Mailbag: Human Relations Committee still as relevant as when it was formed

The Huntington Beach City Council majority’s move to do away with the Human Relations Committee in Surf City is counterintuitive. With hate crimes ascending and Huntington Beach‘s history of skinhead violence against people of color, now is a particularly peculiar time to disband this important committee. What could possibly be the motive behind such a regressive proposal?

Ben Miles
Huntington Beach

While letter writer Mike Aguilar and Costa Mesa may have gone through their own “red tide” experience (Daily Pilot Mailbag: “A note to H.B. residents unhappy with their council”, Aug. 17), it is “Barbieland” compared to the assault on our local government and civic norms being waged by the reactionaries in Huntington Beach who are seeking a complete teardown. It is “glaringly obvious” that the conservatives haunting Costa Mesa’s past (and I campaigned for some of those who replaced them) bear little resemblance to the “MAGA maniacs” who are looking to build a “Kendom” in the image of their multi-indicted hero. While I do indeed “despair” for my city, Aguilar did point out one solution for salvation: voter turnout. If voters are dissatisfied enough to prop up the council minority in 2024 and then retake the City Council in 2026, then the civic nightmare many of us have been living since 2022 may finally result in our citizenry waking up to a better future for the remainder of the decade. We have already gone through a four-year period of turmoil nationally, and we will need to weather this period of turmoil locally, now that we know what we are facing. I am hoping for the eventual tranquility Aguilar claims his city is experiencing. We don’t need the “Mojo Dojo Casa House” scene being pushed on Surf City right now.

Tim Geddes
Huntington Beach