Mailbag: Readers look forward to a new year, saying goodbye to the politics of ’23

In recent weeks, the conservative Huntington Beach City Council majority and their supporters have spouted off on social media that only a small minority of residents oppose their policy changes. They would like to think so, but that’s not the case at all. After breaking ties with the Greater H.B. Interfaith Council, restricting public library materials, banning the Pride flag, dissolving the Human Relations Committee, rewriting the city’s Human Dignity Statement, pushing for an overhaul of city elections (costing H.B. taxpayers millions), and attempting to end the city’s observation of heritage months like Black History Month and Women’s History Month, a growing mass of a residents has teamed up to oppose the conservative majority’s unpopular, draconian policies. Hundreds have pooled time and resources in a grassroots movement to defeat the March 5 charter amendments, which are costly and divisive. As Huntington Beach continues to draw bad publicity from both within and outside the community for its MAGA-inspired, misguided direction, support for a rational approach to city governance will grow even more forcefully in 2024. Rather than fomenting a culture war to attract attention from FOX News, Breitbart and other right-wing outlets for their political careers, the majority should be working on making our city stronger, not weaker!

Carol Daus
Huntington Beach

I have great hopes that 2024 will bring the Huntington Beach City Council majority new wisdom and the ability to work together for what is best for the city so many of us love.

I was disappointed to watch the first council meeting under our new mayor, Gracy Van der Mark, and its outcome. Once again, a divisive and chaotic issue was brought forward. As proposed, it would determine the way in which the city would honor various groups and events. It became apparent that many of the tributes and recognition of important events in our history would not be among those recognized, including Pride, Women’s History and Black History months. Next day, the majority, realizing that possibly this would be a very controversial issue, tried to restate what they really meant and explained that some of those issues they had been left out would now be represented. However it was too late.

We also lost the chair of the Historic Resources Committee who had never been consulted about the proposed changes. This is the committee who could have given the council, as experts in their field, good advice as to why certain groups should be recognized.

During 2023 hundreds of citizens have expressed their opposition and rarely were they heard. Each meeting under Mayor Tony Strickland saw our citizens speak out against issues such as how the mayor is selected, a long held protocol of selection of someone with time and experience . The majority then determined what flags could be flown on city property, eliminated some long-standing committees and boards, and rewrote the Human Dignity Statement.

During 2023, the city lost of five department heads including our city manager, and hopefully this exodus will not continue through 2024.

I was personally disappointed with what the council majority did to the Human Dignity Statement as I, along with Ralph Bauer, and former Police Chief Ron Lowenberg, wrote this statement. This statement set Huntington Beach apart from many other cities, as the city promised that all of our citizens would be protected and respected regardless of their racial background, the nation of origin, their religion, gender, their sexual orientation or disability status. The new statement has been rewritten and a number of those previously included have now been deleted so the new statement has lost a lot of its inclusiveness meaning.

As a former mayor from 1993 to ‘94, I pray that 2024 can be better, and the city always first in the decision-making process.

Shirley Dettloff
Huntington Beach

“But you know, that old Grinch was so smart, and he was so slick, he thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick,” is a favorite line of mine from a time-honored holiday classic, and apropos of Daily Pilot reporting on the council decision to eradicate Black History Month, Women’s History Month and others from the city‘s official observances. Councilman Casey McKeon claims the resolution was “misinterpreted in a way.”

Indeed. It is difficult to understand how his plain language on the night of Dec. 19 could be misinterpreted in any way. But he apparently thought up this lie, and he thought it up quick.

We are not living in the city of Oceana Beach, and McKeon cannot simply change the historical record as easily as the proles working in Big Brother’s Ministry of Truth. Clearly, he is neither as smart nor as slick as the adversary of Whoville in imagining that this simple assertion does anything other than solidify the damage he has done to his hometown.

As for the gang of four who stood up forthrightly and voted to delete Women’s History Month and African American History month, I am still trying to come up with any characteristic which I can use to tell any one of them apart.

Perhaps when the armed forces of this great country refuse to provide a precision flying team for the Pacific Airshow headquartered in a city straying so far from American values — perhaps then we will see how smart and how slick the gang of four really is.

Galen Pickett
Huntington Beach

O’Neill’s pledge has promise

An article recently in the Daily Pilot reported how Newport Beach’s latest City Council-selected mayor, Will O’ Neill, wants to accomplish one goal that eluded him during his first stint as mayor, and that is to recognize people who have contributed to the betterment of not just the city but society as a whole. It is a lofty undertaking that could certainly go towards helping O’Neill’s last year on the council end on a high note.

Since I became a more active observer of city government when I retired 15 years ago, I was a bit surprised to learn just how political local government can be. The division does not really run along political party lines because despite the fact that Orange County as a whole is becoming more moderately Democratic, the same thing cannot be said about Newport Beach. There has never been more than a handful of Democrats on the City Council, if that, and running as a Democrat on that body, as little as 10 years ago, meant sure defeat. That is noteworthy considering that most of the issues that come before the council are of local rather than national interest. So in reality, the residents of Newport, despite their political party, work side by side in trying to solve those issues that come before council such as land use, finance and general governance.

What does drive city politics then? As an outsider, it is difficult to say.

Perhaps it is as simple as what determines the “in” crowd versus the “out” crowd, as in high school. Maybe it is the perception that not all the participants play fairly, that favoritism is prevalent. During the last council election , the political gamesmanship of some of the participants soured many of the people in Newport Beach on participation in future elections.

That is why Mayor O’Neill’s announcement that he is going to reward the “helpers” in society by recognizing their accomplishments is so important. This is the opportunity for him to repair some of the schisms in the city brought about by recent elections. It is also his opportunity to rise above politics and to seek out those who have made valuable contributions to all aspects of society, those who have made the city a better place to live. Hopefully, he will be “ digging deep” for recipients of recognition not just on a superficial level. His choices could help to improve the attitude of the city toward local government.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach