Many Huntington Beach residents are increasingly calling on their elected officials to refocus on city issues instead of wading into national debates like immigration.
Several dozen public commenters came out to weigh in Tuesday on the council’s proposal to support Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s fight against President Joe Biden over the security of the border.
Read: Will Huntington Beach Stand With Texas in Border Dispute With President Biden?
The border resolution was the only discussion item on the agenda that night, and was passed on a 4-3 vote along political party lines. The council majority said the border issue directly impacts residents, while minority council members said it’s outside of the city’s business.
While many praised city leaders for jumping in on the border dispute, others said it was another instance of the city going after something beyond their purview.
“This has nothing to do with the business of the City of Huntington Beach. How does this help HB?” said resident Wendy Rincon at the meeting. “It’s all political theater.”
At one point, some people began shouting at three Republican city council candidates, who have the endorsement of the council’s current Republican majority, and who signed their names on a copy of the resolution in place of where the council’s Democratic members refused to.
“As we speak right now on the southern border, there is an invasion taking place,” said candidate Chad Williams. “If you three won’t sign it, I know three people who will … we have an opportunity to rescue the nation in November, to rescue this city. It’s going to be 7-0 and you three have got to go!”
A History of Controversial Proposals
It’s not the first time Surf City city council members have found themselves tackling controversial issues that traditionally haven’t made their way to city councils in Orange County.
Over the past year, council members have jumped into numerous debates on issues like voter ID, the pride flag over city hall, public prayer, the recognition of Black History Month, dismantling a city commission that tracks hate incidents and opposing mask mandates that no longer exist.
Those debates have all been brought forward by the council’s Republican majority that took office at the end of 2022.
The council majority is also looking to make the city the first California municipality to successfully buck the state’s housing law through a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom, with elected city attorney Michael Gates arguing Surf City is “emancipated,” from state laws.
[Read: Huntington Beach Reignites Fight Against State Housing Law]
Many commenters on Tuesday night said it’s outside city business, echoing what other Orange County cities have seen in recent months when residents and some elected officials pushed for resolutions to weigh in on a foreign conflict – the Israel-Hamas War.
Others said it’s important to issue statements on what is happening in Palestine and Israel since the county’s home to a large Jewish community and a large Arab American community with a Little Arabia district.
They also point to a local rise in Islamophobia, antisemitism and hate against Arab Americans.
Huntington Beach weighed in on the issue last October, condemning Hamas and supporting Israel in a unanimous vote – one of the first to do so in OC.
[Read: Are OC Officials’ Comments on Israel and Palestine Putting Local Arabs in Danger?]
Border Statement Ignites Broader Debate
Surf City’s debates on housing and social issues have drawn out hundreds of residents to city council meetings that often stretch well past midnight, with scores of people weighing in during public comment.
But there have also increasingly been calls from residents asking their council members to focus on quality of life problems like homelessness and parks instead of cultural issues.
“Councilman (Pat) Burns needs to quit injecting his personal political beliefs into the City Council agenda and concentrate more on things that actually affect us right here in Huntington Beach,” wrote resident Michele Burgess in a letter to the city council on Feb. 1.
Tuesday’s meeting also saw many residents weigh in on the upcoming ballot proposals that would change the city’s charter, including mandating voter IDs.
[Read: Huntington Beach Voters to Decide on Voter ID and Flags]
The Orange County Register’s editorial board has called the council majority’s work “comic political theater” and encouraged voters to deny all three of the initiatives on the March 5 ballot, which include new rules for mandated voter ID the board called “a hollow stunt.”
“Aside from amassing legal expenses in quixotic fights and getting praised in The Epoch Times, it’s unclear what exactly the majority is standing up for,” the editorial board wrote. “Vote ‘no’ on all three to encourage the council to get back to governing rather than political theater.”
Democratic minority council members echoed that sentiment, saying they feel like they’re wasting their time bickering over these issues while the city faces other problems like a projected budget deficit.
“We are here with some of our council members putting on our costume again for some bad political performance art,” said Councilwoman Natalie Moser. “This is another divisive distraction to the work the city council is responsible for – public safety, clean water, infrastructure, parks.”
But the council majority defended their statement, with Councilmen Tony Strickland and Casey McKeon joining Burns in calling it a local issue that the federal government had failed to act on.
“The invasion at our southern border, exacerbated and allowed by the Biden administration, has made every town a border town,” McKeon said. “There is nothing wrong with using our platform here to bring attention to this crisis and how it affects our community.”
Councilman Dan Kalmick brought up the idea of approving a rule that would bar the city from discussion policy that was beyond their control.
Strickland said many of the people who spoke during Tuesday’s public comment didn’t represent most Surf City residents.
“Just because a small group of people are here who are opposed, it doesn’t mean it represents 100% of the Huntington Beach residents,” he said. “I’m sitting here because a majority of residents voted me in and they voted for me to fight for the people of Huntington Beach.”
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.