Wapner's $185,000 Travel Bill Sparks Board Changes

Ontario City Council member Alan Wapner collected $184,997 from the Ontario International Airport Authority for 72 trips between March 2021 and June 2026, according to records released under the California Public Records Act. The reimbursement total is 64 times the amount claimed by the other four board members combined during the same period. Board president Ron Loveridge received $2,865, while the remaining three members did not seek reimbursement.

Wapner served on the authority board until recently and held seats on five agencies over the five-year span. Across all five bodies, he logged 132 trips and received $283,630 in travel expenses. The other four boards paid him a combined $98,632. Airport-funded travel took him to destinations including Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, the Bahamas, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Hawaii.

Specific trips drew scrutiny for their cost. In January 2023, Wapner charged $8,939.40 for a 17-day conference in Maui, which included a $7,000 rental for a three-bedroom house in Lahaina. A trip to Rio de Janeiro in April 2026 cost $14,325 and included his wife. A September 2025 trip to Hong Kong cost $12,701, with airfare alone amounting to $7,437. Wapner defended the expenses in an email, stating that the travel was necessary for him to be effective and that no trips were junkets.

Loveridge said the spending complied with authority rules at the time but that other commissioners were unaware of the frequency or cumulative cost because Wapner did not report back to the full board. He noted that the funds came from airport revenue rather than tax dollars. Separately, Wapner earned approximately $250,000 in meeting stipends from the authority over the past decade, nearly double the amount paid to Supervisor Curt Hagman.

The FBI searched Wapner's home on July 28. Agents also searched the homes or offices of Hagman, attorney Frank Lizarraga, and others linked to businessman James Su. Subpoenas were issued to the airport and Ontario City Hall. No charges have been filed against those searched as of October 22. The City Council removed Wapner from all committee appointments, including the airport board. He has dropped his planned mayoral run and is seeking another council term after serving since 1994.

On September 24, the airport board approved bylaw changes capping monthly stipends at $1,000. The new rules limit members to one domestic conference per year and one international conference every other year, each requiring advance approval. Spousal travel expenses are no longer covered. On October 19, the board voted to create an internal auditing program with a full-time auditor. Wapner said the board was scapegoating him and that travel was a budget line item members could have questioned.

Catherine Lhamon of UC Berkeley's Edley Center on Law and Democracy said, "Personal profit from public service is the definition of corruption," and called for clear rules and public scrutiny of officials.