to me in 1996 to ask how they could get my vote,” Tait said. “Disney hasn’t asked what I want now.”

Tait rode a wave of popularity when he was elected mayor in 2010. But council relations frayed when Tait and another member were on the losing end of a 3-2 vote to extend up to $158 million worth of room-tax subsidies to a developer wanting to build two luxury hotels at the GardenWalk mall.

Victories, defeats

“For us, it’s been very interesting that we see the mayor opposing a lot of public-private partnerships, but he hasn’t proposed any initiatives to drive jobs and job creation,” said Todd Ament, president and CEO of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce.

Tait said he supported district elections before the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in 2012 alleging that the city “shuts out” Latinos by the way it elects council members. Even though most of his colleagues disagreed, the council eventually reached a settlement with the ACLU that allowed voters to decide whether Anaheim’s election process should be changed.

The ballot measure was approved by 69 percent of the city’s voters last year, giving the dissident mayor a significant victory.

Tait also succeeded in opposing the city’s effort to renegotiate the stadium lease with the Angels in 2013.

Calling the deal a “giveaway,” the mayor rallied critics against several contentious negotiating points, including one that called for leasing the stadium’s parking lot for $1 annually over 66 years to team owner Arte Moreno.

Supporters said that allowing Moreno to develop the parking lots would generate enough revenue to cover about $150 million in infrastructure improvements to Angel Stadium. Negotiations eventually collapsed, and neither side has returned to the bargaining table.

But the mayor’s losses surpass his successes.

Tait was the sole opponent to a plan adopted in 2014 that grants a decadelong 40 percent sales-tax rebate to car dealers opening in Anaheim. He also opposed the sale of $258.9 million in city bonds to pay for the seventh expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center, saying the city may not be able to generate sufficient taxes to cover the new bond obligations.

Most recently, the mayor and newly elected Councilman James Vanderbilt were on the losing end of a 3-2 vote that gives a hefty room-tax break to any developer building luxury resorts in Anaheim.

“The mayor routinely opposes programs and ideas that pose no risk or liability for the city,” said Councilwoman Kris Murray, who has disagreed with Tait on all of Anaheim’s hot-button issues.

Headed into Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Murray and two council members have voiced support for Disney’s request to expand without threat of a ticket tax for another 30 years, apparently closing the deal.

Disney officials believe a gate tax would hurt attendance, guest spending and the company’s ability to “significantly invest” in the theme parks.

“We fundamentally disagree with the mayor on the entertainment tax policy,” said Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown in a statement. “We believe extending this 20-year policy, which has spurred unprecedented job growth and brought tremendous financial benefits for the city and its residents, is the best way to secure Anaheim’s financial future.”

‘What’s the rush?’

Tait said he’s planning to ask his colleagues to postpone a decision for the sake of fostering more public discussion.

“What’s the rush?” asked Jose Moreno, one of Tait’s Democratic supporters who is chairman of the Los Amigos of Orange County community activist group. He suggested a ticket tax could fund a new community center. “How can they get adequate feedback when we didn’t even hear about this” until June 25?

Councilwoman Murray said property, sales and hotel-bed taxes generated by the Disneyland Resort already are projected to account for more than one-third of all taxes collected from businesses in Anaheim’s resort area.

“I’m looking at the $1 billion that Disney wants to invest, given that they are already the largest tax provider in Anaheim,” Murray said. “The last thing we should look at is how to tax our residents and visitors further.”

Tait noted the contrast in his schedule this week, which began with him helping the Dalai Lama celebrate his 80th birthday at the Global Compassion Summit and will culminate in the showdown tonight.

“I’m at UCI at the Dalai Lama’s event, working to spread compassion and kindness, then I drive across town to deal with this sudden plan to give away a 45-year tax break,” he said. “It’s really two extremes.”

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or amarroquin@ocregister.com