A slate of four reform candidates for the Huntington Beach City Council took to a flag-bedecked stage at the Huntington Beach Pier for a rally Thursday evening at which they pledge to enact a “Contract with Huntington Beach Voters” aimed at combatting homelessness, attacking crime, reclaiming public spaces, battling onerous state mandates and spurring business growth.
With the surf as a backdrop and bathed in patriotic lighting, a crowd of several hundred watched council candidates Tony Strickland, Pat Burns, Casey McKeon and Gracey Van Der Mark signed their names to a giant version of the contract, promising that if elected, they would:
- Authorize City Attorney Michael Gates to renew his legal battle against state mandates, especially pertaining to housing.
- Implement a 90-day plan to “combat homelessness and clean up our streets.”
- Make “crime illegal again” by empowering the police department and city prosecutor to crack down on criminal activity.
- “Reward, not punish” business by cutting red tape and welcoming them to Huntington Beach.
“Are we gonna leave our kids and grandkids better off, and have more opportunities, than we had?,” said Strickland, a former state legislator. “That’s what elections are about. They’re about the future.”
“Do you want Huntington Beach to be San Francisco? Do you want it to be LA? Or Long Beach?,” Strickland asked the crowd, which responded with loud choruses of “No!”
“Sacramento wants to urbanize California and we need to fight,” said Strickland. “Because Huntington Beach is worth fighting for.”
Casey McKeon a businessman and long-time resident, pledged to fight state mandates. He cited a recent Planning Commission vote to amend the city general plan to zone for 21,000 housing units.
“This will fundamentally transform our city to something that is unrecognizable,” said McKeon, promising to fight for local control over such decisions.
Van Der Mark, who ran unsuccessfully for city council in 2020, took aim at the homelessness that has deprived families of safe and clean public spaces to enjoy with their children. She described moms combing the sand on the beach to ensure their kids don’t encounter drug paraphernalia or scour the playground for human waste before letting their kids use the slide, and decried children being exposed to homeless individuals bathing nude in outdoor beach showers.
“Our children who shouldn’t have to live that way and we shouldn’t be ashamed to say that we want to protect our children from all of that,” Van Der Mark told the cheering crowd.
“We have all the laws and policies in place to clean up our city,” said Van Der Mark, and promised she and her fellow reform candidates would immediately implement a 90-day plan to clean up homelessness.
Pat Burns, a retired Long Beach police officer and 29-year resident, promised to oppose in Huntington Beach the kind of uncontrolled urbanization he believes was detrimental to Long Beach.
“I saw the transition in Long Beach where they were kind of a cozy town to a high density kind of Metropolis,” said Burns. “They put up big apartment buildings that totally screwed up the quality of life for residents in those neighborhoods. We don’t want that here. We’re not going to tolerate it,” Burns told the crowd.
“I’ve played team sports my whole entire life. And I’m proud to be with this team,” said Strickland. “This team is the best team I’ve ever been a part of.”
