EDITORIAL

A mountain of evidence has been uncovered on Huntington Beach Mayor

Dave Garofalo’s insider business dealings. It’s time for him to step

down, if not for his own good, for the city’s.

Three separate investigations have been launched into Garofalo’s

actions. County and state agencies are now looking into the local

publisher’s votes on advertisers, contracts with the city, alleged sale

of his publishing franchise and his purchase and quick resale of a home.

The latest revelation: Garofalo voted repeatedly in favor of a

developer who at the time placed him on a VIP list to buy the most

coveted lot in the company’s upscale project. Garofalo then sold the home

a day later for an additional $60,000, which he said was merely the cost

of upgrades. An executive with the home builder said upgrades were

included in the initial price of the homes.

The longtime Huntington Beach leader has so far kept to his story:

I’ve done nothing wrong. City politics and the Independent have

manufactured this controversy.

Sadly for Garofalo and the town, what’s behind the controversy are

facts -- facts gathered mostly from public records and Garofalo’s own

statements.

And the facts show behavior unbecoming of any public official, much

less the mayor of Huntington Beach.

Garofalo’s business dealings are so tangled that it will take three

government agencies to sort them out. Even the people who work closely

with Garofalo aren’t sure where the mayor’s personal interests end. And

Garofalo has done little to help clear things up, giving vague and

sometimes contradictory answers.

While the investigations continue, one thing has become clear in this

whole muddied mess: Garofalo’s actions -- including pushing ahead of

hundreds of people to get an ocean-view home -- have tainted the mayor’s

office and city government.

He should resign. Integrity needs to be restored to City Hall.