Huntington Beach City Council eyes charter amendments, some controversial

The Huntington Beach City Council is expected to deliberate on possible city charter amendments, some of them controversial, at its next meeting on June 21.

The more contentious proposed amendments would move the city attorney, city clerk and city treasurer positions from elected to appointed.

Huntington Beach is the only city in Orange County that elects its city attorney. Michael Gates was first elected as city attorney in 2014, and he and the City Council have openly clashed in the past.

Last December, Mayor Barbara Delgleize, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Posey and Councilman Dan Kalmick introduced an item that would facilitate selection of an outside legal firm that would report to the City Council. The discussion was tabled and moved to closed session in January, and Gates said Thursday it is not an active issue.

Prior to its regular meeting this week, the council held a study session with members of the Charter Revision Committee. In all, the committee has recommended 18 changes to the charter, including those having to do with the city attorney.

The City Council will debate the proposed amendments in public and decide whether or not they’ll be placed on the November ballot for the consideration of Surf City voters.

An ad-hoc committee set to strategize how to bundle the charter amendments on the ballot was deemed unnecessary and nixed by council members during Tuesday’s meeting.

A Huntington Beach resident holds a sign illustrating her disapproval at the possible change of the City Charter during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

If the city attorney position remains elected, another possible charter amendment would set term limits for the position. Additionally, other recommendations from the Charter Revision Committee seek to clarify and add duties for the attorney, as well as a requirement that the person considered for that position have at least 10 years of experience practicing law in California prior to election or appointment.

Another charter revision recommendation clarifies that all disagreements between the council and city attorney regarding the presence of a conflict of interest in legal matters will be decided by the council.

During the study session, Councilman Erik Peterson asked Charter Revision Committee chair Damon Mircheff and vice-chair Charles Ray why the committee felt it was appropriate to replace elected officials with appointed officials.

“All three of those positions — city attorney, city clerk, city treasurer — are traditionally not political roles,� Mircheff responded. “They don’t set policy for the city … and having those positions appointed would expand the pool of qualified candidates, much like is done with the city manager or the police chief.�

He added that making those positions appointed would eliminate the need for political activities like campaigning.

Mircheff also noted Huntington Beach is an outlier in having these positions elected instead of appointed. A handful of large cities, like Los Angeles and San Francisco, are the only ones in the state that elect a city attorney.

City Atty. Michael Gates listens to public comments during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

(Don Leach / Staff Photgrapher)

“It may make sense for those much bigger cities, but they’re dealing with a much different environment,� Mircheff said. “We didn’t hear any argument that the city of Huntington Beach should govern itself more in the style or form that the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco do.�

Still, Ray noted, he recognized that elected officials had some autonomy.

“When you’re elected, it’s the voters that put you there, right, and that was something that was very much contemplated by this committee,� Ray said. “The state of California also has whistleblower laws that protect any person, especially if they’re employed, from retaliation … there’s benefits, there’s pros and cons to both sides here.�

Dozens of residents spoke in support of keeping the city attorney an elected position during public comments.

Many speakers, in supporting Gates, said they felt their voice was potentially being taken away by appointing these positions, though the voters — not the Council — would have the final say on any charter amendments.

“The city charter does not suit your needs and it stands in the way of your power grab,� resident Martha Morrow told the City Council, to loud applause from the audience. “Under the guise that the city charter needs updating and revisions, you are seeking to disenfranchise the voters of this city by removing our right to vote for the city attorney. You are attempting to provide cover by adding the city clerk and the city treasurer to the mix, when we all know that your true intention is to undermine and remove our current city attorney, Michael Gates.�

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