[2] Aitken earned a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education and history from Boston College.

She was a history teacher at North Quincy High School and then worked in the Washington, D.C. office of Dick Gephardt, the Democratic leader of the United States House of Representatives.

[3] In 2012 California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Aitken to the nine-member board of directors for the Orange County Fair.

[4] Aitken ran for mayor of Anaheim in the 2018 election,[5] and lost to Harry Sidhu, 32.5% to 31.9%.

[6] She ran for the third district seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2020, challenging Donald P. Wagner,[7] and lost.