El Mirage council opens public session on notarized staff complaint against Councilmember Anita Norton McDaniel

The El Mirage City Council convened a special public meeting on July 8 to review a notarized complaint from a city staff member alleging that Councilmember Anita Norton McDaniel spoke to the employee in a manner that left the worker feeling “uneasy,” the mayor said.

Mayor Alexis Hermosillo introduced the filing and read excerpts of the notarized statement into the public record, saying the incident on June 19, 2025, and a subsequent interaction on June 30 had escalated a longer pattern of reported conduct. “This matter cannot be ignored or deferred further,” the mayor said as she described prior, informal efforts to address similar concerns.

The complaint presented to council recounts a front-counter interaction in which the employee says Norton McDaniel questioned whether the employee had placed mail in the wrong box and asked, “are you calling Crystal a liar,” which the employee reported as making them feel uncomfortable. The mayor told council the staff member later submitted a notarized, written statement; identifying information in that statement was redacted in the…