Huntington Beach officials are threatening a lawsuit against California Auditor Grant Parks in an effort to block his office from probing the city’s $5.4 million settlement with the operators of the Pacific Airshow in the fallout of the 2021 oil spill.
The secret settlement has drawn scrutiny from the community and is also the subject of a lawsuit that’s looking to make it public after city leaders refused to publish the details of the agreement amidst questions over their relationship with the airshow’s operator, Code Four.
[Read: Surf City’s Settlement With Air Show Operator Raises Transparency, Ethics Concerns]
Last week, the state’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee directed Parks to investigate the settlement for any possible wrongdoing or gift of public funds.
[Read: State Auditors to Investigate Huntington Beach’s Pacific Airshow Settlement]
Now, City Attorney Michael Gates says the city is prepared to take legal action to protect the lawsuit’s confidentiality, arguing that as a charter city, the state auditor has no right to examine their practices.
“The inescapable conclusion is that the Committee’s Audit approval of the City’s Airshow Agreement is improper as beyond the reach, or pureview, of the State, and is not consistent with state law,” Gates wrote in a Tuesday letter to Parks, urging state attorneys to review his letter.
“Until then, the City will continue to object to the Audit by your office and will pursue any legal action necessary to protect the City’s rights and prevent the State’s interference into the City’s municipal affairs,” Gates said in his letter.
To read a copy of the letter, click here.
State Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), who spearheaded the push for an audit, questioned what the city is doing.
“What is Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates trying to hide?” Min said in a Tuesday night news release.
“His claim that the City of Huntington Beach is not subject to the State’s audit authority is ridiculous and baseless. But more importantly, why is he fighting so hard to try to hide the facts around the Pacific Air Show settlement that he apparently played a big part in negotiating?”
In the past, Gates has argued the settlement details can’t be released because the city could pursue more litigation against Amplify Energy, the company that managed the oil rig that sprang a leak and forced the shutdown of the airshow in 2021.
Tuesday’s action marks another chapter in the Republican city council majority’s battles with Democratic Sacramento officials.
It also comes after San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled in favor of California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit against Surf City for violating the state’s housing mandates by not adopting a housing plan to zone for affordable homes.
Gates used a similar argument in that case, claiming since Huntington Beach is governed by a charter, the state’s housing mandates don’t apply.
Judge Bacal disagreed and ordered city officials to draw up a compliant housing plan within four months.
[Read: Huntington Beach Loses Housing Mandate Lawsuit Against California]
City officials vowed to appeal Bacal’s decision, with Gates calling it an “erroneous ruling.”
Tuesday’s letter to the state auditor also comes on the heels of AG Bonta announcing a lawsuit against the city for voter ID laws, which city voters adopted in the March 5 primary.
[Read: CA Attorney General Sues Huntington Beach Over Voter ID Law]
Bonta, a Democrat, repeatedly warned city officials against moving forward with the law.
In his Tuesday news release, Min said residents need transparency on the Pacific Airshow lawsuit settlement.
“City Attorney Gates doth protest too much. The residents of Huntington Beach deserve transparency in their government, and they will get it.”
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.