Mailbag: Huntington Beach repeats history

Buckle up Huntington Beach residents because here we go again!

On the very same day the front page of the Daily Pilot contained yet another article highlighting the waste of further public funds, Huntington Beach residents learned our cosplaying elected officials are once again more focused on culture war headlines rather than simple competence in local governance.

Apparently, our City Council and city attorney are planning to do more political posturing and preening for MAGA adulation instead of taking constructive steps to improve our community. Perhaps worst of all, this time, it’s a repeat! It seems like only yesterday that I was criticizing then-mayor Mike Posey and his “political hucksters” in the Daily Pilot for wasting valuable public meeting time to instead host “a pep rally for professional agitators and out-of-town haters.” Sadly, here we are again.

While I could revisit all the points that prove this action to be little more than just another cheap political stunt masquerading as public service, what’s the point? Matt Szabo’s article “Huntington Beach sues state of California over sanctuary law” (again) does an excellent job of pointing out the insanity, and if you want a more “tongue and cheek” take from an H.B. resident, go back to the April 5, 2018 Daily Pilot Mailbag for my previous critique of this nonsense.

Sadly, it is the same as it ever was.

Steve Shepherd
Huntington Beach

Regarding Daily Pilot reporting on the recently filed Pacific Airshow lawsuit, City Atty. Michael E. Gates came so close to actually speaking the truth. Had his quote read: “The (state of California) spends way too much taxpayer money defending frivolous lawsuits form vexatious litigants,” he would have accurately described the situation surrounding the recently filed suit regarding SB 54 (Huntington Beach sues state of California over sanctuary law, Daily Pilot, Jan. 8).

Frivolous, yes, but not without purpose. Can Tony Strickland distract Senate District 39 voters from focusing on a $4.9-million payout that swims and quacks like a corrupt gift of public funds? A public servant with integrity would demand that that payment be paused until important questions on the propriety of the settlement can be answered.

I have significant doubts about Strickland’s integrity. Indeed, if Strickland and Gates had anything but contempt for the city and its residents, they would have immediately disclosed the corrupt-appearing settlement. In which case, Gina Clayton-Tarvin would not have had to sue to make the settlement public. In which case, I have no doubt that we would have already had multiple judgments in court preventing this travesty.

Throughout history, carbetbagging interlopers have always needed the assistance of local collaborators to work their evil magic.

Galen Pickett
Huntington Beach

My business experience has taught me to evaluate financial spreadsheets and demand fiscal responsibility. I expect city officials to manage taxpayer money prudently — not waste it on irrelevant litigation. Hiding legal costs and failing to respond to public records requests is not only unethical but illegal.

Let’s examine the financial irresponsibility in Huntington Beach. In 2023, an airshow settlement caused by an oil company saddled residents with millions in future costs for 40 years to cover police, fire, cleanup, environmental reports and permits. The city refused to release the settlement, forcing a local courageous citizen to seek legal action. A judge ordered the city to release the document and awarded the plaintiff $182,000 in legal fees — another unnecessary expense due to the city’s lack of transparency.

Future waste is already on the horizon. The council plans to pursue voter ID measures, despite legal experts predicting costly and futile litigation. The Orange County Grand Jury has confirmed election integrity in the county, but Huntington Beach officials seem determined to ignore facts and spend taxpayer money frivolously.

Further legal battles loom as city officials insist Huntington Beach’s charter city status allows them to challenge state laws, including sanctuary city policies. These lawsuits serve more as political distractions than governance, incurring additional taxpayer-funded legal costs. Public records requests for these expenditures remain unanswered. What are they hiding?

According to Voice of O.C., for every month the city’s plan is out of compliance with state housing rules, a court can charge it at least $100,000, and if the fines are not paid that can increase to $600,000 per month. After a year of being out of compliance, that means the city could end up on the hook for anywhere from $1.2 million to $7.2 million.

This pattern of financial mismanagement and litigation overreach is a disservice to taxpayers. Huntington Beach deserves leaders focused on governance, not costly distractions.

Judy Morris
Huntington Beach

Librarians are indeed experts

In the Jan. 2 Daily Pilot article “Library issues likely to head to voters,” Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark expressed her belief that parents and librarians with a Masters in Library and Information Sciences are equally qualified to select and reject children’s materials for the Huntington Beach Public Library. Specifically, Van Der Mark asked, “Does her piece of paper, her degree, make it OK for her to reject books?”

As a parent of two school-age children, a longtime resident and a children’s librarian with almost 15 years of experience in a local public library I feel it is “in my wheelhouse” to explain how being a parent and a master’s-holding librarian are two different areas of expertise. Any children’s librarian worth their salt knows a parent is the “expert” on their own child and their family’s values. Because each family has different values and each child has their own tastes, information needs and comprehension levels, children’s librarians are tasked with the awesome job of selecting materials to best serve their diverse communities. The constraints of budget and physical space require that they do so in a way that gets the community “bang for its buck” while ensuring no one group or viewpoint is left out.

So how do we librarians do that? Yes, a “piece of paper” called a master’s is part of it. That “paper” represents two years of graduate-level study in areas that might include statistics, budgeting, surveys, children’s literature, child development, professional ethics and service to underserved populations. But that “paper” is just the foundation. A working librarian uses a wide variety of tools to tackle what we call “collection development,” better known as picking books.

First off we read published book reviews on new materials offered by children’s book publishers to see what’s likely to be the next “hot” book but also what new titles would fill subject gaps in the library’s collection or help replace outdated nonfiction books. To do that we use tools such as library material usage statistics, overall knowledge of the library’s current holdings and, most importantly, personal experience gained through day-to-day interaction with our library’s children and families.

So what do you think, reader? Is a seasoned librarian selecting a broad range of materials for the entire community going to pick or reject the same materials as a parent choosing books for their own child? Would you like other parents you do not know to be final word in what our library holds? As a Huntington Beach parent with very different views from Councilwoman Van Der Mark, I know who I would prefer to do that job.

Lindsay Klick
Huntington Beach

In defending her book advisory board, Huntington Beach Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark impugned the expertise of librarians by stating “Does her piece of paper, her degree, make it OK for her to reject the books? But if us parents reject one, we’re banners. That’s actually pretty insulting, to say, ‘Well, you don’t have a library degree, so you’re not worthy of reviewing a book.’”

I actually agree with her statement, just not the sarcasm. Try replacing “library degree” with another profession. “Well, you don’t have a medical degree, so you’re not worthy of performing the operation.” “Well, you don’t have a pilot’s license, so you’re not worthy of flying the plane.” “Well, you don’t have a degree in nuclear physics, so you’re not worthy of operating the nuclear reactor.” Absolutely true in each case!

Just because Van Der Mark doesn’t respect librarians doesn’t mean that librarians don’t actually have knowledge and expertise that they use to do their job and make better decisions than a parent without a master’s degree in library science.

Dave Courdy
Huntington Beach

Another idea for the mascot at Fullerton Union High

Just read about a suggestion to change Fullerton High’s mascot from Indians to possibly Fenders (“Will ‘Fenders’ replace ‘Indians’ at OC School?” Daily Pilot & TimesOC, Jan. 12).

Fenders is a great suggestion. Fantastic, in fact! I attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank and they switched mascots from Indians to the Bears. Pretty boring.

Please let me make another suggestion: If not the Fenders, then I would propose the Strats. No guitar player ever calls their Stratocaster by its full name, so Strats would be appropriate. Add to the marching band a person playing electric guitar, and you’re all set.

Edgar Kaskla
Garden Grove