Mailbag: H.B. can’t win against state’s housing mandates

The days of “trust but verify” ended in December 2022.

The current Huntington Beach City Council majority might cobble together a Housing Element that satisfies in some formal way the planning for new housing units required by the consensus of local Southern California city governments. They might, but only if they are scared enough of astronomical fines and the backlash created by affordable by-right housing projects popping up in the exclusive neighborhoods of Edwards Hill and Huntington Harbour. But any such Housing Element would only be smoke and mirrors.

One need look no further than the whirlwind that accompanied the proposal for a top-shelf senior living project. This council will never approve the actual projects that would build the actual units that would address the affordability and homelessness issues confronting the region. Indeed, the current council attempted to undo the good work done by the 2020 council by proposing to rescind an affordable-housing overlay in the Beach-Edinger corridor that eventually resulted in the city standing up our Housing Navigation Center.

Do not trust, Mr. Attorney General. Put all your resources into verifying and compelling. And I would urge the Department of Housing and Community Development against making any assumptions about the political reasonableness of any of the current council majority or their hand-picked candidates for 2024. Rather, consider their manifest and perverse political will to undermine any agreement that might have been reached with a more reasonable city government or indeed the council as it stood before December 2022.

Galen Pickett
Huntington Beach

Min deserves House seat

Daily Pilot sister publication the Los Angeles Times, with the fourth largest circulation among U.S. newspapers, recently endorsed two candidates, Dave Min for Congress and Adam Schiff for the Senate. They both face the scrutiny of a primary election which allows the two candidates drawing the most votes the right to go onto the November election. It is not a satisfactory way to select candidates, especially if the major contenders split the vote, while the third candidate, drawing the least amount of votes, moves on. Such is the case with the four-person race for the House seat abandoned by Rep. Katie Porter. Min, who has also been endorsed by Porter and the California Democratic Party, has introduced many bills in Sacramento dealing with the important issues of gun control, climate change and a phasing out of offshore drilling in state waters.

Also running from the Democratic Party is a lesser known candidate, Joanna Weiss, who is an attorney and founder of a social and political-action nonprofit. She has excited local support for her involvement in supporting womens’ rights and role in politics. The main Republican contender is Scott Baugh, a former state assemblyman who has run for Congress twice and lost. With the splitting of the vote, Baugh could make it to the election in November against Min or Weiss.

Residents in Orange County voting for the above-mentioned congressional race for the 47th District need to be mindful of the trouble spot in Min’s recent history that people will try to use against him — that of pleading guilty last May to a misdemeanor charge after being arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. It wasn’t trivial and Min did not treat it that way, immediately acknowledging his mistake in a straightforward public statement. His L.A. Times endorsement reads that Min “inspires confidence that he won’t repeat that mistake.” The authors go on to say that Min would be “an excellent member of Congress.”

Certainly this should not be used against him by his own party as Baugh has innumerable vulnerabilities of his own. In the 1990s he faced federal felony charges over campaign finance violations that were later reduced to civil violations for which he paid close to $50,000. And as the district has changed he has become out of touch with local values. Democrats and independents need to be mindful of the many questionable and even disdainful tactics of the election practices of the far right.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

A new word for H.B.’s council majority

As the Daily Pilot article “Skepticism remains over H.B. book review board,” Jan. 25, seems to reinforce, Huntington Beach has a City Council majority who can’t shoot straight. However, this is no comedy; it is a profound civic tragedy. Our city staff seems to be caught in the administrative crossfire. Kudos to Ocean View School District trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin for calling out the misfires. The parental review committee for children’s books in our public library has always been more than a bad idea, it has been dubbed the “book banning” committee by its opponents. Regardless of how it is structured, it will be the creature of the council majority who will maintain control of the process. For a decision-making body dominated by autocrats and amateurs (what I call “autoteurs”), this is a frightening prospect for the citizenry. Taking away authority from trained and seasoned library professionals and allowing interference from decidedly partisan and prejudiced parental puppets is no way to run a railroad in my book. Unless “railroading” is the intent. This is another example of how badly the current council majority is serving and representing our community. We need to turn the page on this irresponsible attempt to control us, and, especially not leave it up to the misguided aim of “autoteurs,”

Tim Geddes
Huntington Beach

UCI professor sentenced

Former Laguna Beach resident and presidential advisor Peter Navarro was sentenced Thursday to four months in prison and fined $9,500 for refusing to testify before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Despite providing no proof, Navarro claimed he was protected by executive privilege, so he stonewalled the committee. Looking back, I wonder if the former UC Irvine professor and White House trade advisor believes he made the right decision. Clearly, had he appeared before the committee, Navarro most likely would be walking Laguna’s beaches today instead of potentially heading off to prison. I say “potentially” because Navarro has appealed his sentence.

Denny Freidenrich
Laguna Beach