10/17 Sup Com — City Council/Public Financing Authority, October 17, 2023

1 Moore, Tania
From: David Rynerson <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 4:35 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Agenda Item 23-871
Council Members –
I write to you again, to remind you that both written and oral communications over the last month and a half to two month long process have been overwhelmingly in opposition to the proposed charter amendments. Citizen feedback has been approximately 95% in opposition to both the voter ID am endment, and to the flag amendment.

Not only that. Despite Mr. Gate’s assurances that the voter ID proposal is legal and supported by case law, we have been advised by not one, but two other attorneys to the contrary. While most attorneys have no issue with a client seeking a second opinion, especially for a hig h‐stakes proposal, it is now clear why Mr. Gates doesn’t want council seeking outside legal opinions – he cannot count on attorneys not under his control to come to the same conclusions he does. Point in fact: both the California Attorney General and an ACL U lawyer have come to a very different conclusion than Mr. Gates, concluding that the voter ID amendment is illegal and will result in one or more lawsuits.

So, since you are supposed to be fiduciaries of the public’s money, let me ask you two pertinent questions:

1. Would in not be more fisca lly responsible, should you choose to move forward with these amendments, to place them on the general election ballot, at significantly reduced cost and with greater voter participation? Especially since they would not go into effect until 2026?

2. Given that we now know that the voter ID amendment will face le gal challenges if it moves forward, isn’t it more fiscally responsible to spend a little money on an outside legal opinion than to ignore the risk of much more expensive litigation and potential penalties? Especially when you already have notice of two attorneys with legal views in opposition the Mr. Gates ? Again, why the rush when this also would not go into force until 2026? If you persist with this course of action, we will have no other choice but to conclude that the council majority is actually undemocratic in its behavior, ignoring the will of the people, as we ll as being fiscally irresponsible.

The ball is in your court: Are you going to be democratic or authoritarian? We are watching.

David Rynerson
6272 Newbury Dr., HB
Sent from Mail for Windows
10/17/2023
19 (23-871)
1 Moore, Tania
From: Michael McShane <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:04 PM
To: Dan Kalmick; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: Re: Book Banning and Voter ID at Tuesday's Council Meeting! As a long time Huntington Beach resident, I felt the need to respond snd offer my two cents:

1. re book banning. Banning books because of content IS government overreach. As a blue spot in a sea of red, isn't that a tenet of republicans?

2. Voter ID is voter suppression. Based on research, the level of supposed fraud that this law will prevent is outweighed by the legal residents who won't be able to vote.

3. Cronyism is rampant in the city council. If the CEO of the airshow sits on a Huntington Beach committee, make sure that individual recuses on all matters re airshow related. We demand to see the full figures of the profits (and not including property tax values) rather than ethereal metrics with guesstimates of profits of said metrics.

4. E‐bikes. E‐bike regulations are sorely needed. It needs to be against the law for teenagers without licenses and proper insurance to ride on motorized vehicles on taxpayer funded streets. Period.

Huntington Beach is a great city. We need to continue to protect against over development, big oil, and preserving native burial grounds.

Michael McShane
Huntington Beach, Ca 92649
1 Moore, Tania
From: Donna Skinner <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:32 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: NO to a Special Election!
I am alarmed that a special election is proposed to alter our city charter. The charter does NOT need to be changed. The cost of having such an election is prohibitive and wasteful.

I am even more concerned about removing our proven, secure voting system from the management of the Orange

County Registrar. NO! Don't do this. It is wrong. It is expensive, it makes me distrust you, and it will cause another lawsuit that will cost us even MORE money.

Please drop this right-wing agenda that promotes voter suppression and intimidation. HB has no business running its own elections.

Donna Skinner
Huntington Beach Resident for 44+ years

__________________
Donna Skinner
DonnaSkinner.com

1 Moore, Tania
From: Patti Akers <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:37 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: My opinion in advance of the October 17 meeting

I am against this process that you are creating which is in effect banning books. What gives a 21 person committee the decision‐making power to decide what books are available to HB residents?

I am against your expensive and illegal voter ID and suppression. Those pushing this are afraid of what would happen if
every legal HB resident votes.

The March election is a misuse of our city funds.

I will be working to make sure as many HB voters are registered and ready to vote what we believe.

You are not listening to your constituents.

Patti Akers

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1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:57 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Fwd: Voter ID/Book Banning items

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From: James Rodriguez <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:36:23 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Voter ID/Book Banning items

Hi CC,

As 25 years resident of Huntington Beach, I have not seen such an act of political soapboxing. The items to admend the city's charter
are frivolous and CC should be sanctioned. 1. Voter ID is suppression, many case judgements since the 1960s agree ID for voting is suppression. Similar to requirement of IQ tests and literary tests to vote. 2. Banning books is censorship. This is communist at its finest. Let me remind CC of the famous cases against Larry flint, that Mr. Flint publications were never censored in the U.S. by reglious institutions and 1st admendment rights of the constitution were upheld. Furthermore, Larry Flint said "freedom of the press is not the freedom for your ideas, but the ideas you hate the most".

We are wasting resources, time and money, for the political grandstanding of the current CC majority.

1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:58 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Fwd: Book Banning and Voter ID at Tuesday's Council Meeting!

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From: Maneck Bhujwala <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:35:52 PM
To: Dan Kalmick <[email protected]>
Cc: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Re: Book Banning and Voter ID at Tuesday's Council Meeting!

I agree with your informed and thoughtful opinion that we should not increase the tax burden on our city residents by
incurring high costs of half a million dollars in rushing to have special elections in March of 2024. I also agree with you on your concern about willy nilly rushing new laws to ban books in libraries.by a limited group of review boards instead of a public vote through the initiative process.

I urge the City Council members to reconsider hasty action that will end up hurting City residents in one way or another.

Regards,
Maneck Bhujwala
Resident of Huntington Beach since January 2004.

On Fri, Oct 13, 2023 at 4:03 PM Dan Kalmick <[email protected]> wrote:

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I want to thank all of you who have been participating in this flawed Charter Amendment process. After our final special meeting last week, three charter amendments are being proposed for a nearly half million dollar special election in March of 2024. Most of these amendments would go into effect in 2026, so why are we rushing for a primary ballot at massive cost. If they're that 2 important, put them on in November at 10% of the cost. The final vote on these charter amendments will be at our meeting this Tuesday (10/17) at 6pm. This will include: likely illegal VoterID (suppression) and voter intimidation - which will likely cause HB to run its own municipal elections (at what cost - who knows?), a restrictive flag policy, and some language clean up and appointment of vacant council positions (effectively Measure L from 2022 that this Council majority ran against.)

The next meeting will also see the return of Book Banning. At our study session, staff will be presenting research and some modest recommendations based on Gracey Van Der Mark’s unneeded policy to get involved in library policy. You can see staff's powerpoint here.

But then later on the agenda, MPT Van Der Mark and the "city attorney" have apparently jumped the gun (shark?) and brought forward a resolution that effectively creates a process to ban books. Read the revised resolution here (the title has been updated from what originally posted with the agenda.)

The request is to have all books that have any sexual content moved to the adult section. A twenty-one (you read that right, 21) person panel will "...review all proposed or new children's books and other materials procured by the City Libraries or City Librarians that may contain sexual content before the books or materials are placed in the City Libraries..." and "If recommended books or materials do not meet the City's community standards of acceptance, they may be rejected by vote of the community parent/guardian review board."

It’s poorly drafted and unclear if this committee will have the ability to “reject” all books or just “children’s” books. Is there an appeal process? (unknown) Rejecting a book from our library shelves is a ban. Let's be clear, this isn't about protecting children; this is big government overreach. What will this "committee of parent/guardians" find objectionable? The list is likely very long.

3 Mayor Pro Tempore Van Der Mark and the Council Majority lied. They said this wasn't about banning books. Well in my opinion, rejecting books from entering the library collection is, by definition, banning them.

As always you can send emails to [email protected] and [email protected] and let the City Council know how you feel about these policies and charter amendments.

Thank you all for your support and for coming out to meetings and sending emails. Your voices may fall on deaf ears of the new Council Majority, but your in-person turn out is being watched by hundreds of people online and at home.

Dan Kalmick,
Huntington Beach City Council

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1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:58 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Fwd: Process to choose books for our library and voter suppression

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From: Patti Akers <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:32:22 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Process to choose books for our library and voter suppression

I am against this process that you are creating which is in effect banning books. What gives a 21 person committee the decision‐making power to decide what books are available to HB residents?

I am against your expensive and illegal voter ID and suppression.

The March election is a misuse of our city funds.

I will be working to make sure as many HB voters are registered and ready to vote what they believe.

You are not listening to your constituents

Patti H. Akers

Sent from Mail for Windows

1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:58 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Fwd: NO Special Election in March 2024

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From: Donna Skinner <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:30:52 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: NO Special Election in March 2024

I am alarmed that a special election is proposed to alter our city charter. The charter does NOT need to be changed. The cost of having such an election is prohibitive and wasteful.

I am even more concerned about removing our proven, secure voting system from the management of the Orange County Registrar. NO! Don't do this. It is wrong. It is expensive, it makes me distrust you, and it will cause another lawsuit that
will cost us even MORE money.

Please drop this right-wing agenda that promotes voter suppression and intimidation. HB has no business running its own elections.

__________________
Donna Skinner
Huntington Beach Resident for 44+ years
DonnaSkinner.com

1 Moore, Tania
From: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2023 11:43 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Library and Voting
Dear Members of the City Council,

I stand totally against the wrong-headed measure regarding the operation and administration of Huntington Beach Public Libraries. The administration of public libraries in California rests in the Library Law and falls under the State of California Department of Education. While the State may grant County governments some responsibilities, the overarching administration rests with the State.

A similar problem exists with the Voter ID proposal. The Constitution of the United States of America grants to the States the administration of elections. The State of CA has given specific responsibilities to our County of Orange. As outlined in a recent letter to the City from the Attorney General of the State of California, there is ample case law to inform the City Council that the process of Voting is not their responsibility.

Both of these proposals will undoubtedly be challenged in court if passed and submit the taxpayers of Huntington Beach to extreme financial liability. I urge you all to drop these measures immediately.

Bonnie Benton
6942 Tucana Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
1 Moore, Tania
From: Che Chereskin <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2023 11:56 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: city council agenda items for 10/17/23
Modification of library policy
I have reviewed the PowerPoint prepared by city government staff (I believe) and have no serious objections to it although I think that it is unnecessary. At a time when resources are limited, it seems like a waste of time and money to have two groups doing the same job: the city librarians and the city government staff. In my opinion, the Huntington Beach Library staff already do a great job. I am very proud of our city library system and what it offers.

Procurement of books for the library
I have also reviewed 2023‐41 and
strongly object to the proposals therein. Although not stated, I assume that "child" is defined as someone under the age of 12 based upon the PowerPoint discussed above. However, young girls start to menstruate at around age 9 (or even younger) and thus, perhaps more than any other group, have a need for information on sexual matters. Likewise boys also have a need for factual material on aspects of sexuality. The proposed restrictions would deprive young people of a reliable source of information on sexuality just when they need it most! They will likely be able to get information from the internet, but anyone can put something on the internet so information from that source is potentially less accurate.

Although it would still be possible to access material through an adult, some young people may not want to involve parents or other adults while they are figuring things out.

Changes to City
Charter
Finally, I believe putting the proposed changes to the city charter to a vote should be postponed until it can be done economically. There is nothing urgent proposed. Furthermore, the legality of requiring specific identification for voting seems to be in question. It seems that this issue should be resolved before putting it before our citizens for a vote.

Sincerely,

Che Chereskin
1 Moore, Tania
From: Betty Kanne <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 7:36 AM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: NO to March Ballot; NO to Book Restrictions
Council Member,

Two requests:

NO on the the March ballot initiatives. MOVE these unneeded/undesirable items to the November ballot if you MUST persist in squandering our money by putting these wholly unnecessary Charter changes to public vote.

You claim to be “fiscal conservatives”. Prove it. Move these items to the more fiscally responsible November General Election. No you won’t, because you’re terrified to do so, having openly admitting that each item would be soundly defeated by voters in November. This therefore, is a really just a shameful con.

Next, and most importantly I address the effort to Ban, Censor, or Restrict Books in our award winning library, the veritable pride of our community!

NO. I say vehemently NO to the formation of a 21 person Citizen Committee to seize control of the vetting of library books from the expertly trained, highly educated library science professionals currently employed within our library who are competently tasked with this important responsibility.

This is a cynical, flagrant attempt to simply and effectively magnify your tyrannical, ideological boot stamp of your mean spirited agenda. Why and how can you do this!? Well, because you have an unassailable 4/3 majority. You’re attempting to leverage and in fact amplify that one sided invincible power by forming an even more entrenched and ideologically rigid 12 to 9 person committee of opinionated members of our community specifically engaged to wage war against each other with an inevitable one-sided outcome.

It’s interesting to note that each of your pernicious Culture War forays have a decidedly homophobic stench. It’s either ban the Pride Flag or ban any book that even remotely alludes to the mere existence of a non-heterosexual world view. Why is this? Please answer this most telling question. We deserve to know the basis to this quite troubling reoccurring bias.

I harken back to the times when love, compassion, tolerance and basic human acceptance had a voice in these once respected chambers. But as noted “elections have consequences” and this community has unwittingly prostrated itself to these grim harbingers of hate, division and repression.

Stop assailing our community with your insidious agenda of government overreach and repression of the most vulnerable in our community.

Let Freedom Read!

Submitted by

Betty Kanne
Huntington Beach
(40+ year HB resident, homeowner, unfailing voter)
[email protected]
1 Moore, Tania
From: Linda Law <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 9:32 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: October 17th Council Meeting

Dear Council Members,
I do not understand the purpose in creating a whole other level of bureaucracy in the city to review books. The library purchases thousands of books for the children’s library every year. Will the review group be reading each of these thousands of books? Why does this group of 21 people get to decide what is appropriate and what is not? Let trained professional librarians and educators make these decisions, as they do every day across the country.

I do not understand why Council Member Van Der Mark does not share the titles of the books that she found so
objectionable. I sincerely hope that a known holocaust denier and friend of white supremacists would not be involved in the choosing of appropriate books for anyone.

As I have written before, there is no evidence of voter fraud that requires the presentation of a voter id or the monitoring of polling places. How much will it cost the City to run its own unnecessary municipal election? Does anyone know? I thought the city had limited funds but now they have the money to run an election and to create a new bureaucracy?

Thank you for your time.

1 Moore, Tania
From: Pat Thiessen <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 2:57 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF)
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Charter Amendments
No, no, no to all Charter amendments. They are simply not needed.

They insult librarians who have extensive training by giving power to a committee !

They insult the Orange County Registrar of voters.

There have been no problems with voting procedures in Huntington Beach. So why the change? It makes no sense

Surely some of you who have been supporting these amendments can see the problems that will be created.

This issue has already absorbed way too much of the Council's time and that of the citizens that come out to share their thoughts.

Sincerely,
Pat Thiessen
Huntington Beach
1 Moore, Tania
From: Lynne Deakers <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 5:40 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: OPPOSED to proposed Charter amendments
I am very concerned at the direction the present city council is taking!  Requiring voter ID when we have an excellent voting process in place will waste tax dollars much needed for other projects and is an affront to our citizens. We should be encouraging everyone to vote. Our current voting process does this. What you're proposing with voter ID is intimidation and suppression of voters.  The restrictive flag policy you are proposing is a gesture of discrimination rather than welcoming everyone to our city.
 changes regarding council member appointments and other language changes is totally unnecessary and lowering standards that have been carefully laid out for our council to function democratically..

PLEASE DON'T CHANGE THE THINGS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO OUR REPUTATION AS A WONDERFUL, WELCOMING CITY.

Lynne Deakers
40 yr resident of Huntington
Beach
1 Moore, Tania
From: Ada Hand <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 8:45 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: My Opposition to Items on the City Council Agenda of 10/17/23 I am vehemently opposed to placing all the amendments to the City Charter on the spring ballot for the following reasons:
 You have no idea how much this will cost the tax payers, but one election and future elections will cost taxpayers many millions.
 State law forbids changes to the City Charter to go on the primary ballot. They are limited to the November ballot to ensure that a small turnout does not massively change the City Charter.  You lump three separate items into one ballot measure. This will lead to confusion as to what issues to vote for.

Confusing language on ballot measures has caused ballots to be overturned. Don't pay all our money to have it be thrown out.
 You campaigned on a platform of no changes to the City Charter and, instead, you propose to massively change the City Charter with only a sham of public opinion. You disbanded the City Charter Commission and instead manned the ad‐hoc group with three of the newly elected four members. You never allow participation by the other three members of the City Council.
 The State will most likely sue and win against this sham election, especially on Huntington Beach overturning the State Election Guidelines. The lawsuits will cost taxpayers millions.  Our city budget is already strained and you will have to cut costs to important services to make up for the losses mentioned above.
 City staff is taking an inordinate number of hours to work on these frivolous lawsuits.  You are obeying the Trump playbook of manufacturing problems that don't exist and then offering remedies that will be challenged in court and stir up animosities in our community.

I am also opposed to any change in library policies. As your staff's report shows there have been no challenges and, if there were, there is a vetted policy to address them as Gracie Van Der Maark found out when she lodged a complaint.

There is absolutely no need for this intrusion.

If you continue acting in this irresponsible manner instead of paying attention to real city issues, such as the Housing Element, I will consider it time to mount a recall.

‐‐
Ada J. Hand, Secretary
H.B. Mobile Home Resident Coalition
714‐717‐1294 (cell)
[email protected]

1 Moore, Tania
From: Cecily Gates <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:55 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: #19

HB city council
Please delay or vote no to new charters. Did you know The taxpayers would save about 90% just by delaying the vote by eight months without even affecting the implementation date!!! You are bankrupting our city. When will this stop. Oh I know.

Cecily Gates
Sent from my iPhone
1 Moore, Tania
From: Paula Shawa <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 6:37 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: No on Agenda Item 19 / Charter Amendments / City Council mtg. Oct. 17 No on these proposed amendments. The residents don't want them and have told you as much. Why are you ignoring the residents' feedback?

Paula Shawa, HB resident
1 Moore, Tania
From: Carol Daus <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 8:30 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: In Opposition to Charter Amendment-Costly Govt Overreach! Good Morning Council Members:

I have addressed this topic many times, but I want to make it official that I'm ardently opposed to the Charter Amendments that you want to place on the March ballot. They cost HB taxpayers too much money and you're inflicting government bloat on us. Are you
trying to bankrupt the city?

You are spending our precious money on non‐problems:

Voter IDs‐‐there's no election fraud
Flag‐‐restricting flags makes HB an unwelcoming city with a poor image

In addition, your preposterous library resolution is another costly proposal for a non‐problem. The HBPL is revered by
HB residents and does not have porn (which will be proven when the ACLU gets involved and utilizes the Miller Test).

STOP SPENDING OUR MONEY IN SUCH IMPRUDENT WAYS! YOU WORK FOR US, NOT A POLITICAL AGENDA. (By the way most of the growing opposition to your rulings is
coming from independents, not democrats. I advise you to listen to what the community is saying at Council Meetings and in emails.

1 Moore, Tania
From: tarrik and paula Shawa <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:10 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected]; Casey McKeon Subject: NO on Charter amendment. NO on Book Ban
Please vote NO on both of the unnecessary items above.

Thank you.

Tarrik Shawa

1 Moore, Tania
From: Linda Moon <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:10 AM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: October 17, City Council Agenda Items 19 and 20 I write in opposition to October 17, 2023 City Council Agenda Items 19 and 20 Agenda Item 19, Charter Amendments
Amendment #1
As many others have noted, this proposed amendment does not resolve any existing problem with elections. Rushing this matter, at great expense to the primary election ballot, for which a low voter turnout is expected, is intended to further the council majority’s goal of voter selection. You know that in the event that measure passes, and voter requirements for city elections are required to differ from those of the state and county, that separate municipal elections will thereafter be required at a cost of millions of dollars. Immeasurable time and resources will be required to establish and operate an independent election infrastructure, protocol, staff and equipment acquisition system. Whatever your opinion regarding Voter ID and ballot box monitoring, it fails to justify reduction of city services and increased taxes on our residents, who have not voiced any significant desire for such changes.

Amendment #2
Restricting flags in the charter, to prohibit all but government and service banners, serves only to institutionalize the current council majority’s ethos of bigotry, homophobia, and intolerance. Why become the city known for hate? Amendment #3
The proposals to mandate two-year budgets instead of one-year budgets and allowing cancelation of City Council meetings need not be in the Charter. The charter should contain only the foundational principles of city policy and structure. Charter cleanup provisions need not go to the March ballot at greater expense than would be required to put it on the November ballot, when it could be consolidated with the state election at little cost.

Agenda Item 20, Library Regulations
This is a shocking example of the council majority attempting to impose its own value system and religious tenants upon 200,000 residents who have not requested any change to library protocol.
2 Contrary to what Councilmember Burns has stated, you are not proposing legitimate oversight. This is blatant overreach.

It is not about parental control but replacement of parental values with the values of the council majority, who would apparently rather see our children have assault weapons than literary masterpieces. Parents have reasonable control now.

You want to replace the learned protocol of master degreed librarians with the uneducated whims of a politically appointed 21 member citizens committee reflecting your own lack of education, training and experience in library science or child development, which will result in the most chaotic realization of book banning.

Requiring parental written permission for all patrons under age 18 to access material including any sexual content or reference, including literary classics, will result in caging off half the library. Are you prepared to dedicate professional staff and funds to spend time sex rating library materials and guarding the stacks and computer monitors? You seek not just to ban books from kids but to ban kids from the library.

The proposed barring of unaccompanied children up to 12 years old will mean that middle schoolers will not be allowed to access the library with their classmates or access material created for their age range from which they are mature enough to benefit.

Our library has been renowned as one of the best in the west for 50 years. It will now be known as a repository of ignorance and hate. You are losing library staff now due to your anti-library pronouncements. Why would they want to stay and tolerate this disrespect and dismantling of their well-functioning systems. Why would any knowledgeable professional wish to work here in the future? We have a professionally staffed library that’s the envy of the country, Why would you want to destroy it? Nobody asked for this intrusion into our library system. This is about institutionalizing ignorance, not parental choice.

Linda Sapiro Moon, Huntington Beach CA
1 Moore, Tania
From: Mary M Nakane <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:27 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Special Election
AŌer aƩending Council meeƟngs, the changes being made to the charter do not reﬂect what the majority of our community feels is necessary. Dan Kalmick’s proposal to table the Charter Amendments seemed reasonable and pracƟcal regarding the special elecƟon. If these changes don’t take eﬀect unƟl 2026, why spend tax payers money with the undetermined costs this elecƟon will incur.

Please reconsider Dan Kalmick’s recommendaƟon about the Special ElecƟon.

A 50+ year resident
Mary

1 Moore, Tania
From: Sheila Ellis <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:56 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: RESOLUTION 2023-41 and Proposed Charter Amendments Hello again ‐ I am writing to voice my objection to proposed Resolution 2023‐41.

Reading the resolution made my stomach churn. If you deem a book "obscene" or "pornographic," don't read it and you can certainly decide what your children read. You do not have the right to determine what I feel is appropriate reading for my family. This is a public library to include everyone. Our librarians are well educated and trained in knowing which books are appropriate for which age.

Parents are also quite capable in determining which books their children should or should not read. After reviewing the staff PowerPoint, it is clear there are already safeguards in place with the Miller Test and publishers' own strict standards. The library also has in place a procedure to object to a book. If only five books in five years have been challenged in our library, it seems that the council majority is again searching for a problem which does not exist.

"If recommended books or materials do not meet the City's community standards of acceptance, they may
be rejected by vote of the community parent/guardian
review board."

It is egregious that someone else has the right to determine what my family and I choose to read. Imposing someone else's beliefs on the entire population is censorship. You are again opening our city up to costly litigation by imposing book bans.

Additionally, I find it interesting that the council majority is fine with creating a new review group while canceling other community groups (i.e. human rights, mobile homes).

I renew my objections to the proposed charter amendments. Your complete disregard for the majority of HB residents who have made their voices heard on these issues is disgraceful.
2 ‐‐
Sheila Ellis
(She/Her)

1 Moore, Tania
From: Julie Hampel <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:21 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Comments on City Charter; Flags; Public Library October 16, 2023

Dear Huntington Beach City Council:
(Addressed specifically to Strickland, Van Der Mark, Burns, and McKeon)

I am painfully writing again (4th time) to oppose your proposed City Charter Amendments, the Restrictive Flag proposal, and Interference with Public Library Policies.

Life is busy and it is absurd to spend precious time on your foolishness. The Council has yet, after months of discussion, to produce a single reason for any of the changes to the City Charter or to Restrict Flags at City Hall. None. Zero. Zip. It is irresponsible of you as elected officials to continue down this path when you have heard from your citizenry that these items are not only unnecessary but are extreme actions which violate Civil Rights.

Formally, I oppose:

Items 2023-42; 2023-43; 2023-44;2023-45; 23-879 and any Supplemental language to change, alter or otherwise modify, vary, or Clean-up the current Huntington Beach City Charter, the Flags presented at City Hall and policies/processes at the Public Libraries.

First, you know there are no problems these proposed changes/Amendments will fix. However, you also know it will cause more problems and more division amongst the citizens of Huntington Beach. Your plan is to have the Citizens fight each other rather than you. Instead, you have shown us who you really are - very un- reelectable.

Secondly, flags are symbols of solidarity. Flags work to unite us. By eliminating LBGTQ/Pride Flags, you alienate that part of your Huntington Beach population. More damage is done. The City Council is supposedly apolitical. You and this Proposal are hypocritical when the City Council tent waved the ‘Trump’ flag during the Air Show. This Proposal is just pathetic and shows us how low you will go to create fear.

Thirdly, Public Libraries are for ALL of the public and not just a few. Andrew Carnegie, the father of Public Libraries, would be appalled at your actions against anyone wanting to learn. None of you are Librarians.

None. Leave books and reading material to the Librarians. Anyone not liking a library book, periodical or other reading material can choose not to look at it or check it out. Let Parents decide that for their children.

Finally: All these changes are to sow chaos and confusion which creates fear and hate. It is the opposite of what a City Council is meant to do. Stop trying to control people’s choices. It is a total waste of taxpayer dollars. Instead, start doing your jobs and improving our City instead of getting involved in everyone’s private business. It is very unbecoming behavior for anyone but especially an elected Huntington Beach City Council member.

Huntington Beach Citizen,
Julie Hampel

1 Moore, Tania
From: Mary Martin Jim Aspaas <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:37 AM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Opposition to the three charter amendments on the March 2024 primary ballot I am writing to oppose your proposition to the three charter amendments on the March 2024 primary ballot.

I am appalled that you would waste my hard earned taxes on totally unnecessary initiatives. Why are you rushing your poor amendments and will spend 90% more on early ballots when it could be included in the November elections? We have roads that need to be repaired, especially north Newland Ave.

I am opposed to Voter ID, which has never been shown to be necessary. You have never given any statistics to the need for this proposal. I attended one of your special council meetings a few weeks ago, and you did not offer any explanations to the many questions and concerns that were raised at that meeting by the vast majority (over 90%) of those of us who spoke. How much is this going to cost me, a retiree on a fixed income, to pay for this immoral proposition? Why are you afraid of flying flags representing minority populations over the city hall? Why did you choose to fly "unauthorized" flags over your AirShow? You are picking and choosing what flags that you want! This is a ridiculous proposition and I am opposed to it.

I am opposed the the "Charter Clean Up".

If the issues are not delineated as individual voting issues and are massed with multiple issues on a vote, that is unbelievable. It's like voting for two people with one vote and should be illegal. What are you trying to do to this city? Bankrupt us by wasting our money on needless political amendments that are totally political in nature and do not benefit all of us who live here in Huntington Beach?
Mary Martin
17201 Hague Lane
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

1 Moore, Tania
From: K Carroll <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:50 AM
To: [email protected]
Cc: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF)
Subject: City Council Meeting 10/17/2023
Dear Mayor Strictland, Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, Pat Burns, Casey McKeon and others.

I support the following items and appreciate your efforts in a majority vote.

23‐871: Ballot Measures.

Voting system needs integrity. We know that dead people have voted and there has been evidence of
vote harvesting. You need an ID for everything of importance. Why not add integrity to our voting system. Many states already do it and I would recommend going a step further with e‐verify or fingerprinting i.d. I was just at DMV to get my DL renewed and had my fingerprint taken. Shouldn't everyone want to protect their identity and rights associated with you as an individual. The financial investment is well worth it. If you want to talk about wasted money, let's talk about the Pipeline Purchase and sale, OCPA Scam, Elan JPA..yes, the Council knew about forfeiting over 500 mil in tax dollars. Wow, how the City could have benefitted with those tax dollars!

Dan Kalmick, I‐9's (required for work authorization) require a photo I.D. No exceptions. Please stand corrected from your previous reference. I might add, that as an HR Director since the law went into effect in 1986 I have seen plenty of fake I.D.'s and Work Authorizations, and that is why I would like to reiterate that e‐verify or better yet fingerprinting should be used.

I have seen plenty of fake I.D.s, D.L.'s, and work Authorizations and that is why I would like to reiterate that e‐verify or fingerprinting should be used.

23‐894: Hands down support. Thank you Pro Tem Van Der Mark for bringing this forward.

23‐878: Thank you again for bringing this forward Pro Tem Van Der Mark. This is not a book ban
We need to protect our kids and parents need to be involved in books being available their minors. This was not in the libraries when my kids were growing up and we went to the library all the time. There is no way that I want my grandkids subject to this or available to other adult authorization availability of this other than the parent. This is a topic all over you tube ..the fight is on for the kids safety all over the U.S. Many of these books are pornographic. Even adult porno magazines have protections against distribution to kids. This is a parental right. Government should not making available porno to kids or gender identification, sexual preference without parental consent.

With respect, thank you.

Kris Carroll
1 Moore, Tania
From: Linda Pohl <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:38 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Amendments to Huntington Beach City Charter

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 16, 2023, at 9:38 AM, Linda Pohl <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Please reconsider your eﬀorts to get the amendments placed on the March ballot. The council was voted in to make our City run more eﬃciently, not to see how much
money you can spend on pet projects wasƟng tax payers money. At least if you wait unƟl the November elecƟon you will not only save the City money, but have a larger turnout which will be to your beneﬁt. Don’t forget you were elected with this “ﬂawed” system. When voters actually see how you’re wasƟng their tax dollars they may see you in a diﬀerent light. Voters quickly forget your exciƟng promises when it aﬀects their wallets.
>
> As far as the library restricƟons are concerned you are solving a problem that isn’t there. It may make you look very self righteous sparing our young children the possibility of ﬁnding out about their sexuality, however there is something called the INTERNET which you may not be aware of and everyone but a toddler has access to either themselves or a Friend. You may try to live like we’re in the 1950’s but unfortunately you’re deluding yourselves >
> Linda and Walter Pohl
>
> Sent from my iPad

1 Moore, Tania
From: Betsy Olson <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:43 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: comments
Hello,

I am a resident of Huntington Beach and am writing to voice concerns over a number of proposed City Charter amendments.

My main concern relates to fiscal irresponsibility. My understanding is that the proposals would increase City costs and not provide substantial benefits for residents. I have not heard of any compelling reasons to hold independent elections or to form a committee to review library books. In addition to the lack of justification for these proposals, I have not seen any specific projections of the expected cost, either in dollar amounts or in the anticipated diversion of resources (e.g., staff time). I am deeply concerned about the neglect in considering the fiscal impact of these proposals, and in the failure to provide cost projections or articulate justifications to the community, i.e., the council's constituents.

I also have a number of other concerns, including the misplacement of priorities. The council should be focused on
actions that impact and improve the local community ‐ improving parks, walkways, City services, schools, sidewalks, safety, etc. We live in a beautiful beach community, and the City's resources should be deployed to make the City enjoyable and accessible for its residents. These proposals seem to be reflective of national debates and not local government matters. Further, the proposals seem self‐serving for certain city council members, rather than reflective of the needs and priorities of local citizens.

In the interests of the City and its residents, the City council should not continue to pursue these Charter amendments ‐ or any related matters/actions. The council should refocus and prioritize agenda items that are focused on improvements to our local community.

Thank you in advance for your time in considering my comments.

Betsy Olson
1 Moore, Tania
From: Susan Matthewson <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 12:05 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Amendments

This is a ridiculous and unconscionable waste of tax payer money. Shame on you! Sent from my iPhone

1 Moore, Tania
From: Douglas Hart <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 12:14 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Comments on Book Ban and Proposed City Charter Amendments I am writing concerning the proposed Book Ban and Charter Amendments once again.

Fascists ban books. Communists ban books. Religious Theocracies ban books. Democracies don’t ban books. Yet the City Council majority seems willing to take the City down those un-American paths with their proposed ban on certain library books. It seems that whatever the four in the majority (and whatever political appointees that they might choose for their review board) deem “offensive” in their political and religious views will override the informed judgements of the City librarians and the parents of Huntington Beach. That is wrong and it is leading the City down a dangerous path. This book ban proposal needs to END NOW!
Fascists suppress the vote of the citizens. Communists suppress the vote of the citizens. Religious Theocracies suppress the vote of the citizens. Democracies don’t suppress the vote of the citizens. Yet the City Council majority seems willing to take the City down those un-American paths with the proposed Charter amendment on voting. The unneeded and illegal attempt to set up a “Voter ID” system for city voters and a ballot box “monitoring” system is, pure and simple, an attempt to suppress voters that might disagree with the current majority. Since “voter fraud” is a proven fiction in this city, this county, this state, and this country, the majority wants to waste our tax-payer money on unnecessary changes to city elections just to make a political play to the far-right voters who believe the voter fraud lies. This proposal needs to END NOW!
VOTE NO ON THE BOOK BAN AND ON THE CHARTER AMENDMENTS!! Douglas Hart
5221 Chadwick Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

1 Moore, Tania
From: Roz Esposito <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 12:31 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Cc: Bethany IOC48; Jo Ann Arvizu; Lisa Grinnell
Subject: OPPOSED to Charter Amendments
I, along with thousands of HB residents, have been making statements against ALL proposed charter amendments either by email and in-person. Yet the Council is refusing to listen to the people of HB.

I've contacted the CA Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Justice and today, the OC Voter Registrar's office.

It is outrageous that four members of this council are attempting to override the residents of HB. But make no mistake, if these changes get voted on, you will be held accountable.

Roz Esposito
aka Miriam
323-839-7903

"She who can see the invisible can do the impossible." Frank Gaines

1 Moore, Tania
From: Carol Berk <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:13 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF)
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: NO ON ITEMS #19 & 20!
Respectfully... HB City Council members and especially the majority members, I strongly urge you to vote NO on Items 19 and 20.

I believe that all individuals should have the right to choose the books they themselves will read and the ones they'll make available for their families. We do not need a 21 person panel to make those decisions and mandate them for the general population. You, as individuals, have those rights too, just not to force your decisions on the rest of us!

Regarding the charter amendment proposals...once again you are attempting to make completely unnecessary changes that will
cost our city a lot of money as well as destroying multiple statements and protocols that have been well stated and working effectively. This is especially true of the election related changes you have proposed. Our elections have been handled efficiently for years by Orange County. There is no indication that there are problems of any kind and certainly suggesting that our city should be taking on any responsibility for election oversight is reckless, costly and short sighted. Clearly this is, once again, a power play on your part and will harm our city on many levels.

Again, I hope you will vote NO on both items #19 and 20.

Thank you,
Carol Berk
(A Huntington Beach home owner, resident, and voter for 42 years)

1 Moore, Tania
From: Sue Welfringer <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:32 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Sue Welfringer
Subject: Oppose Item #20 Resolution & Oppose Charter Amendments My name is Sue Welfringer, a 26‐year resident of HunƟngton Beach. I oppose ResoluƟon No. 2023‐41, brought forth by Mayor Pro‐Tem Vandermark. I also oppose the charter reforms as unnecessary and costly.

My leƩer today is speciﬁcally about the resoluƟon designed to ulƟmately restrict what books can be included in our library.

I am passionate about the well‐being of kids, and equally passionate about the books they read. As a 20+ year member of the Society of the Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, I am constantly learning about incredible literature where kids can navigate the complexiƟes of growing up in the safe environment of a good story. I currently teach English Language Arts to 6th‐12th graders at a private school in HunƟngton Beach. So, yes, kids – and books – are great sources of inspiraƟon for me. Daily. Is that also true for you? If you read kid‐lit stories as oŌen as the librarians and I do, you would have a beƩer understanding of the posiƟve and meaningful impact these books have. Since you are not in a space of reading and being inspired by these stories, I understand how it is easy for you to form rash opinions about the material, especially when taken out of context. But do you want to live in a world where books are restricted? I have volunteered on the board of the Friends of the Children’s Library for over 20 years. Did you know? Not every book is purchased with city funds. In the nineteen years that the FOTCL operated the Taste of HunƟngton Beach, we giŌed over $700,000 to the children’s department to help them buy books. We dedicate countless volunteer hours behind the scenes to ﬁll our shelves. Never did we ever have cause to quesƟon our professional library staﬀ about their choices. Hopefully, you have learned more about their 2 processes and can trust our librarians to do their jobs. The steps outlined in this resoluƟon are unnecessary.

More than unnecessary. They are dangerous to our ﬁrst amendment rights.

Sadly, I expect this resoluƟon will pass, regardless of sensible and signiﬁcant opposiƟon. I am curious, though? How does a council eliminate several long‐standing community boards and then so quicky add a commiƩee we clearly do not need? This is an insult to our professional staﬀ who live and breathe children’s literature. Frankly, the idea of a poliƟcally appointed commiƩee deciding what books are acceptable for our collecƟon is scary and wrong. Please respecƞully decline your support of this resoluƟon. Pull this from the agenda! I cannot imagine living in a world where books are restricted.

Like you, I care about kids. I care a lot: I’ve been Classroom Mom, Soccer Mom, and Girl Scout Cookie Mom. I subbed at K‐8 schools and taught creaƟve wriƟng to kids in aŌer‐school programs and through SANDS.

I gave hundreds of volunteer hours with PTAs all the way through HS, and aŌer my daughters graduated, I joined the board for Every 15 Minutes, focusing on keeping our kids safe from drinking and driving. All the while, I was working full Ɵme in Sales Management at the Waterfront Hilton, Costa Mesa CVB, and as the Manager of the HunƟngton Beach Downtown Business Improvement District.

Maybe you have also volunteered for causes related to kids while managing a family and working full Ɵme and, if so, thank you. I know, it’s a lot.

Please make your own decision based on the signiﬁcant informaƟon you have learned about our book acquisiƟon process. Do not support this resoluƟon. Request that it be pulled.

With best regards,
Sue Welfringer

1 Moore, Tania
From: Jaime Kauffman Palumbo <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:33 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Comment for City Council Meeting Oct. 17, 2023 To Whom It May,

We vehemently disagree with the proposed changes to our charter. In relaƟon to the changes to our elecƟon process, we see no reason why we need to change anything. Our city is currently part of the OC Registrar of Voters and we have been extremely
happy with the ballot and voƟng process they employ. We are sent our ballots with a secure barcode that is then tracked from the moment our ballot is mailed or submiƩed. Why would we change anything that could potenƟally interfere with our city being part of that process? This is a soluƟon in search of a problem to saƟsfy an agenda of fearmongering and power grabbing. We do not support that in any way. We are also concerned with the proposed changes to our library system. This is a book ban plain and simple and we are frustrated and disappointed that our city would even consider such a fascist move. Our library is already monitored by an organizaƟon that uses librarians with master degrees to evaluate and label the material that is in our libraries. How is any system this city council produces going to be a beƩer safeguard than the qualiﬁed and educated individuals we already have? The answer is, it’s not. We do not want random and unqualiﬁed people with who knows what agenda to have control over what our community has access to read. Do not pass these proposals. The community is not with you on these changes. The majority campaigned on no changes to the city charter. Stand by your words or prove yourselves liars.

John and Jaime Palumbo
1 Moore, Tania
From: Lisa Swanson <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:36 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: 10/17/2023 mtg comments
Dear City Council,
Thank you for your service to our community and I hope you will consider my comments on the 10/17/2023 agenda items below.

Item 20 23-879
I strongly urge you to vote NO on this resolution! There are already sufficient controls in place to prevent obscene material from being available to children, and it is a parent's right and responsibility to monitor the materials that a child reads. The staff report from Item 9 23-878 highlights this. I have been a library patron for over 50 years and since my retirement 4 years ago, I have become very familiar with HBPL and joined the Friends of the Huntington Beach Library. Our library system and staff are stellar, and we should be recognizing that not attempting to control or second-guess them. It is not necessary to appoint a 21-person advisory board to review books. It also makes one wonder why the advocates of this resolution think that such a community advisory is needed while many other important community advisory boards were recently discontinued.

When my children were young, we visited our local library regularly. My son was an especially avid and gifted reader and could read at an adult level by the time he was 8 years old. He was interested in science and perused anatomy books which would fall under the "sexual content" definition. I'll never forget when he came to me complaining that his pancreas hurt, and I had no idea what a pancreas was (it turned out he had misdiagnosed his symptoms but he did have a hernia). I am proud to say that he is now a successful medical doctor, and I have no doubt that those early visits to our public library played a part.

Item 19 23-871
I would like to commend you for holding the series of Special Meetings to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on the charter amendments. It appears that some important changes have resulted. I still object to the need for the charter amendments but respect that some council representatives, the city attorney, and some members of the public view them as a high priority. However I strongly feel that it is fiscally irresponsible to adopt resolutions to put these items on the primary election ballot when it would cost the City far less to put them on the November ballot.

Thank for your consideration!
Sincerely,
Lisa Swanson
Southeast Huntington Beach homeowner
1 Moore, Tania
From: Elizabeth Steele Basile <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:56 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: No Book Bans at HBPL, No Charter Amendments
I am contacting the Huntington Beach City Council in opposition to Agenda Item 20, a misguided resolution disregarding the many voices that have come before me to express outrage over the proposed book ban in our public library, and to OPPOSE ALL charter amendment proposals. This council has lost my trust.

For the record, I am a resident of Huntington Beach and a parent in the Huntington Beach Union High School District. I am a library patron. I vote in every election by mail. (BTW, it is great, highly recommend it.) I am also outraged by the actions of this majority council, orchestrated in concert with the city attorney.

Aside from the pointed hypocrisy in dismantling existing citizen advisory councils (so eloquently recognized and advocated for — again — by the brave citizens that chose to speak up before me, many of them women and mothers like myself) only to follow it with a proposal the insert a group of handpicked censors into our public library, it is completely unnecessary.

As outlined in the LA Times, OC Register and so many other news outlets covering this travesty, our skilled librarians have safeguards in place, a clearly defined review process, and decades of experience serving our community. More importantly, there is no problem with pornography in our library.

This is a made up controversy. You are elected officials tasked with public improvements and governance based on the will of the people. Instead we have piles of lawsuits, secret payouts, more lawsuits, a growing housing crisis, real
homelessness, inadequate bicycle safety, an adversarial relationship with state government, and so much more (lawsuits, job security anyone?) to worry about than a handful of books one person on council and her pastor don't like.

The way a right works is that they have the option
to NOT check out those books without fear of retribution. They have the right to stay as ignorant as they please. I am sure, were they to visit one of our public libraries, our talented librarians would be able to direct them to something more appropriate to their tastes. We literally have tens of thousands of books to chose from in the Central Library alone. And two affiliated foundations annually raising funds to purchase new materials, ensuring we always have access to the power of reading in HB.

This temporary council majority of zealots presumes to know more than our paid city staff, our dedicated community service workers, the state, health and education experts, and even me as a parent. They are wrong. I am not part of your church and do not share the value of censorship as a means to conformity. I will not support any measure put forward by this city council that marginalizes our most vulnerable community members.

I am, however, raising an outstanding human being in Huntington Beach with help from dozens of incredible teachers, librarians and coaches. I contribute to my community, and pay my taxes. We read books. My family does not need nor want your morality to be successful citizens. We believe the proposed book ban is government overreach, that knowledge is power and censorship is un‐American.

I expect my city council members to work together to move us forward as a united community. To my disappointment, the current majority seems intent on undoing the good work done by past councils (while tearing them down in the process, as if their service is somehow less than what this coalition offers), lining their pockets with a pay raise and increased campaign donations, and cramming anti‐LGBTQ+ hate down our throats. And let us not forget the DC trip to 2 meet with a failed house speaker (why not our congressional representative?) and a recent presidential campaign event during the — now controversial — airshow.

Sadly, I fear my email and the many voices it joins in chorus to stop the MAGA playbook will be ignored by this council majority + city attorney intent on enacting an extreme agenda in our community. An agenda that benefits their political careers. Did y'all catch the shout out our mayor received in Anaheim?

I urge my neighbors to get involved and stay involved to make it known that hate is not acceptable as public policy.

Many of us have been quietly waiting and watching as one contentious council meeting after another adjourns in the middle of the night, as the minority council members are ignored, censored and rudely dismissed, as citizen after citizen is disregarded despite bravely speaking truth to power ‐ enduring threats and jeers in the process. It is uncivilized and an
embarrassment to the City of Huntington Beach. Do better.

Elizabeth Steele
Mother, HB Resident,
Library Patron, Concerned Citizen

“If there’s one American belief I hold above all others, it’s that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of
what is ‘right’ and what is ‘best’ should be given no rest; that they should have to defend their behavior most stringently. As a nation, we’ve been through too many fights to preserve our rights of free thought to let them go just because some prude with a highlighter doesn’t approve of them.”

— Stephen King, in his blog

1 Moore, Tania
From: Jeanne Moore <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:23 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Special Election
I object to a special elecƟon and feel these ballot issues can wait unƟl November of 2024's general elecƟon.

Jeanne Moore
HB Resident

Sent from my iPhone

1 Moore, Tania
From: Katie Estes <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:27 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Book banning and voter suppression
To whom it may concern,

I am very concerned with the proposed voter suppression amendment. I am concerned that it is going on the March ballot at great cost to the city. I’m concerned that these laws will suppress votes from certain marginalized groups within the city and cause potenƟ
ally another lawsuit from the state. How many Ɵmes do you have to spend MY taxpayer dollars on lawsuits because you can’t follow the laws of this amazing state?

I’m also VERY concerned about the proposed review board for library books. We employ, as a city, trained librarians, they need to
be doing their job. Not some random panel that can decide with liƩle to no guidance what is accessible to people at the PUBLIC library. This isn’t Nazi Germany. I’m ashamed of our current city council and will be working hard to vote o it all conservaƟve members who are ﬁghƟng to change our city into a mini Nazi Germany. Stop banning books. It’s not for you to decide what’s appropriate for someone else.

Concerned ciƟzen,
Dr Kathleen Estes, PhD

1 Moore, Tania
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:30 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Opposition to Item No. 19 23-871
I am opposed to Resolution Nos. 2023-42, 2023-43, 2023-44, and 2023-45 et al. Not that any are likely to change their collectively defined position, please vote no on Item No 19. 23-871.

Mark Obert, 60 year resident, independent thinker,voter. 1 Moore, Tania
From: kate healy <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 3:47 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: City Council Meeting 10/17/2023
Council Members, I am a resident of Huntington Beach and I would like to go on record that I am against tonight’s move towards:
 Voter ID requirement‐ this is against California State requirements.  Restrictive Flag Law‐ the city council should have the ability at the majority approval to allow non‐specified flags to fly‐ for when the Little League wins a championship, or when our Sister City sends ambassadors‐ the way in which this was brought up and amended so many times, it shows that it isn’t about “equalizing”; it’s about the LGBTQ flag as the hypocrisy was shown at the Airshow last month with both the English and Canadian flags being flown
 Charter Clean‐up (effectively Measure L from 2022 that the Council majority ran against‐ this is such an overreach and bait and switch of what they were elected to do)  The restriction of books in the library‐ call it whatever you want… it is essentially banning books and I am against it

...

Kate
she/her/hers
[email protected]
1 Moore, Tania
From: Buffie Channel <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 4:17 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: Agenda Items for 10/17/23 meeting
Attention Tony Strickland, Gracey Van der Mark, Casey McKeon and Pat Bruns,

This message is directed at YOU.

You continue to ignore your constituents.You continue to put your political agenda and political aspirations above the people of this fine city.

Agenda Item 19 ‐ OPPOSED
I am against Agenda Item 19 ‐ We have NO IDEA what the cost will be to manage and oversee our own elections, which will be the very likely outcome as the OC Registrar will not legally be able to comply with Voter ID requirements, and other voting mandates that will be attempted by this Council majority.

Just placing these 3 items on the ballot has costs estimated between $450,000 and $1,000,000 ‐ all paid by the HB tax payers. The City Council FAILED to present any legitimate studies of total costs, logistical plans, legal studies, or proof of any reason to do
so by presenting ANY case of voter fraud. You have not presented any estimated fiscal impact to manage the taking over elections locally from the OC Registrar. This will likely cost millions and millions of dollars that is a waste of money considering there iare ZERO election problems. This is just something Tony Strickland wants for his resume to move on from HB to higher office. We are being used.

There is also no reason to place these ballot measures on the primary ballot instead of the general election ballot as it will increase the cost by and estimated $400,000. This is not fiscal responsibility and this is government overreach. 90% of the speakers at the Charter Amendment meetings were against this, yet this City Council majority continues to IGNORE the wishes of the majority of the people.

Agenda Item 20 ‐ OPPOSE
I am vehemently against the banning of books in the Huntington Beach Library system. Creating a committee of people that have no training in library science is ludicrous. We already have a system in place of contacting the library about concerns about books or their placements. Fun fact: there have been ZERO inquiries at this library in 2023. What will be the credentials needed to be on this committee? Friends with Gracey? Member of the Calvary Chapel of the Harbour? No literary background?
And will this be ANY mention of SEX? Does this include kissing? And no concerns then about books with violence? Just SEX? You realize this is ridiculous, right?

Gracey oranized a BOOK BURNING event in 2017 so don't pretend that this is "not a BAN' when she actually wanted to BURN BOOKS. Will this commitee get a copy of the names of the parents/kids asking to check out the books that will be the questionable list? What kind of privacy will be due to the library patrons? We don't trust you or your commitee "appointees". Will young people be harassed that request to check out these books??.

Absolutely NOT!

Keep your government hands off the censoring, banning and burning of our books.YOU or your minions don't get to
decide what books my kid can read. That is my job. I don't need a committee that is untrained to screen books for me and my family. That is not your job. That is not your right. That is not your mandate. 2 If you REALLY believe in the 1st Amendment, censoring and banning books is the antithesis of being an American.

If you do this, we will relentlessly remind you of this and this will be all of your legacies (minus Kalmick, Bolton and Moser of course).

Again, you all seem to
be inventing a problem to find a soluton so you can go on Newsmax to further your political careers amidst your crazy rabid base.

NO on Items 19 & 20 !!!!!
NO on your radical blank check spending.

No on your ridiiculous book censhorship and banning commitee.

No on your government overreach.

Sincerely,
Buffie Channel
34 year resident
Homeowner
Business Owner

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:35 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Process to choose books for our library and voter suppression

From: Patti Akers <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:32 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Process to choose books for our library and voter suppression

I am against this process that you are creating which is in effect banning books. What gives a 21 person committee the decision‐making power to decide what books are available to HB residents?

I am against your expensive and illegal voter ID and suppression.

The March election is a misuse of our city funds.

I will be working to make sure as many HB voters are registered and ready to vote what they believe.

You are not listening to your constituents

Patti H. Akers

Sent from Mail for Windows

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:35 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Book Banning and Voter ID at Tuesday's Council Meeting!

From: Maneck Bhujwala <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:36 PM
To: Dan Kalmick <[email protected]>
Cc: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Re: Book Banning and Voter ID at Tuesday's Council Meeting!

I also agree with you on your concern about willy nilly rushing new laws to ban books in libraries.by a limited group of review boards instead of a public vote through the initiative process.

I urge the City Council members to reconsider hasty action that will end up hurting City residents in one way or another.

Regards,
Maneck Bhujwala
Resident of Huntington Beach since January 2004.

On Fri, Oct 13, 2023 at 4:03 PM Dan Kalmick <[email protected]> wrote:

Come voice your concerns about book banning policy and charter amendments

View this email in your browser

2 I want to thank all of you who have been participating in this flawed Charter Amendment process. After our final special meeting last week, three charter amendments are being proposed for a nearly half million dollar special election in March of 2024. Most of these amendments would go into effect in 2026, so why are we rushing for a primary ballot at massive cost. If they're that important, put them on in November at 10% of the cost. The final vote on these charter amendments will be at our meeting this Tuesday (10/17) at 6pm. This will include: likely illegal VoterID (suppression) and voter intimidation - which will likely cause HB to run its own municipal elections (at what cost - who knows?), a restrictive flag policy, and some language clean up and appointment of vacant council positions (effectively Measure L from 2022 that this Council majority ran against.)

3 But then later on the agenda, MPT Van Der Mark and the "city attorney" have apparently jumped the gun (shark?) and brought forward a resolution that effectively creates a process to ban books. Read the revised resolution here (the title has been updated from what originally posted with the agenda.)

Mayor Pro Tempore Van Der Mark and the Council Majority lied. They said this wasn't about banning books. Well in my opinion, rejecting books from entering the library collection is, by definition, banning them.

As always you can send emails to [email protected] and [email protected] and let the City Council know how you feel about these policies and charter amendments.

If you'd like to come in person, the meeting is October 17th. Arrive early (maybe 3:30pm or 4:00pm) for the study session on library policy. There will be a public comment period on staff's recommended changes, and there will be a public comment period during the 6pm meeting. This will be a long meeting, but it is critical that you make your voices heard. Come prepared for a late night, or late morning as it may turn out - get coffee, bring food, cancel your Wednesday morning (I have).
4 Thank you all for your support and for coming out to meetings and sending emails. Your voices may fall on deaf ears of the new Council Majority, but your in-person turn out is being watched by hundreds of people online and at home.

Dan Kalmick,
Huntington Beach City Council

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

VISIT WEBSITE

You are receiving this email because you contacted Councilmember Kalmick or are a voter in Huntington Beach

Our mailing address is:

Re-Elect Dan Kalmick to HB City Council - FPPC ID#1458520 249 E. Ocean Blvd, #670
Long Beach, Ca 90802
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1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:35 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Voter ID/Book Banning items

From: James Rodriguez <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2023 5:36 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Voter ID/Book Banning items

Hi CC,

As 25 years resident of Huntington Beach, I have not seen such an act of political soapboxing. The items to admend the city's charter are frivolous and CC should be sanctioned. 1. Voter ID is suppression, many case judgements since the 1960s agree ID for voting is suppression. Similar to requirement of IQ tests and literary tests to vote. 2. Banning books is censorship. This is communist at its finest. Let me remind CC of the famous cases against Larry flint, that Mr. Flint publications were never censored in the U.S. by reglious institutions and 1st admendment rights of the constitution were upheld. Furthermore, Larry Flint said "freedom of the press is not the freedom for your ideas, but the ideas you hate the most".

We are wasting resources, time and money, for the political grandstanding of the current CC majority. 1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:37 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Modification of library policy, procurement of books for the library and changes to city charter

From: Che Chereskin <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2023 11:54 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Modification of library policy, procurement of books for the library and changes to city charter

Modification of library policy
I have reviewed the PowerPoint prepared by city government staff (I believe) and have no serious objections to it although I think that it is unnecessary. At a time when resources are limited, it seems like a waste of time and money to have two groups doing the same job: the city librarians and the city government staff. In my opinion, the Huntington Beach Library staff already do a great job. I am very proud of our city library system and what it offers.

Procurement of books for the library
I have also reviewed 2023-41 and strongly object to the proposals therein. Although not stated, I assume that "child" is defined as someone under the age of 12 based upon the PowerPoint discussed above. However, young girls start to menstruate at around age 9 (or even younger) and thus, perhaps more than any other group, have a need for information on sexual matters. Likewise boys also have a need for factual material on aspects of sexuality. The proposed restrictions would deprive young people of a reliable source of information on sexuality just when they need it most! They will likely be able to get information from the internet, but anyone can put something on the internet so information from that source is potentially less accurate.

Although it would still be possible to access material through an adult, some young people may not want to involve parents or other adults while they are figuring things out.

Changes to City Charter
Finally, I believe putting the proposed changes to the city charter to a vote should be postponed until it can be done economically. There is nothing urgent proposed. Furthermore, the legality of requiring specific identification for voting seems to be in question. It seems that this issue should be resolved before putting it before our citizens for a vote.

Sincerely,

Che Chereskin
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:47 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: City Council Mtg./10-17-2023

From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2023 4:15 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: City Council Mtg./10‐17‐2023

Re Agenda Items 19, 20, & 21
From Cheryl Elliott, Resident of Huntington Beach since 1980 It would be far more reflective of public sentiment to pass a resolution condemning the unrelenting attacks on voter confidence, city librarians, budget strategy, rainbow flags, and the Policy on Human Dignity leveled by the Council majority. I trust that Israel will prevail. I hope that the same won't need to be said about the Council majority and City Attorney who shall be up for re-election in 2026 and may be counting on personal benefit from the voter suppression law they've foisted onto the March primary ballot. Count on the City being sued.

The unwarranted restrictions aimed at existing library policies are an insult to the professionalism of our City Librarian and her staff as well as all true Friends of the Library. It is disingenuous to suggest that this resolution is anything short of book banning and will result in anything less than an onslaught of protests and lawsuits. It is also arrogant and demoralizing to insinuate that Huntington Beach parents are incapable of monitoring and protecting their own children during library visits without intervention by the Mayor Pro Tem. Will the term "sexual grooming" pass muster with the new censors? If not, the newly revised City Policy on Human Dignity had better be kept in a vault lest any minor visiting City Hall be inadvertently exposed to such suggestive sexual language.

The choice of flags to be flown over City Hall should be handled by resolution, not enshrined in the City Charter. This proposed amendment was clearly designed to eliminate the Rainbow Flag and reject the population it represents. What a queer way to advance the City's new Policy on Human Dignity that claims to encourage an environment free of hostility?! At least the ballot proposal requires a unanimous vote to add a flag to those already listed. This is of some comfort to me since I'll no longer worry that a 4-to-3 Council vote might allow an "Anti-Woke" banner to wave even temporarily.

As for the proposed Charter Amendments to the budget cycle and related administrative issues, my vote is "no" until the city's litigation costs and accruing penalties are under control and until the Council majority can conduct city business without sham public hearings, video clip stunts, and the Mayor's hyper-partisan bully tactics. At least five former Huntington Beach mayors have approached the Council chamber podium in astonishment to offer advice, constructive criticism, guidance, and warnings of legal peril and fiscal disaster.

They have been repeatedly rebuffed by this Council's majority voting bloc. They deserve better and so do the citizens of Huntington Beach.
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:34 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: City Charter Amendments; Flags; Public Libraries

From: Julie Hampel <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:22 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: City Charter Amendments; Flags; Public Libraries

October 16, 2023

Dear Huntington Beach City Council:
(Addressed specifically to Strickland, Van Der Mark, Burns, and McKeon)

I am painfully writing again (4th time) to oppose your proposed City Charter Amendments, the Restrictive Flag proposal, and Interference with Public Library Policies.

Formally, I oppose:

Finally: All these changes are to sow chaos and confusion which creates fear and hate. It is the opposite of what a City Council is meant to do. Stop trying to control people’s choices. It is a total waste of taxpayer dollars. Instead, start doing your jobs and improving our City instead of getting involved in everyone’s private 2 business. It is very unbecoming behavior for anyone but especially an elected Huntington Beach City Council member.

Huntington Beach Citizen,
Julie Hampel
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:53 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Comment on HB charter amendments, Admin item 19.

From: Dan Jamieson <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 11:55 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Comment on HB charter amendments, Admin item 19.

Dear HB council members:

Please vote NO on all of the proposed charter amendments at the Oct. 17, 2023 council meeting.

The proposed amendments are tainted, due to the underhanded political process used to develop them.

Charter amendments should address a real need. These do not.

Charter amendments, if needed, should be put to voters in a November general election, not the lower-turnout primary election as proposed. My understanding is that placing amendments on the general election ballot is much cheaper than the estimated $459,000 cost for placement on the primary ballot.

Please vote NO on the proposed amendments.

Sincerely,

Dan Jamieson
Roxanne McMillen
Huntington Beach
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:55 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Opposition to amendments and special election

From: adrienne low <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 4:17 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Opposition to amendments and special election

I am writing this email to voice my opposition to the following:

a) I am opposed to a special election for March 2024. Why would we spend a half million dollars for a special election in March 2024? The cost is ridiculous to the city. The amendments can be put on the ballot in November 2024 for a fraction of the cost.

b) I am opposed to the idea that Huntington Beach will handle all future elections, instead of allowing the current system, already in place by the county, remain. I am very concerned about the legality of this proposal.

The legal challenges will cost the city money in legal fees. I am also very concerned about voter suppression and intimidation. I have always been impressed with how Orange County has handled our elections and have not heard of any issues. Why put additional costs on our city when there is already a system that works?

c) I am opposed to the flag policy that the new city council has tried to put into place. The wording of the policy is confusing and makes the ability to fly various flags on city property cumbersome.

d) I am opposed to the book ban that is being pushed by Gracey Van Der Mark. The idea that the city council is going to create a committee that reviews books that will be allowed in the library and that must meet some unknown community standard is appalling. Our city libraries are wonderful and the community does not want the city council involved. If you don’t like a book, do not read it. You do not have the right to make the decision for myself or my children.

All of the items above have been opposed by a majority of the residents of Huntington Beach. I am disgusted by the way the current city council is being run and that the fascist four have pushed ahead their agenda despite the community outcry.

Please start governing and stop fighting culture wars.

Sincerely,
Adrienne Low
25 year resident of Huntington Beach, CA .

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:57 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: OPPOSED to proposed Charter amendments

From: Lynne Deakers <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 5:40 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org>; supplementalcomm@surfcity‐hb.org Subject: OPPOSED to proposed Charter amendments

I am very concerned at the direction the present city council is taking!  Requiring voter ID when we have an excellent voting process in place will waste tax dollars much needed for other projects and is an affront to our citizens. We should be encouraging everyone to vote.

Our current voting process does this. What you're proposing with voter ID is intimidation and suppression of voters.
 The restrictive flag policy you are proposing is a gesture of discrimination rather than welcoming everyone to our city.
 changes regarding council member appointments and other language changes is totally unnecessary and lowering standards that have been carefully laid out for our council to function democratically..

PLEASE DON'T CHANGE THE THINGS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO OUR REPUTATION AS A WONDERFUL, WELCOMING CITY.

Lynne Deakers
40 yr resident of Huntington Beach
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:03 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Public Comment Items 18 & 19, Tuesday, October 17, 2023

From: qw <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 10:11 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Public Comment Items 18 & 19, Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Dear City Council,

I support Item 18. Please, following visibility requirements & riding on the correct side of the road must be better enforced.

I oppose Item 19.

No. 1 - If there were forged signatures at a voting booth, investigators & counter-identity theft analysis should be at hand to the registrar of voters. Voter ID & monitors would much more easily be compromised at any time & drastically increase the possibility of large-scale voter fraud. According to the Heritage Foundation there were only 6 cases of voter fraud in California in 2022.

No. 2. - This item doesn't allow International Maritime Signal Flags to be flown on city hall.

No. 3 - This item allows the city charter to be summoned as an agreement to cancel meetings regardless of a city council vote. This increases the likelihood of mishandling core functions & states of emergency.

Non-agendized.

Please refill the empty Boston Market & surrounding commerce at Golden-Warner Centers accordingly, this is a content area. Not attending to basic commercial duties is a recurring question I have.

I oppose Items 9 & 20 - Please let the librarians do their jobs according to the law.

I oppose Item 21 - There's no executive order from the president for city councils to take positions on Israel vs Hamas. There could also be false information. Out of respect for our military operations, please stick to city matters.

Please don't limit prayers, education & ideas. Once again, I urge for a major increase in archaeological dig sites for undiscovered technology.

I hope for consensus to continue being established.

- Ben P.
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:04 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Stop the charter changes

From: Jeffrey Webster <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:37 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Stop the charter changes

I've lived and owned homes in Huntington Beach since 1985. I've never seen a council so biased toward extremist right-wing policies during this entire time. Please reconsider these changes being proposed and at least save our residents from unwarranted expenses. All this is being done as an elaborate attention pull to Fox News and Trump. Voting changes are based on the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen. This has been litigated unsuccessfully throughout the U.S. and has no validity. Intimidation will only make the residents more resolved to vote the far right-wing out of office in just a few years. The cost of running elections on our own, without the help of the state, will only make us look like fools. The March referendum done to sneak it by most HB residents, is a sad attempt to fool the majority. It won't work because we're not fools who surrender our hard earned money to placate a few extremists. Also, the rendering of library censure-ship to a committee of 21 without clear guidelines is poorly developed and can only result in national shame, as was rendered to the Alabama board that removed a book because the author's last name was Gay. Any changes you make to our governance will be quickly reversed in a few years but the stain of stupidity will last forever. It will take years before Huntington Beach will free itself from the scarlet letter of idiocy. Reconsider your decisions.

Sincerely
Dr. Jeffrey Webster

Get Outlook for iOS
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:06 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Special Election

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: leƩers‐clumpy‐[email protected] <leƩers‐clumpy‐[email protected]> Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:25 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Re: Special ElecƟon

AŌer aƩending Council meeƟngs, the changes being made to the charter do not reﬂect what the majority of our
community feels is necessary. Dan Kalmick’s proposal to table the Charter Amendments seemed reasonable and pracƟcal regarding the special elecƟon. If these changes don’t take eﬀect unƟl 2026, why spend tax payers money with the undetermined costs this elecƟon will incur .

Please reconsider Dan Kalmick’s recommendaƟon about the Special ElecƟon.

A 50+ year concerned resident,
Mary

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:06 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Amendments to Huntington Beach City Charter

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Linda Pohl <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:39 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Amendments to HunƟngton Beach City Charter

Please reconsider your eﬀorts to get the amendments placed on the March ballot. The council was voted in to make our
City run more eﬃciently, not to see how much money you can spend on pet projects wasƟng tax payers money. At least if you wait unƟl the November elecƟon you will not only save the City money, but have a larger turnout which will be to your beneﬁt. Don’t forget you were elected with this “ﬂawed” system. When voters actually see how you’re wasƟng their tax dollars they may see you in a diﬀerent light. Voters quickly forget your exciƟng promises when it aﬀects their wallets.

As far as
the library restricƟons are concerned you are solving a problem that isn’t there. It may make you look very self righteous sparing our young children the possibility of ﬁnding out about their sexuality, however there is something called the INTERNET which you may not be aware of and everyone but a toddler has access to either themselves or a Friend. You may try to live like we’re in the 1950’s but unfortunately you’re deluding yourselves

Linda and Walter Pohl

Sent from my iPad

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:09 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: No on book banning and No on ballot initiativess

From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:46 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: No on book banning and No on ballot initiativess

Next, and most importantly WE ARE AGAINST the effort to Ban, Censor, or Restrict Books in our award winning library, the veritable pride of our community!

Ron and Jean Nagy
30+ years residents of HB

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:51 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: concern about proposed charter amendments

From: Betsy Olson <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:43 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: concern about proposed charter amendments

Hello,

I am a resident of Huntington Beach and am writing to voice concerns over a number of proposed City Charter amendments.

I also have a number of other concerns, including the misplacement of priorities. The council should be focused on actions that impact and improve the local community - improving parks, walkways, City services, schools, sidewalks, safety, etc. We live in a beautiful beach community, and the City's resources should be deployed to make the City enjoyable and accessible for its residents. These proposals seem to be reflective of national debates and not local government matters. Further, the proposals seem self-serving for certain city council members, rather than reflective of the needs and priorities of local citizens.

In the interests of the City and its residents, the City council should not continue to pursue these Charter amendments - or any related matters/actions. The council should refocus and prioritize agenda items that are focused on improvements to our local community.

Thank you in advance for your time in considering my comments.

Betsy Olson
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:12 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Charter amendments

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Susan MaƩhewson <sgmaƩ[email protected] .com>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 12:06 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Charter amendments

This is a ridiculous and unconscionable waste of tax payer money. You will not be re‐elected! Shame on you for such ignorant
irresponsible governing.

Sent from my iPhone

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:12 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Comments on Book Ban and Proposed City Charter Amendments

From: Douglas Hart <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 12:14 PM
To: supplementalcomm@surfcity‐hb.org; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Comments on Book Ban and Proposed City Charter Amendments

I am writing concerning the proposed Book Ban and Charter Amendments once again.

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:12 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: OPPOSED to Charter Amendments

From: Roz Esposito <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 12:31 PM
To: supplementalcomm@surfcity‐hb.org; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Cc: Bethany IOC48 <[email protected]>; Jo Ann Arvizu <[email protected]>; Lisa Grinnell <[email protected]>
Subject: OPPOSED to Charter Amendments

I, along with thousands of HB residents, have been making statements against ALL proposed charter amendments either by email and in-person. Yet the Council is refusing to listen to the people of HB.

I've contacted the CA Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Justice and today, the OC Voter Registrar's office.

It is outrageous that four members of this council are attempting to override the residents of HB. But make no mistake, if these changes get voted on, you will be held accountable.

Roz Esposito
aka Miriam
323-839-7903

"She who can see the invisible can do the impossible." Frank Gaines

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 1:13 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: I oppose changing the city charter and Adoption of Resolution No. 2023-41

From: Ann Schoeff <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 12:38 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: I oppose changing the city charter and Adoption of Resolution No. 2023‐41

Good afternoon -

I am opposed to the three proposed amendments to the City of Huntington Beach Charter and believe they are unnecessary.

I am also opposed to the adoption of resolution No. 2023-41. One of the many things I love about our city is the amazing library system we have. I almost always have a library book on my nightstand and when my kids were little, we frequently enjoyed our trips to the library and participated in the summer reading program every year. Librarians and their staff are trained to choose the books for the library and they've done an outstanding job so far; I do not think this should change. I do not want a council appointed committee of 21 to decide what books should be housed on my library's shelves. Please leave book selection to the librarians - thank you.

It appears that the majority of the council is responding to and creating problems that don't exist within our city; it feels like overreach and book banning to me. Unfortunately, I feel that I am literally wasting my time with sending this email as you've already made up your minds on what you are going to do and how you are going to vote no matter how many emails you receive or how many people show up at the city council meeting to oppose these two items.

Respectfully,
Ann Schoeff

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:48 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Special Election

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Jeanne Moore <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:24 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Special ElecƟon

I object to a special elecƟon and feel these ballot issues can wait unƟl November of 2024's general elecƟon.

Jeanne Moore
HB Resident

Sent from my iPhone

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:48 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Voter suppression and book ban

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: KaƟe Estes <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:26 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Voter suppression and book ban

To whom it may concern,

I am very concerned with the proposed voter suppression amendment. I am concerned that it is going on the March
ballot at great cost to the city. I’m concerned that these laws will suppress votes from certain marginalized groups within the city and cause potenƟally another lawsuit from the state. How many Ɵmes do you have to spend MY taxpayer dollars on lawsuits because you can’t follow the laws of this amazing state?

I’m also VERY concerned about the proposed review board for library books. We employ, as a city, trained librarians, they need to be doing their job. Not some random panel that can decide with liƩle to no guidance what is accessible to people at the PUBLIC library. This isn’t Nazi Germany. I’m ashamed of our current city council and will be working hard to vote o it all conservaƟve members who are ﬁghƟng to change our city into a mini Nazi Germany. Stop banning books. It’s not for you to decide what’s appropriate for someone else.

Concerned ciƟzen,
Dr Kathleen Estes, PhD

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 3:58 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Input to City Council Members re: 10/17/2023 Meeting

From: Patricia Larkin <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 3:40 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Input to City Council Members re: 10/17/2023 Meeting

Greetings Huntington Beach City Council Members,
My name is Patricia (Pat) Larkin; and I am a 50+ year resident of Huntington Beach. I have so enjoyed this wonderful city and have appreciated its history of sound government practices. Today I'd like to offer input re:

Agenda Items #19, 20 & 21 relative to tomorrow's afternoon and evening Council meetings.

Agenda Item # 19
The OC Registrar of Voters has a long-established solid record of safely overseeing our elections and they should continue to do so. The prospect of Huntington Beach running its own elections would not only entail tremendous effort and needless expense to the city but could potentially undermine our safe and reliable current election process.

There has been no issue with the flags that are flown at City Hall; they generally find wide approval.

Agenda Item # 20
This item seeks to establish a policy for the review and recataloging of library materials with sexual content.

The Miller Case actually established specific procedures for public libraries to follow to address this issue. Such decisions need to remain with our librarians; the city's trained professionals in Library Science. Given their training, they are best able to make judicious choices.

Agenda Item # 21
While I agree with this item's condemnation of the Hamas 10/7/2023 attack on Israel, the resolution should go further. It should also include support for Palestine, whose citizens have largely coexisted with Israel for eight decades. It needs to condemn violence and advocate for the safe passage of those living in contested border towns. The Council's majority would do well to engage with the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council and to reinstate the Human Relations Committee; as these two organizations have given moral authority, support and direction to our City Councils historically regarding issues related to hate crimes, intolerance and violence.

Finally, since these three Charter amendments would not go into effect until 2026 there is no rational reason to create a special March 2024 election which would come at great cost to our taxpayers.These three Charter amendments are not necessary in my opinion; however if the Council does go ahead with them, they would still be much better placed on the November General Election Ballot, saving our taxpayers 90% of the cost.

Thank You each for both serving on our City Council and for reflecting on the above input.

Sincerely,
2 Patricia Larkin
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 4:29 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: City Council action to ban books and restrict our right to vote

From: Brian G. Saylin <brian@saylin‐law.com>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 4:21 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Cc: Rose Saylin ([email protected]) <[email protected]>
Subject: City Council action to ban books and restrict our right to vote

I used to wonder what it must have been like to live in Nazi Germany when Hitler rose to power. He began by burning books. We all know how it ended. I also wonder what it must be like to have the Taliban relegate a class of its citizens to a lower class with few rights. Unfortunately, in our past, we have done some things which are somewhat similar, when there was segregation in the South and legislation to prevent Black Citizens from Voting. We have also send Japanese to concentration camps. All these events started with those in power starting, bit by bit, to take away rights from the citizens. That's exactly what the City Councill is poised to do on Tuesday. It is shameful and must be stopped. Hopefully, the city council members will stop and realize the damage to democracy they are planning to impose.

Please don't go down this path. We are better than this!!!

Get Outlook for iOS
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 4:29 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Book censoring and voter I’d

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Anne Tillman <anneƟ[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 4:23 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Book censoring and voter I’d

Both are bad moves. We are not a police state

Anne Tillman
Anne@anneƟllman.com
562‐858‐0572

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 4:57 PM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: City Council Overreach

From: Regina Mastroyannis Blankenhorn <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 4:54 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: City Council Overreach

Dear HB City Council:

I am becoming overly concerned with the overreach of the current City Council. For a group of Council Members that cautioned about being “big brothered” by the government, I find that there is a majority of you that are doing a lot of “big brothering” yourself.

I feel the majority is overstepping their authority in local government, and it needs to stop.

You have no right to ban books. Period. The right of freedom of expression is violated whenever a government limits the freedom of individuals to hold opinions or to seek, receive, or impart information.

And these opinions and facts are
researched through books. Whether that book be in a public library or a public school library, it is there for the education of a person to form their own opinions and come to their own conclusions.

As far as the City charter is concerned, my
main concern is with the office of the City Attorney. That office should not be an elected position; it should be a position that is appointed by the City Council. In fact, it would be a cost savings to the City if it were to appoint a City Attorney through a law firm where the law firm’s various experts in various legal fields would be of assistance to the City. By having this as an elected position, the City Attorney becomes a political figure within the City where they really should be apolitical and objectively advising the City Council what is best for the City rather than what might be a better political advantage for the next election year.

I also believe the City Clerk and City Treasurer should be appointed positions so that people with the correct credentials and experience are in those positions. Voters do not pay attention to who is better qualified to do the job for the City
because they do not understand what these positions do.

As a resident of this City, I needed to make my opinion known.

Respectfully,
Regina M. Blankenhorn
1 Moore, Tania
From: Diane Pavesic <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:10 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Fwd: Charter Amendments

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Diane Pavesic <[email protected]>
Date: September 27, 2023 at 2:58:00 PM PDT
To: city.council@surfcity‐hb.org
Subject: Charter Amendments
Dear City Council,

I am a 33 year resident of Huntington Beach and have I voted in all elections.

I have never seen such disregard
for the citizens of our City until this current council was elected. You may have tricked the citizens into voting for you, but I appreciate that you have opened our eyes to your true purpose. We will not make this mistake again.

I oppose all of the proposed charter amendments. How
is it that you feel you have the right to disregard
the dignity of our residents? Why are you not addressing the actual needs of this City like the rampant homelessness instead of proposing changes to imaginary problems that do not exist?

I have heard some of you use your
belief in God and righteousness in your proposed changes. I am certain you do not know what Jesus preached, which was not to disregard and belittle members our community as your proposals demonstrate.

Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy additional exercise while I walk door to door to educate my neighbors who have had the wool pulled over their eyes by the thoughtless majority of this City Council.

Sincerely,
Diane Pavesic

Sent from my iPad
1 Moore, Tania
From: Shayla Wilson <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:10 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Opposition to Resolution Nos. 2023-41, 2023-42, 2023- 43, 2023-44, and 2023-45 Good Evening,

My name is Shayla Wilson. I am a resident of Huntington Beach and am writing in response to tomorrow's agenda.

I stand in staunch opposition to Resolution No. 2023‐41 which is, in all but name, a book ban. No one should not dictate what books other people's
children or for that matter what ANYONE else is allowed to read. Additionally, removing and banning books from public libraries is a slippery slope to government censorship and the erosion of our country's commitment to freedom of expression.

Furthermore, I am vehemently opposed to the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on a special election that will ultimately attempt to oppress the voting rights of US citizens.

1 Moore, Tania
From: laura sire <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:23 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Laura Sire
Subject: Agenda Items #19 and #20 for Agenda dated Oct 17, 2023

Hello,

This is Laura Sire. I’m a 60 year resident of Huntington Beach, a retired elementary school teacher, and an active member of the community. I’m writing today in extreme distress as to what is happening to the democracy in our city of Huntington Beach as shown in these current agenda items.

Agenda item #19, proposing charter amendment ballot measures be placed on the March 2024 ballot, must be voted NO due to the cost of $459,628. Also, the items, including voter ID and a restrictive flag policy are unnecessary and unwanted by a majority of Huntington Beach residents.

If they must be on a ballot, it makes sense to put them on the November ballot in the general election. It would save taxpayers a large amount of money. Additionally most changes proposed would not go into effect until 2026. This rushed process does not make sense any more than the measures themselves. (The “voter ID” measure violates state law and will almost certainly result in adding more lawsuits to what the City already has).

Agenda item #20 submitted by Mayor Pro Tem VanDerMark who requests "adopting No 2023‐41 to establish a policy of review and recataloging of library materials containing sexual content” This item, thinly disguised, is clearly a book ban. It violates freedom of speech, is unnecessary, and is a waste of time as there is already a process in place.

It is insulting to librarians with Masters Degrees in Library Science. The attachment #2 removes access to books and states that “any sexual writings, sexual references, explicit sexual images, and any other sexual content shall not be placed in, or be present in, ANY section of any City Library other than adult sections.” Parents are also insulted as it is required that there is "parental or guardian” consent required before accessing books.

I stand with librarians, parents and teachers in the process of book access and selection. They are qualified, caring and competent. And the idea of having a 21 member citizen committee to take over this process is impractical and unfair. Since members are selected by councilmembers, the majority of the committee would have control as they will be representing the 4‐3 majority on the Council.

Furthermore, this item is in actuality about controlling information and censorship. Another smoke screen is evident as the true target here is the LGBQT+ Community as well as POC. The 2 conservative council majority wants us to believe they are protecting children, when in fact their proposed policy is one that harms children and their families. It is a tool to exclude children from acceptance by their peers as well as instigating division and hate. It is cruel as it stigmatizes those who have different gender identities or sexual preferences. The lack of empathy for those who are already stigmatized and feeling isolated is very sad. Don’t we want all children to feel accepted worthy, and included.

Do what is right please, and Vote NO on Agenda items #19 and #20.

Sincerely,
Laura Sire

1 Moore, Tania
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Item 23-871/2023-42
Terry Rose, HB resident since November 1983, homeowner

I oppose item 2023‐42 (under 23‐871). I oppose all 3 charter amendments.

This is an utter waste of OUR money. If you want to put something on the ballot, what is the harm in waiting until November? Why do you
want to push it through, costing the citizens of Huntington Beach unnecessarily? I am beginning to think that the four of you (Strickland, Vandermark, McKeon & Burns) have a collective IQ under 2 digits. What is your motive? What is the purpose of this? And if everything gets defeated, what then? Will you claim voter fraud?

To begin with, you have not done a study showing the fiscal impact of each of these measures. As citizens of Huntington Beach, we have the right to know what we are getting into from a financial perspective.

Second, the word “may” in Charter Amendment
#1 is ambiguous….will you or won’t you….this would allow the city council to decide at the drop of a hat whether of not this will be implemented and will leave the citizens of Huntington Beach at the mercy of the council at that time. Also, will each city council be able to change their minds – some years, voter ID, etc., some years, no? With a perfectly good voter system run by Orange County, why would we want to incur ANY costs with regard to voting?

Charter Amendment #2 deals with the flags. In the beginning, the Olympic flag was not included. When did that one become one of ones that are ok? Was it when it finally dawned on the 4 of you that by saying we couldn’t fly that flag, that might impede the city of Huntington Beach for competing for the 2028 Olympic surfing events, depriving the city of revenue from tourism? What would happen if there was a unanimous vote to fly the pride flag during pride month or a breast cancer awareness flag during breast cancer awareness month or a stop human trafficking flag in January? Would you four change the rules again?

I hate to
tell you that the LGBTQA community is growing and many of the younger generation who will be voters may determine your ultimate fate. Your homophobic and racist attitudes, particularly yours Ms. Vandermark are obvious, and you inspire others just like you which, to me, is very sad and scary at the same time.

Charter Amendment #3 has too many items included and should be split into multiple charter items. From my perspective, the ONLY vote is NO.

You four are destroying our city and two of you have not even been residents that long. If you think we are a steppingstone
to bigger and better positions, you may want to reconsider. By acting recklessly with our city, you may find yourself unable to overcome the opposition you will have when you try to move up. While you may not care about what happens to Huntington Beach in the future, there are many of us who have lived her a long time who do. The press we have been receiving lately is all negative. If that continues, people may not want to visit our city, Surf City USA.

Trying engaging your brains before you vote.

2 1
Moore, Tania
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:42 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: special election nonsense
My name is Dr. Chris DuqueƩe and I am a homeowner and business owner in HunƟngton Beach.

I oppose the special elecƟon and the addiƟonal cost inherent and long term that may result from trying to clumsily introduce voter id at the city level. I myself have voted via mail as long as I have been able to because I have raised three children and work nearly every single day tending to the people of our community. Standing in line and planning my schedule around something I can do from my home safely and securely is ridiculous. There are already plenty of safeguards to sound voƟng, no need to make it more complex for our ciƟzens. On top of that, it’s going to cost a lot of money and result in expensive liƟgaƟon. UƩer . Waste. Of. Money.

I oppose ResoluƟon #2023‐41. We have librarians and parents to help make decisions about what is age appropriate content. There is no reason for a city council member to weigh in on what books are available where in the library.

The city council needs to run the city like a business, focus on providing appropriate services to its residents and stop wasƟng Ɵme and money, our resources on ill advised, unnecessary dog whistles intended to further divide our community.

Sincerely,

Dr. Chris DuqueƩe

1 Moore, Tania
From: Ellie Johnson <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:47 PM
To: [email protected]; '[email protected]' Subject: Agenda Item 20 - Resolution 2023-41
To the Members of the City Council,

I oppose this resolution.

What a sad day it will be for Huntington Beach residents if you pass this resolution. Librarians, not a parental/guardian committee are the people to review and evaluate books for the library as it has been done and with great success. We
have a world class library. To limit or attempt to limit books a parent or guardian may deem unfit reading for their child denies that book to others who may not share their views. a child under 18 to have a parent

It is laughable that you want a parent or guardian to have to consent before a teenager can access or check out a book that contains any sexual writing, sexual references, sexual images, and or other sexual content by anyone under 18 years of age. Have you asked your 18 year olds how they feel about this? It's absurd. Given the far reaching information available on the internet sexual information is available. Books provide an opening to the experiences of others and for many teenagers access to sexual information is crucial to learn about their bodies and yes, to better understand their identity if that is of concern to them. Freedom to think, to learn, to question is crucial for a democracy.

What a waste of time and attention to an issue that should not be part of the City Council conversation.

Respectfully submitted,
Eleanor Johnson
Huntington Beach

1 Moore, Tania
From: winchellg <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:55 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Agenda items19 & 20
Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers,

AGENDA ITEM 19: Please do not conƟnue with the proposed charter amendments. They are unnecessary, do not promote the public good, some endorse voter suppression, and the special elecƟon will cost taxpayers a huge sum of money as proposed. PLEASE VOTE NO ON AGENDA
ITEM 19.

AGENDA ITEM 20: Please do not make the City the arbiters of of which books will be banned from our libraries. An excellent process already exists for library book acquisiƟon. CreaƟng a HunƟngton Beach ciƟzen’s commiƩee will just be costly and is unnecessary.

PLEASE VOTE NO ON AGENDA ITEM 20.

Thank you for your consideraƟon.

Grace Winchell, Former Council Person and Mayor

1 Moore, Tania
From: Chris Wacaster <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:03 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: Stop the HB City Council--Charter Amendments & Book Bans please hear my voice
 Voter ID requirement > AGAINST
o If passed, it will lead to immediate lawsuits (don’t know how much that will cost) o If passed, it will likely cause HB to run its own city elections (don’t know how much that will cost)
 HB must purchase voting machines
 HB must securely store voting machines between elections  HB must rent polling locations
 HB must train staff
 And, many more requirements for running a secure election  Restrictive Flag Law > AGAINST
o Excludes many flags that have flown on city polls in the past, including the Pride flag
o Requires a unanimous vote of council to add a new allowed flag (the city has never required a unanimous vote for anything, ever!)
 Charter Clean‐up (effectively Measure L from 2022 that the Council majority ran against) > AGAINST

thanks, Chris
1 Moore, Tania
From: john wacaster <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:03 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Stop the HB City Council--Charter Amendments & Book Bans please hear my voice
 Voter ID requirement > AGAINST
o If passed, it will lead to immediate lawsuits (don’t know how much that will cost) o If passed, it will likely cause HB to run its own city elections (don’t know how much that will cost)
 HB must purchase voting machines
 HB must securely store voting machines between elections  HB must rent polling locations
 HB must train staff
 And, many more requirements for running a secure election  Restrictive Flag Law > AGAINST
o Excludes many flags that have flown on city polls in the past, including the Pride flag
o Requires a unanimous vote of council to add a new allowed flag (the city has never required a unanimous vote for anything, ever!)
 Charter Clean‐up (effectively Measure L from 2022 that the Council majority ran against) > AGAINST

‐‐

john
1 Moore, Tania
From: Caroline Brandenburger <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:22 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Opposition to Voter ID charter

To the City Council of HunƟngton Beach,

My name is Caroline Brandenburger and I’m a third generaƟon HunƟngton Beach, CA resident for over 44 years. I’ve been a Registered Nurse for about 21 years at a local Orange County hospital. I’m wriƟng this email to express my
concern and opinions regarding a recent proposed City Charter amendment.

As elected HunƟngton Beach City Council members, your duty is to represent the enƟrety of the City of HunƟngton Beach. The very ﬁrst sentence of the HunƟngton Beach City charter states “We, the people of the City of HunƟngton
Beach, State of California believe ﬁscal responsibility and the prudent stewardship of public funds is essenƟal for conﬁdence in government, that ethics and integrity are the foundaƟon of public trust and that just governance is built upon these values.” Adding a voƟng ID charter amendment to the ballot is ﬁscally irresponsible and so unnecessary.

There has been no evidence presented at all to support that there has been voter fraud. The fact that the council majority is pushing for this to be on the March ballot instead of the November ballot ‐ in which the cost for tax payers is even more, is very concerning and interesƟng. The esƟmated cost is $1 million+ and also can include further expenses such as law suits. It is also interesƟng to note that the council majority, who were recently elected in 2022, are not quesƟoning the validity of the elecƟon results that elected them to their respecƟve posiƟons. If the council majority is really concerned about voter fraud in HunƟngton Beach, why aren’t they asking for an invesƟgaƟon and/or recount?

There have been numerous public comments, emails and leƩers from the residents of HunƟngton Beach opposed to the voƟng ID charter amendment. It is the city council’s responsibility and duty to listen and consider the concerns and comments from the people of HunƟngton Beach, and not what ﬁts your own agenda and beliefs. Please have integrity, consideraƟon and respect for the people of HunƟngton Beach! Please represent the people and be ﬁscally responsible for the people’s tax dollars.

Respecƞully yours,

Caroline Brandenburger
[email protected]

1 Moore, Tania
From: Elizabeth SanFilippo <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:34 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: Proposed City Charter Amendments – Opposed
I am a Huntington Beach resident and home owner for over thirty years and am opposed to the potential City Charter changes regarding how elections will be conducted.

Evidence has not been presented demonstrating that there are any election issues that justify changes to voting in Huntington Beach. It is my understanding that the Orange County Registrar has been acknowledged as very effective in administering this important responsibility. The proposed changes could place unnecessary burdens on citizens as we exercise our right to vote and thereby prevent people from voting.

The City has been advised by the State Attorney General that the changes contemplated to our Charter could be illegal and if passed would result in a lawsuit.

Since the City Council recently contemplated budget cuts to services provided to residents and there are projected future deficits, I am concerned about the costs of this ballot measure being included in the upcoming Primary Election rather than a General Election, the legal costs to defend it if passed, and if implemented the costs associated with the changes. To be financially responsible, the potential Charter Changes should not be placed on the Primary Election ballot.

Thank you for your consideration.

Elizabeth San Filippo
1 Moore, Tania
From: Susan Turner <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 8:18 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Strongly Oppose the Voter ID requirement. Oppose any amendments on the March Ballot Dear City Council Members,

I have been a Huntington Beach resident for 60 years. I have been to many city council meetings over the last few months. I have listened to those in support and those opposed to the Voter ID requirement. I only hear one reason to have a Voter ID requirement. The reason was stated by Mayor Strickland, to regain faith in our elections. There was never any proof to show a reason for our citizens to have lost faith in our elections. In fact much to the contrary, the majority, over 90% who spoke had complete faith in our voting system as it is and expressed opposition to Voter Id requirement.

One of the major drawbacks to this amendment is COST. There is no way to predict the cost of carrying out our own elections. As multiple people listed at the meeting, there would be unknown costs for voting machine, training to run the voting machines, security consultants, software updates, most likely lawsuits from private citizens and California State. Plus the initial pricetag of $369,928 - $459,628 to put amendments on the March ballot.

Please listen to the majority of HB citizens. The majority of citizens have spoken clearly that we oppose the Voter ID requirement and we oppose putting any of the proposed amendments on the March ballot.

Thank you,

Susan Turner
1 Moore, Tania
From: Jessamyn Garner <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 8:32 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: Oppose city council agenda items 19 & 20
Hello, city council members and Mayor Strickland.

I'm writing to oppose items 19 and 20 on the agenda for the city council meeting on 10/17. See my comments below.

Agenda item 19: These proposals would cost residents and taxpayers over $500,000 to put them up for a vote in March.

In addition to the initial cost of getting these Charter amendments on the ballot, it will cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars more if they’re passed. And I don’t just mean implementation costs (which have yet to be defined). You see, California Attorney General Rob Bonta already warned y’all that voter ID laws and ballot box monitoring go against existing voting laws. And he has already demonstrated that he’s willing to sue when this city violates the law. Not only will that lawsuit cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and Mr.

Gate’s salary, but when we lose the lawsuit because this Charter amendment is clearly illegal, we will be on the hook for the legal fees of the state as well. So there go another several hundred thousand of our tax dollars down the drain.

While this is all going down, keep in mind that voting rates will go down even further than they were when less than 35% of HB voters put Mayor Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Van Der Mark, and city council members McKeon and Burns into office.

Voter ID laws and other voter suppression tactics including ballot box monitoring disproportionately affect voters with marginalized identities, especially Black Americans. In fact, these policies can be traced directly back to Jim Crow laws, when suppressing the Black vote was more explicit than is legal to express today. Voters with other marginalized identities are also disproportionately impacted by these policies, including Indigenous people, low-income residents, and elderly voters. College students are also affected.

Voter ID laws and ballot box monitoring are solutions in search of a problem. Voter fraud is extremely rare and these tactics have not proven to deter the few times it has occurred.

This proposal is unnecessary and expensive. And it’s not what Huntington Beach residents want. We’ve told you over and over again during the last several weeks at the special meetings you’ve held. We’ve told you over and over again via email. It’s time for you to listen.

We want responsible government. We want a city council that keeps our city running, that makes sound financial decisions, and that takes our tax dollars seriously. Don’t throw our money away just because four of you are afraid of democracy.

Agenda item 20: I’ve already expressed my opposition to book access restrictions (aka book bans). And so did several hundred residents, librarians, educators, parents, and students. But here we are again. Because you didn’t listen to your constituents when we told you hundreds of times that we don’t want you to be involved in choosing which books belong in our libraries.

In Huntington Beach, we trust parents. Parents often make wildly different decisions for their families than their peers. Informed by values, experience, faith, and other factors, parents are full‐grown adults who have offspring that
they have the authority to raise in a way of their choosing. These full‐grown adults make decisions every day about how 2 to raise their kids, including what kind of media they’re comfortable with their kids being exposed to. It’s super weird that you want to get in the middle of those personal decisions. And it’s super weird that you don’t trust your fellow parents to make decisions about their own families without y’all getting in the middle.

In Huntington Beach, we trust librarians. Librarians go through rigorous coursework and must complete a master’s degree in Library and Information Science or Library Science. In addition to coursework, they must complete a research project and/or a practicum or internship to understand the applications of what they learn in class. Once in their
positions in our local libraries, they apply strong selection criteria to make informed decisions about which books to source for their community.

There are already robust processes in place to determine which books our libraries carry and which sections they should be placed in. There
is also a review process that anyone from the community can engage in if they are concerned about a particular book in a particular section of the library. Our very own Mayor Pro Tem engaged in this process, and it worked. She had a concern about one of the books in our library. She raised her concern, it was addressed by librarians and administrators, and the book was moved to a more appropriate section. This process is sufficient and does not need to be revised or augmented.

Why do we need a new commission to make decisions for individuals and families across this diverse city of over 200,000 people? Who would those people be? How would they be chosen? Who would choose them?

Your constituents do not want elected officials involved in deciding which books belong in our libraries. We do not want you to make decisions about what materials we
and our children have access to. And we certainly don’t need a commission of random people to make those decisions for us.

Get your nose out of our business and let us make our own decisions about what books we read.

Thank you and I'll see you at the meeting.

‐‐
Jessamyn Garner
1 Moore, Tania
From: Michael Turner <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 8:36 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Opposition to Voter ID Requirement

City Council Members,

I oppose the proposed Voter ID Requirement amendment. The OC Registrar of Voters has the experience and the voting machines. Huntington Beach has neither. The cost to change to city run elections is unknown. As a taxpayer, I do not want to add costs to our city budget to fix something that is not broken. We have plenty of other issues that we could be spending that money on such as food and housing security.

Thank you,

Mike Turner
1 Moore, Tania
From: Deborah Addy <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:09 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Charter Amendments and Book Banning Resolution Dear Huntington Beach City Council,
I am a long time resident and property owner in Huntington Beach. I would like to state my opposition to the rush to get the three Charter Amendments on the ballot March of 2024. There is no reason to spend additional money to push these amendments forward when they can be put on the November 2024 ballot. The only reason I can see that anyone wants this pushed ahead is that there is a measure that creates voter intimidation, and this is a way to disrupt the 2024 November election. The Voter ID Requirement measure is not only voter intimidation, it will also impact Huntington Beach financially in lawsuits that will inevitably occur when legality of the measure is contested, plus it would force Huntington Beach to have to run its own elections when California has a perfectly good, clean, and effective system in place for the whole state.

I’m also appalled at the attempt to turn Huntington Beach into a book banning city. No matter how this resolution is worded, it is a clear attempt to ban books. Our librarians have to have a Masters degree in Library Science to be able to hold the job. They do not need supervision to keep our libraries safe for our children. If a particular book is considered by a parent (or anyone in fact) to be inappropriate there is a system in which that book will be reviewed. To have a small group of people make decisions to control what books end up in our libraries is ludicrous and insulting to the professionals that now run the libraries. To even consider that sexually explicit material is widely available to children is a lie. Per Resolution No. 2023-41: “The City Council has observed that there are some children's books and other materials in the City's libraries that contain sexual writings, explicit sexual references, explicit sexual images, and other sexual content”. Please post a list of these offensive titles and where and when these books were found. I grew up in Huntington Beach libraries and never did I find pornographic books in the children’s section.

Stop trying to turn Huntington Beach into a restrictive city. We are a city of freedom and inclusivity.

Let’s keep it that way.

Thank you for your time,
Deborah Addy
1 Moore, Tania
From: Diane <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:26 PM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Oppose Item #19
I strongly oppose item #19 for a multitude of reasons. The first reason is the enormous known and unknown expense. We know it will cost several hundred thousand dollars to put these charter amendments on the March 2024 ballot, but with implementation dates in 2026, there is no reason the election could not be delayed to the November 2024 ballot in order to save HB taxpayers about 90% of that cost. We already know that the state, as well as other organizations, are poised to sue the city if these charter amendments are passed by the electorate. We have no idea how much those lawsuits will cost.

If the first charter amendment were to pass, stating that Voter ID "may" be required and ballot box monitoring "may" be required in HB, it is very likely going to require HB to run its own municipal elections. We have no idea how much it will cost to run an election, but costs would include purchasing voting machines and tabulation machines, storing and maintaining those machines, renting polling places, training and paying people to staff the polling locations, training staff to use and maintain the machines, etc.

The second reason I oppose this item is Casey McKeon's magic word "may"!!! Who will decide if and when Voter ID will be required? Will the poll worker decide based on someone's looks? Will the city council decide based on whether requiring Voter ID might influence the outcome of an election to help their buddies? Will it be a financial decision, so Voter ID is only required in years when the city can afford it? Mr. McKeon proposed using the word "may" instead of "shall" to allow for flexibility to be able to "test" this idea. That is simply absurd! The city charter is a foundational document and should only be changed for sound and permanent reasons. "Testing" an idea is not a good reason to change the charter.

The third reason I oppose this item is for the restrictions it will place on future councils to fly special flags on the city poles. Months ago, when the flag ordinance was considered, many of us warned that the restrictive ordinance would be a problem if the city were to be awarded the 2028 Olympics surf competition, but the zealots on the council were not concerned and forged ahead. Now, as they propose making their flag ban even stronger, they've realized that they should have included the Olympics flag in their list of approved flags. We warned of other flags the city may want to fly for various reasons, but this proposed amendment will only allow another flag if there is a unanimous vote of the council. There has NEVER been a requirement for ANY item to pass with a unanimous vote, even for the most consequential decisions a council must make.

Please stop wasting time and money and finally reject this item. 2 Sincerely,
Diane James

1 Moore, Tania
From: Anthony Daus <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:30 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF)
Subject: Opposition to City Charter Amendments
I am writing to express my sincere opposition to the proposed amendments to the City Charter. They are unnecessary and will cost the City of Huntington Beach money. Particularly the amendments to the municipal voting requirements. Pushing this through and placing it on the ballot will cost extra money as well. The flag amendment is unnecessary too. There is already an ordinance!

Use some common sense for a change!!

Tony Daus
28 year resident of Hintington Beach

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S10, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone

1 Moore, Tania
From: Tim Channel <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:03 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: Citizen Comments on Agenda for City Council Meeting for 10/17/2023 Huntington Beach Council Members,

I am a 35 year resident and homeowner in Huntington Beach with grave concerns about the future of our fine city due to the despicable behavior of our city council members Strickland, Van de Mark, McKeon, and Burns.

The pretense of PRETENDING TO LISTEN to in-session public comments is reprehensible. The disdain for the citizens of Huntington Beach is proven over and over again at every City Council meeting. If your intent is to draw attention to our city you have succeeded as YOU are turning our great city into the laughing stock of the entire country.

I do want to THANK YOU for your ineptitude and obvious self-serving agenda as it has motivated myself and many others to become more participatory in city politics.

That being said, I am STRONGLY OPPOSED to the following:

1. 23-871 Consider the submission of three Charter amendment ballot measures for voter approval at the March 5, 2024 Statewide Primary Election and the adoption of Resolution Nos. 2023-42, 2023-43, 2023-44, and 2023-45

Reasons:

(a) This appears to be an attempt to sneak these charter amendments past the voters in an election you are hoping is poorly participated in. Do you believe in Democracy? Do you respect the voters of this city (or only some of them)? Wasting my tax dollars on an unnecessary city election. Why? Especially when it doesn't go into effect until 2026? What is the rush?

(b) What problems are you trying to solve? It appears to be a pretend solution to a made up problem. What is the rush? There no evidence of any kind of voter fraud in elections administered by the Orange County Registrar.

I am also STRONGLY OPPOSED to the following:

2. 23-871 Review of Councilmember Item 25-532 - Selection, Display, and Circulation of Library Books and Other Material within Huntington Beach Public Libraries

Reasons:

2 (a) I have been a patron of HPBL since I moved here. I took my children to HBPL Story Time almost every Saturday morning where they were allowed to peruse the Children’s Section under my supervision. PORNOGRAPHY in the Childrens Section at HBPL DOES NOT EXIST! You made this up!
(b) It appears as if you are trying to lead the bandwagon by “leading the charge” on this ridiculously untrue made-up problem. I am quite sure it is to further your own personal agenda of appearing to be a Protector of Children. What is next? Banning Harry Potter else the children become real sorcerers and creating magic spells? (c) The HBPL staff doesn’t want or need this added work load and expense to accommodate your aspirational goals of becoming leaders of some cult endeavor to “police morality”.

I also want to express my appreciation for distinguished City Council Members Kalmick, Moser, and Bolton for their strength and fortitude in enduring the persistent attacks and dis-respect from the other council members.

In closing, I do hope you will VOTE AGAINST these items as they have no benefit to our city and are a complete waste of time and money. Also, please do not tell me I am mis-informed as I have been in the past in boiler plate response emails. Nothing could be further from the truth. You insult yourselves more than me in doing so.

Thank you for your time and consideration of these comments,

Sincerely,
Timothy Channel
Huntington Beach
e
1 Moore, Tania
From: Scott Malabarba <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:12 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: in opposition to charter amendments and library book bans

Dear HB City Council,
Council members Kalmick, Bolton, and Moser, thank you as always for your efforts.

For the others, I have a few words.

Regarding 23‐894
I neither oppose nor support this item. If the council wants to condemn a horrific terrorist attack, okay then.

But are you going to condemn the antisemitic hatred that continues to plague Huntington Beach, such as that spoken at the June council meeting by supporters of Mayor Pro Tem Van Der Mark? And did you not just dismantle the statement of human dignity that was created to oppose such hate?
This resolution is obviously insincere and capitalizes on the deaths of thousands of people to drive your weird culture war.

In opposition to 23‐871
Much has been said about these proposed amendments, and after four rounds of special meetings I have little to add.

But let's review:

Inflammatory culture war triggers deceptively bundled with innocuous‐looking procedural changes that enable nepotism and corruption.

Ridiculous rhetoric about non‐existent voter fraud, expensive and illegal election procedures, and blatant voter suppression.

Flag restrictions clearly driven by hatred of queer people.

A mysterious and expensive push to get these items on the special election instead of just waiting for November.

Frequent, abrupt text changes and council meeting procedure irregularities.

Sweeping charter changes proposed by a group that campaigned against charter changes.

The re‐introduction of the very changes this group campaigned against.

Charter changes that take away from future councils the choices that this one made the moment you were elected. 2 What's the takeaway? Again, insincerity. Even the people who voted for you can't trust you, because you're manipulating them to give yourselves more power.

In opposition to 23‐878 and 23‐879
The attacks on the library and its staff were always gross, reckless, and in bad faith.

Deliberately exposing children to pornography ‐‐ or "infecting" them with it, in your words, is a serious crime. If there were any real suspicion of this, the police would be involved. So you don't really think that is going on at the library. If you did, the proposed measures would be completely inadequate.

You continue to insist that you aren't banning or censoring books, while simultaneously proposing to do exactly that.

Now you've proposed an entire board of censors, appointed by yourselves with no qualifications for the role. In fact you'll be challenged to find anyone knowledgeable about libraries or children's books for your censor board, because we all think it's an abomination and want no part of it.

You talk about "sexual content" and "obscenity" when it's clear that what you mean is "queer people". Even your supporters get that much ‐‐ they made their hatred clear at the nightmarish June meeting.

We all know who's next on your hit list. Once you're done erasing queer people from the library and making it harder for young people to learn how their own bodies work, you'll go after books by or about people of color, books that touch on racism or misogyny, books that attempt to tell an honest history of the United States. Because "CRT".

You talk about parental choice. Yet all you propose to do is take away choice. Parents who want to follow their children around the library and choose books for them can do that right now. Parents who want to monitor every book their child checks out can do that right now. Parents who want to sit next to the aquarium with their preschooler while letting their eleven‐year‐old browse the middle school section will not be able to, because you don't think they should have that choice.

Across town, Barnes and Noble has the same books on display, with no age restrictions. If you were at all sincere, you'd make an ordinance restricting how commercial bookstores stock and display their wares, because that would be necessary to "protect" children from the "pornography" sold there. But you won't, because a) Barnes and Noble would sue you into oblivion and b) you're not sincere.

Children are in fact threatened by exposure to pornography (the real kind, not books with gay people in them), to sexual predators (real ones, not people who disagree with you), to violent and extremist content, to peer bullying and other harmful influences ‐‐ on social media. We know that you know how vile and how readily available this content is (since one of your number, infamously, kept a collection of it for "research"). Yet you pretend that the internet doesn't exist, and instead of supporting the educators who teach children how to keep themselves safe online, you terrorize them.

The four of you are undoubtedly going to vote for the charter amendments and library nonsense no matter what your constituents have to say. Tomorrow's council meeting is going to be a trench war. And it won't end there ‐‐ you have a long
and bitter road to walk before these horrible ideas are made real. I can't imagine why you put yourselves or the city through this.

Sincerely,
Scott Malabarba
HB resident
3 1
Moore, Tania
From: MARILYN Boehm <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Opposition to special election in March 2024 for the purpose of amending the City Charter I am STRONGLY opposed to Item #23‐871 which would amend our City Charter. Why is this necessary? What is the rush? Does our City need to spend approximately $460,000 to rush through a poorly worded and ill‐thought‐out resolution that may indeed include illegal protocols?
These four new City Council members ran on a platform alleging that they would NOT amend the City Charter. Why this sudden turn about so soon in their terms of office? There is something fishy and wrong about this action, and I ask that it be postponed until the general election in November 2024.

Marilyn Boehm, HB resident
1 Moore, Tania
From: J C <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:46 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF)
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: 10-17-23 City Council Meeting, 6pm
Agenda Item 19

I COMPLETELY SUPPORT the potential Charter Amendments to be considered for the March 5, 2024 Statewide Primary Election.

Measure No. 1, I support Voter ID for elections, more in‐person voting locations and monitoring of drop boxes.

Measure No. 2, I support the proposed display
of flags

I would like to suggest that in the proposed ballot language you add “the California State Flag”.

I realize the actual Charter Amendment states “the California State Flag”, but most people wouldn’t bother to look that up.

Measure No. 3, I support the Biennial Budget and all
other proposed Amendment Changes.

No doubt, the small group of haters will be attending this meeting……..again……..

They love to state that they are the majority, which is laughable…….

They DO NOT represent the 200,000 residents of Huntington Beach.

Jean Cloyd
resident of Huntington Beach

1 Moore, Tania
From: Celeste Rybicki <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:47 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: So many no’s for Tuesday’s meeting (items 19, 20, 21) Dear City Council Members,

I pray that this does not fall on deaf ears, but can you just DELAY THE AMENDMENTS VOTE to the general election??? If it saves us something like 90% of the cost to put it on the ballot and doesn’t actually delay the implementation of anything, this
seems like a no‐brainer. Regardless of how I (and so many HB residents, seemingly a VAST majority) feel about the amendments themselves, (ie: the moves to combat “voter fraud” will more likely serve to impede or prevent legally registered and qualified citizens from voting. “Monitored” ballot boxes reeks of voter intimidation. Most of the proposed amendment No. 1 are likely to bring more lawsuits to our city as well. Amendment no. 2 regarding the flag policy has already had to be amended to include the Olympic flag and already seemingly ignored by flying multiple flags at the pier during the airshow. There’s no need for this to be in the charter other than to take a dig at the pride flag and all the marginalized groups it stands for.) but regardless of how the public will vote … there is clear and blatant practical reasoning to save these for the general election.

Item 20 is just another slap in the face of Huntington Beach citizens. I don’t understand why you’ve argued time and time again over what you think you should let the voters decide and then completely disregard the public opinion on what you’re doing to OUR library. If it looks like a ban and it quacks like a ban, it’s a book ban! You’re looking to restrict access to books already in our libraries and to prevent the librarians from acquiring new books to the collection. It’s a book ban. Gracey and Gates pretended to take 5 months to discuss and research and then ignored all staff’s recommendations to bulldoze through their book ban. And just to make a point: the most prevalent argument in favor on Twitter is that adults are forcing porn on children. Obviously that is not what is actually happening at any of our branches, there have been no such complaints (no books appropriateness have even been questioned this year.) Even if you were trying to prevent that “grooming” this book ban wouldn’t stop it. Adults (the alleged pedophiles) can access any books they like and then present them to children off library grounds. Only now, we’ll have a generation of children who may have no knowledge of human anatomy or healthy relationships and little language to be able to alert to a safe trusted adult what is happening.

But these books aren’t sexualizing children and this ban isn’t protecting anyone. What it will do is remove windows and mirrors for our kids. The kid with two moms or a gay grandpa won’t get to read stories about other kids like them. A city of kids who will grow up thinking anything outside their family (or that one church everyone in the majority goes to) views is not normal and should be othered, feared, hated. A city with a censored library system is not a city I want to raise my children in. Leave our books alone.

And lastly, Mrs. VanDerMark’s resolution to pledge our support to Israel may have had the best of intentions last week but in light of all that has happened since, it may now be construed as support for the genocide of Palestinians. And for someone who needed to research a list of YouTube videos to verify that the Holocaust actually happened, I’m surprised she wants to jump so quickly to a blanket statement about such a complicated and controversial geopolitical conflict.

While she is vague in what she supports the Israeli government doing, she’s specific when mentioning unconfirmed (and in fact disputed) details of what she condemns. At the very least this resolution needs to be factchecked. The city should condemn the terrorist attack of the Hamas. We should show our support for the innocent Israeli civilians. We should also condemn the war crimes now being allegedly committed by the Israeli government and show our support for innocent civilians of Palestine, most of whom are children. We should call for a ceasefire, desescalation, advocate for restraint, advocate for the children ALL the children affected by these attacks. This is a horrible, heartbreaking, historically complex war. I’m just not at all comfortable with her summation of events or with the feeling that she’s using this tragedy in realtime for her own political gain or attention. 2 Celeste
1 Moore, Tania
From: Joclyn Rabbitt-Sire <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 12:16 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Agenda Items #19 and #20 for Agenda dated Oct 17, 2023 Dear Mayor and City Council Members,

I would like to voice my opposition to two items for tomorrow's meeting: #19 and #20, and ask you to vote NO on both of them.

Concerning #19, the changes being proposed to our city charter do nothing to improve life for Huntington Beach residents nor give them more rights as members of a democracy. Rather, they do the opposite. Why expend our taxpayer dollars to the tune of almost half a million dollars to place such needless measures on a ballot that only a minority of HB voters will vote on in a primary election? Please vote NO!

Concerning #20, this poorly constructed policy may look to some folks to be driven by concern for children's well‐being, but in practice will only strip both children and adults of their democratic rights, and could actually be detrimental to the mental health of many children.

It seems that some of you are using your power to insert Huntington Beach into the culture wars currently plaguing our nation. Please step back from this move by voting NO!

Both of these agenda items are cut from the cloth of autocracy and are dangerous to our democracy. Our city is a
microcosm of the nation in its current polarized state, and the more you assert measures that lean toward autocracy, the more polarized we become as a community. Huntington Beach is being noticed by other communities, not for our beautiful parks and beaches, but because of the strife being needlessly created. Is that how you would like our city to be known?

Thank you for your consideration, and PLEASE vote NO on #19 and #20.

Sincerely,

Joclyn Rabbitt‐Sire
Resident of SE Huntington Beach

1 Moore, Tania
From: StarsStripes <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 12:36 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF)
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: 10-17-23 City Council Meeting, 6pm
Agenda Item 19

I do support the Charter Amendments being considered for the March 5, 2024 state wide Primary ElecƟon.

Measure #1
I support:
 Voter ID for elecƟons,
 More in person voƟng locaƟons
 Monitoring of drop boxes.

Measure #2
I Support:
 Proposed display of ﬂags

Measure #3
I support :
 The Biennial Budget
 All other proposed Amendment Changes

Robert Cloyd
HunƟngton Beach Resident
1 Moore, Tania
From: Bixby <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 5:24 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: I object to a special election and feel these ballot issues can wait until November of 2024's general election.

I object to a special election and feel these ballot issues can wait until November of 2024's general election.

Sent from Mail for Windows

1 Moore, Tania
From: Kathy McGuire <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 6:38 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Agenda item #19
I am against Agenda item #19. The city charter works well as it is. We don't need changes that are expensive (especially with recent budget cuts to city services) and will likely lead to expensive law suits.

Thank you,
Kathy McGuire
1 Moore, Tania
From: Dana Lee <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 7:48 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Reject Items 19 and 20
Councilmembers,

Reject Item 19. It’s a waste of taxpayer money, that will reduce voter participation.

Reject Item 20. It’s blatant, disgusting censorship.

To those councilmembers voting in favor of the above, I look forward to voting you out at the earliest opportunity, and sharing your voting record with friends and family in the community.

Thank you to Councilmembers Bolton, Moser, and Kalmick for your dedication to doing what’s best for this city.

Dana
1 Moore, Tania
From: Christina Gallup <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 7:56 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF)
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Proposed special election concern
Hello HB City Council,

As a constituent of Huntington Beach I'm writing to express my concern and opposition to the special election in March and some of the amendments proposed within.

It is a huge waste of Huntington Beach time, resources and funds to put these measures on a separate ballot in March. If the council is going to move forward with these measures please at least move them to November’s General election so they'll be a fraction of the cost.

However I would also strongly urge the counsel not to move forward with these measures. The proposed voter ID law and ballot box monitoring measure will put us up to a lot of risk and further cost as they conflict with state law. And for good reason, we already have voter identity verification processes in place, these extra measures are just harmful voter intimidation and restriction methods with no basis.

Thank you,
Christina Gallup
1 Moore, Tania
From: Debbi Parrott <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:12 AM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: charter amendments
Dear City Council,
I'm writing to let you know my strong opposition to the charter amendments

because of the absurd costs that taking control of local elections would incur as well as the fact that we have a super efficient county system with great integrity. I also oppose the flag ban which has already had impacts of emboldening
citizens to drive by my house yelling out homophobic slurs because of my pride flag. This sends a message of intolerance and is simply further hurting our city's tourism sector and public image. I also oppose the things Gracey wants to do with library books. There is no problem, we have amazing librarians, and this is a fake culture war with the illusion of protecting children when the real dangers are online.
‐‐
With gratitude,
Debbi Parrott

1 Moore, Tania
From: Connie Quader <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:15 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Voter ID, Charter Amendments, Flag & Library
WHY NOW???

These are NOT pressing issues for HB!!

We need you to address & try to solve these problems, just to name a few. Homelessness, camping on our streets.

Infrastructure & repairing our roads. We need a larger police force.

You’ve created unnecessary problems that already have answers in place! The answers you propose will cost the city
millions of dollars! It’s OUR MONEY you’re wasting on frivolous ideas that already have answers in place.

It truly seems as though the majority of the city council are completely ignoring the majority of Huntington Beach citizens!

It’s very frustrating, being
a 44 year resident of Huntington Beach when a small minority of people are pushing their own personal agendas on the majority of residents!

Connie Quader

1 Moore, Tania
From: Andrissa Dominguez <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:16 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Everything
First... since the meetings have been unlawfully moved to Tuesdays it prevents many from going ( conflicts with surf city nights) but I feel that was the plan from our last council.

Second.... book banning or whatever it is being called... hmmmm limiting sexualized content in the children's library accessible by
minors. Is it still available? ..yes just like playboy or other sexualized magazine or reading materials BUT are covered / behind the counter. Why Dan Kalmick, Natalie Moser, Rhonda Bolton do you have a problem with this protection of children consistent with other rules we as a society deal with.

Third... voter ID... how is that suppressing the vote... please tell us who has ever suffered from Voter suppression because of lack of ID.??? DO you actually know any person who has been prevented from voting because they have to show ID. You have to show ID to buy cigarettes and alcohol. You must present an ID for travel. You must present an ID for a job. Think about it.... Dan kalmick , Natalie Moser, Rhonda Bolton WE ALL KNOW you have taken partisan positions that do not make sense in Huntington Beach. Also let me remind you ... city council is a non partisan position. STOP following the narrative that is ruining our country.

Time to protect Huntington Beach and our Residents.

Vote YES to ban perverted materials from children's reach without parents permission

Vote YES on Voter ID

MOVE the meetings BACK to MONDAYS like it SHOULD BE.

Thank you...

Andrissa Dominguez
714 369 3107
1 Moore, Tania
From: ann inman <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:21 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: HB City Council meeting
I object to a special election and feel these ballot issues can wait until the November 2024's general election.

I object to the voter ID voter requirement.

I object to banning books in the library. Far worse is at our children's fingertips on the internet

I object to restricting flags flown in the city.

Ann Gaylord
HB Resident

1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:26 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: HB City Council meeting

From: ann inman <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:24 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: HB City Council meeting

I object to a special election and feel these ballot issues can wait until the November 2024's general election.

I object to the voter ID voter requirement.

I object to banning books in the library. Far worse is at our children's fingertips on the internet

I object to restricting flags flown in the city.

Ann Gaylord
HB Resident

1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:26 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Voter ID, Charter Amendments, Flag & Library

From: Connie Quader <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:18 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Voter ID, Charter Amendments, Flag & Library

WHY NOW???

These are NOT pressing issues for HB!!

We need you to address & try to solve these problems, just to name a few. Homelessness, camping on our streets. Infrastructure & repairing our roads. We need a larger police force.

You’ve created unnecessary problems that already have answers in place! The answers you propose will cost the city millions of dollars! It’s OUR MONEY you’re wasting on frivolous ideas that already have answers in place.

It truly seems as though the majority of the city council are completely ignoring the majority of Huntington Beach citizens!

It’s very frustrating, being a 44 year resident of Huntington Beach when a small minority of people are pushing their own personal agendas on the majority of residents!

Connie Quader
1 Moore, Tania
From: Paula Schaefer <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:28 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: NO on Agenda Item # 19 (23-871) - WASTE of TAXPAYER FUNDS Mayor and City Council Members:

I've attended 2 of the 4 public hearings and have reviewed the materials presented at prior City Council meetings on these topics and urge you to VOTE NO on each of the 4 resolutions contained in Agenda Item # 19 (23‐871).

1. The overwhelming public
opinion at the meetings and the communications provided to you is STRONGLY against these proposed changes to the City Charter, in particular the voting identification requirements. Listen to the residents and read their communications to you and you will hear and see that these measures do NOT have the support of the majority of HB residents. HB residents see the voter ID issue for what it truly is ‐ a waste of taxpayer money for political grandstanding.

2. Why add a flag flying requirement to the City Charter. Haven't you learned that modifying an ordinance is easier than the Charter ‐ you've already modified your ordinance that was adopted mere months ago? Again ‐ more political grandstanding.

3. The proposed "clean‐up" of language in the 3rd ballot measure includes important budgeting practices that have received little or no attention. The Charter is intended to be a broad structural arrangement to conduct the City's business ‐ it is a policy document, not a task list. Including detailed budget requirements will only result in complicated procedures necessitated to avoid more Charter amendments.

4. These proposed amendments are not urgent matters that cannot wait until the November 2024 election and IF these resolutions are approved and placed on the March 2024 ballot, you are wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer funds that could be spent on necessary City services.

It is obvious that the voter ID issue and the flag issue are only proposed as more of the newly‐elected majority's (F4) appeal to the MAGA base. This is another example of its ongoing efforts to promote culture wedge issues rather than attempting to govern the City. Continuing to state that the voter ID issue is important to foster confidence in elections is ONLY necessary because the F4
continue to imply there is reason to lack confidence in the City and the County's elections. If you really want to improve voter confidence in local elections, why don't you do your homework and learn the procedures of the OC Registrar of Voters office?
Then, homework done, arrange tours of the OC ROV's office for those who don't believe that the local elections are conducted objectively and fairly by qualified professionals.

Understanding the fundamentals of the election processes and then passing along accurate information to others would be a much better use of your time than continuing to spread misinformation and stoke fear and lack of trust in these fundamental governmental processes
that are being done professionally.

Stop the political grandstanding and start governing.

Paula A. Schaefer, HB resident

2 ‐‐
Paula Schaefer
1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Agenda items 19 and 20

From: Jean Bogen <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:12 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Agenda items 19 and 20

Dear council members:

I have been a tax-paying citizen of Huntington Beach since 1965. This is the first council that has had more citizen input on how we spend our taxes and on how we treat our fellow citizens, AND turns a deaf ear every time!
Will tonight be any different?

With a yes vote on 19 we will be embroiled in law suits, and we may end up running our own elections which will waste our taxpayer dollars.

Why do you need unanimous vote to fly a different flag? There has never been a unanimous rule on anything!

Regarding agenda item 20: we have a library
staff that is and always has been quite capable of choosing books for us. We don’t need a review board made up of our city council’s friends.

Please vote a resounding NO on these agenda items.

Thank you,
Jean E. Bogen
1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:32 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Meeting

From: Brandi Desso <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 7:37 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Meeting

Good morning,

My name is Brandi Desso Wertheimer and I am a citizen of Huntington Beach and proud parent of my two children. I am writing to show my support for amendments 19, 20 and 21. Anything to do with protecting our children is our duty. My full support.

Thank you,

Brandi Desso Wertheimer

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
1 Moore, Tania
From: Maureen Bekins <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:33 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: Oppose Agenda Item 19, City Charter Changes, on October 17, 2023 Agenda City Council Members and City AƩorney,

I am strongly opposed to the city charter changes proposed by this City Council, I believe they’re ill conceived. These are not items that a majority of the ciƟzens of this City want to see enacted. AŌer listening to the public and council discussion over these last weeks, and reading the supplemental communicaƟon, I really wonder just how many people within our city want these charter changes? Certainly not the majority of ciƟzenry. Once again it appears the few are dominaƟng what the majority will have to live with. And it also seems to me that the Council is aƩempƟng to slide these changes through by placing on the primary elecƟon ballot in March, which generally has a lower voter turnout. Why not wait unƟl the general elecƟon for a larger populaƟon of our ciƟzens to have a beƩer gage of what the majority wants for our City?

Please vote no on the City Charter Changes.

I am a 45‐year homeowner in this City and I’ve never been more disturbed by what the City Council is doing to our City.

Maureen Bekins
5752 Woodboro Drive
HunƟngton Beach, CA 92649

1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:39 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Upcoming City Council Vote

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Richard Rudolph <rrudolph@rcaƩorneys.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 6:50 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Upcoming City Council Vote

1. Stop your book ban. Stop acƟng like the Nazis.

2. Stop trying to put up barriers to people voƟng.

HB does not have a problem with its elecƟons, so stop creaƟng a ﬁcƟƟous problem to cure by making it harder for people to exercise their consƟtuƟonal rights.

3. Stop bringing us your culture wars. We don’t want them here you MAGA fascists.

Richard Rudolph
30+ yr HB resident

Sent from my mobile device.
1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:39 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Tonight’s meeting

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Linda Rose <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 6:46 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Tonight’s meeƟng

Dear council members,

1. Why are you overriding parents with a commiƩee to decide what children can read? You object to the state telling us
to proceed with a housing element yet you are telling parents how to monitor their own children? Did you do a poor job raising your own children so you must intercede parents? How many of you have a masters degree in library science? I trust librarians and parents, why don’t you?

2. Where is your regard for educaƟon? The city clerk has major and important responsibiliƟes. Why reduce the qualiﬁcaƟons to fulﬁll this posiƟon?

3. A special elecƟon in March to change the voƟng rules ? Why? Has there been fraud in our city in the past? This will this inƟmidate voters and cost taxpayers about $500,000. That money could be spent more wisely on a housing element! Please Listen to the ciƟzens in HB!
Linda Rose (40 year homeowner in HB).

Sent from my iPad

1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:40 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Agenda item #19

From: Kathy McGuire <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 6:39 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Agenda item #19

I am against Agenda item #19. The city charter works well as it is. We don't need changes that are expensive (especially with recent budget cuts to city services) and will likely lead to expensive law suits.

Thank you,
Kathy McGuire
1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:41 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: I object to a special election and feel these ballot issues can wait until November of 2024's general election.

From: Bixby <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 5:25 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: I object to a special election and feel these ballot issues can wait until November of 2024's general election.

I object to a special election and feel these ballot issues can wait until November of 2024's general election.

Sent from Mail for Windows

1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:41 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Agenda items 19-21 on 10/17/23

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Kathey <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 1:08 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Agenda items 19‐21 on 10/17/23

Mayor Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Van Der Mark and members of the City Council:

I fully support the passage of Agenda items
19, 20 and 21.

Regarding Agenda item 19: the council has held several sessions with input from the public. The council has ample Ɵme to consider that input as well that from their many discussions. The majority of the council has determined that it is now Ɵme for all the
voters of HunƟngton Beach to weigh in. And as Mayor Strickland has so correctly pointed out, there will be fewer proposiƟons on the primary ballot, thereby giving these amendments more signiﬁcance to the voters. For the criƟcs who state that there are fewer voters in primary elecƟons, perhaps the inclusion of the charter amendments will bring out more voters. Please vote yes on Agenda item 19.

Regarding Agenda Item 20: Contrary to the lies being perpetrated by the opposiƟon to this resoluƟon, this is NOT book banning!!! Rather this resoluƟon will allow for the relocaƟon to a more secure area, sexual materials, many of which are pornographic, from the children’s secƟon of the library to the adult secƟon. The Ɵme has come for responsible adults to step up and protect children from inappropriate materials. The fact that these materials are currently readily available in the children secƟon is proof that the librarians are not the appropriate people to safeguard our children! As a parent, I ﬁnd it incredible that any reasonable adult would be opposed to this resoluƟon! Vote yes on Agenda item 20!

Regarding Agenda Item 21:

I fully support expressing support for Israel, condemning the barbaric aƩacks by the terrorist group Hamas and sympathizing with Israelis suﬀering at the hands of Hamas. I believe the part about calling for an immediate end to the war is inappropriate and should be removed.

Thank you for your
service to the city of HunƟngton Beach.

Sincerely,
Kathey Haas
50 year home owner and resident of HunƟngton Beach

Sent from my iPhone
1 Moore, Tania
From: Levin, Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:43 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Voting

From: Diane Amendola <diane@sandy‐paws.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:42 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Voting

For the Official Record

Dear Mayor and Council Members:

As a resident, tax payer and voter in Huntington Beach. I do NOT support the city taking over voting in Huntington Beach. We have no history of ANY shenanigans or fraud related to voting in our city unless it's in someone's fantasy world. I implore you to stop this nonsense. I've voted here for decades and always find voting time is meeting old friends and neighbors at our polling places. It works fine, whoever is filling your ears with this is lying. The county is doing a fine job.

Sincerely,
Mary Amendola
20251 Cape Cottage Lane
Huntington Beach
92646
Get Outlook for iOS
1 Moore, Tania
From: Mary Ann Celinder <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:48 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Cc: [email protected]
Subject: voter id
We are opposed to the charter amendments regarding changes to our voting rights.

Voter ID is a way to suppress votes. The Pro Tem's video was a joke. Being a minority does not make her any kind of authority.

Running our own election would be a very unnecessary expense to fix something that is not broken. The way
elections are now run by the OC registrar is impressive. fraud is not an issue.

This is wrong on so many levels, but if put to a vote, do not place it on an expensive special election ballot. It deserves the attention of more voters in the general.

Mary Ann Celinder
Celinder's Glass Design
21341 Fleet Lane
Huntington Beach Ca 92646

studio 714 962 8361
cell 714 504 8361

www.customleadedglass.com
1 Moore, Tania
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:54 AM
To: [email protected]; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) Cc: Jody Kyle
Subject: City Council Meeting 10/17/23 - Voter ID and Book Bans Dear City Council Members,

I am a 25 year Huntington Beach resident.

Voter ID charter amendment
I am writing to oppose proposed the Voter ID charter amendment. The Orange County Registrar of Voters conducts free, fair, secure, and safe elections. Proposing to require Voter ID in Huntington Beach elections and thereby run our own elections is costly and rife with opportunities for fraud, voter suppression, and other irregularities.

HB Library Book Ban -- Resolution 2023-41
I also write to oppose Resolution 2023-41, the Huntington Beach Library Book Ban. Once again the city council majority it try to break something that is already fixed. The Huntington Beach library already employs the highest and most professional standards when selecting age-appropriate books.

I doubt the city council majority or their proposed review board can do the same.

Council Member Var Der Mark has insisted that the resolution is not a book ban yet section 2C of the resolution states that the community parent/guardian review board can reject any book the HB library is considering adopting. By definition-rejecting a book is a book ban.

Resolution 2023-41 is government over reach by the HB city council majority. It infringes on parental rights and the rights of all HB residents. Families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what’s right for them.

This resolution is a thinly veiled attempt to ban books on gender identity, gays, and trans people. Gay people read books about heterosexuals and it does make the straight. Reading books about gayness or transsexuals is not going to make children gay or trans. What the book ban will do is ban books on safe sex, STDs, teen pregnancy, contraceptives, date rape, and sexual assault.

Restricting books containing sexual content to people over 21 years old is ridiculous. Most adults are sexually active well before 21. What the book ban will do is allow wildly inaccurate information on sexuality and identity on the internet to flourish unchecked.

The proposed "community parent/guardian review board" is fraught with problems. It essentially allows 11 people (a majority) to ban books and set community norms with no oversight and no appeal. The actual composition of the review board is also an issue. There are absolutely no personal or professional standards set for this board and no requirement that all members actually read the books they propose to ban.

Yours,
Mary Kyle
2 1
Moore, Tania
From: Juana Mueller <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:56 AM
To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Fwd: Today's Council agenda
My computer said this didn’t send?? Juana.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Juana Mueller <[email protected]>
Subject: Today's Council agenda
Date: October 17, 2023 at 8:49:10 AM PDT
To: [email protected], [email protected]

Dear Huntington Beach City council,

PLEASE, PLEASE, . . . NO to a special election to amend our City Charter. PLEASE SAVE THAT MONEY!!

NO to voter ID requirement.

NO on any interference
with Library book choices. NO book banning!!

Respectfully,
Juana Mueller.

1 Moore, Tania
From: Richard Colodny <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:56 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Subject: From a 22 year HB resident and homeowner
Council members,

I have a job which requires me to work in TusƟn unƟl 5:00 PM, so I doubt I would be able to get to tonight’s meeƟng in Ɵme to speak ahead of all the outside agitators.

I am very much against the proposed voƟng
changes. If there is any credible evidence of voter fraud, then make a case and have it prosecuted. In the absence of any exisƟng problem, this is really just voter inƟmidaƟon and it puts the city at risk of lawsuits for civil rights violaƟons. The city would lose, and it would cost us more money. The county and state systems already in place are working.

I am also very much against the proposed library censorship system. We have librarians who are trained in these tasks and are paid to do them. It seems that the council wants to take over the duƟes of parents.

I also ﬁnd it disturbing that some proposed amendments, such as which ﬂags are ﬂown, call for unanimous votes of the council. I think this is un‐democraƟc because it allows a single dissenƟng vote to dictate policy.

Respecƞully submiƩed,

Richard Colodny

Sent from my iPhone

1 Moore, Tania
From: Mary Ann Celinder <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:58 AM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); [email protected] Cc: [email protected]
Subject: flags
What a waste of time and energy to put a restriction on flying flags to support marginalized communities within our city.

It's a direct hit to the gay community.

This is wrong on so many levels, but if put to a vote, do not place it on an expensive special election ballot. It deserves the attention of more voters in the general.

I'm against any amendments calling for a unanimous vote to reverse what this majority pushes onto our city. When they are no longer the majority, those of us with some sense need to be able to reverse the damage. Our city will be scarred
and ridiculed.

Mary Ann Celinder
Celinder's Glass Design
21341 Fleet Lane
Huntington Beach Ca 92646

studio 714 962 8361
cell 714 504 8361

www.customleadedglass.com
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:41 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: special election nonsense

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: chris@theduqueƩes.net <chris@theduqueƩes.net>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:40 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: special elecƟon nonsense

My name is Dr . Chris DuqueƩe and I am a homeowner and business owner in HunƟngton Beach.

I oppose the
special elecƟon and the addiƟonal cost inherent and long term that may result from trying to clumsily introduce voter id at the city level. I myself have voted via mail as long as I have been able to because I have raised three children and work nearly every single day tending to the people of our community. Standing in line and planning my schedule around something I can do from my home safely and securely is ridiculous. There are already plenty of safeguards to sound voƟng, no need to make it more complex for our ciƟzens. On top of that, it’s going to cost a lot of money and result in expensive liƟgaƟon. UƩer . Waste. Of. Money.

I oppose ResoluƟon #2023‐41. We have librarians and parents to help make decisions about what is age appropriate content. There is no reason for a city
council member to weigh in on what books are available where in the library.

Sincerely,

Dr . Chris DuqueƩe

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:41 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Tax Payer Waste of Funds: STOP BOOK BANNING & Frivolous Voting ID Requirements

From: Cathy Engle <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 5:46 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Tax Payer Waste of Funds: STOP BOOK BANNING & Frivolous Voting ID Requirements

Dear City Council,

I am a long-time Huntington Beach resident, and I'm disturbed by the proposals that will be presented during the 10/17 meeting.

Why is the City Council getting involved in these made-up issues? Banning books and unnecessary voter ID validation will have the state suing our city and cost us thousands of dollars! This is a WASTE of taxpayer dollars.

Parents can make these choices and read materials prior to having their children check out books. We don't need the government to interfere with family decisions.

I personally trust professional librarians to make book choices and my ability to review a book for a child over the government interfering with my decisions.

Please stop wasting taxpayer dollars on frivolous proposals and address the real issues of our city, for example, the housing crisis.

Thanks for your time,
Cathy Engle
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:45 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Tuesday night councli meeting

From: VEL Straub <silverfox‐[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:27 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Tuesday night councli meeting

Dear City Council,
I'M upset to have to even wright this email.

Your new amendments are not necessary.

I live in California not Texas.

I'm 87 years old and have raised my children in CA.

The library is for knowledge for everyone doesn't matter what age.

Stop banning books. This is how our freedoms are slipping away.

Voting is another freedom we should not lose. I vote by mail who will I show my ID to?
Why are you restricting flag policy?
Our city can better spend the money then pay for a special election in March of 2024. Huntington doesn't need to run their own elections.

This council has not worked for all of the people of Huntington Beach.

Sincerely,
Velta Straub

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:45 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: 10/17/23 meeting (items #19 and #20)

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: JAMES PRESTON <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:30 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Cc: James Preston <[email protected]>
Subject: 10/17/23 meeƟng (items #19 and #20)

Dear City Council,

As a 50 year resident of HunƟngton Beach, I am disturbed by the direcƟon the majority of the council is pursuing.

Agenda item #19 seems ﬁscally irresponsible—pushing the Charter amendments to the March primary rather than the November general elecƟon presents unnecessary costs. If they were approved, they wouldn’t take eﬀect unƟl 2026—so what’s the rush to judgment for?

The restricƟve ﬂag measure just seems mean‐spirited and designed to prevent tolerant behavior or sow discord (unanimous? really? a unanimous vote?). Do YOU need a unanimous vote to pass YOUR resoluƟons?

Agenda item #20 is a conƟnuing aƩack on the library and learning. There is already a review process. The unnecessary
and ill‐considered resoluƟon ignores the library professionals in favor of installing unenlightened, non‐professionals.

Again there is already a review policy.

Lately the majority of the council seems set on making HunƟngton Beach less welcoming, less tolerant, less kind. That is unacceptable! As a voter, I do not approve of these measures.

Sincerely,
Nancy Preston

Sent from my iPad

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:47 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: City Council Meeting, Tuesday 10/17/23

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Domnic McGee <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:41 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: City Council MeeƟng, Tuesday 10/17/23

Honorable members of the City Council,
I am wriƟng to you in support of the following agenda items.

Agenda number
19‐There is no reason on Earth why anyone who is eligible to vote would not be able to obtain a legiƟmate form of idenƟﬁcaƟon. The asserƟon that people of minority groups ﬁnd it diﬃcult is insulƟng to all minoriƟes and is nothing more than the soŌ bigotry of low expectaƟons.

As an immigrant to this great naƟon, I believe that Old Glory, the state ﬂag, the city ﬂag and the POW ﬂag should be the only ﬂags ﬂown on city property. The Stars and Stripes itself is really the ulƟmate uniﬁer and expresses our naƟon’s ethic of E Pluribus Unum.

The noƟon that sexual proclivity ﬂags be hoisted on city property is both insulƟng and bizarre. Our country was founded on the Ɵmeless ethos of Judeo‐ChrisƟan morality. To switch course onto the track of a dangerous and deviant sexual zeitgeist, designed to denigrate the very fabric of our culture is really not acceptable.

This brings me on to the next topic, agenda number 20. It is our moral responsibility tp ensure our youngest, most vulnerable members of society are not exposed to, what most of the consƟtuents of HunƟngton Beach believe to be, pornography. Banning books is not acceptable, but subjecƟng children to books designed to normalize and promote sexual deviance is equally unacceptable. Even though many of these explicit books are produced for children speciﬁcally, there should be measures in place to protect our community’s children from sexually explicit and deviant material.

To close, I’d like to state my support for agenda item number 21. What Hamas did to the peaceful border communiƟes of Israel earlier this month was absolutely sickening and disturbing in the extreme.

There are many individuals, poliƟcians, groups, organizaƟons and poliƟcal causes in Orange County that are linked to Hamas and are in support of the “PalesƟnian” cause. Even the word PalesƟne has its roots in anƟsemiƟsm.

Not only do I believe that a resoluƟon in favor of our community’s support for Israel is noble and indeed brave, but I think that each of our council members should sign the declaraƟon to denounce those poliƟcally aligned to such groups as CAIR, who, as an organizaƟon, were unindicted co‐conspirators of Hamas in the Holy Land FoundaƟon for Relief and Development case.

Puƫng the charter amendments up for a vote will cost money, but it pales in signiﬁcance to the bounty that the city aƩorney’s oﬃce has won for the people of HunƟngton Beach. I believe it will be money well spent.

Sincerely,

Domnic McGee

Memento Mori

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:48 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Opposition to resolution

From: Ellen Garibaldi <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:48 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Opposition to resolution

Good evening,

I am a HB resident of 26 years and I’ve never been this civically engaged in local politics as I have been in the last year due to the number of upsetting proposals made by this city council.

I am opposed to resolution 2023-41. I do not want a review board for library books. Please let librarians do their jobs and let families decides for their own families what books to check out. As a patron of the library, I oppose the idea of a review board deciding what books I’m allowed to check out. Please listen to your constituents and these emails you receive opposing this. This resolution is not a labor of love; this is akin to censorship and taking away the choice of families to decide for themselves.

I am also opposed, as I have started in previous emails, to the proposed changes to the city charter.

Please do not make it more arduous for citizens to vote in this city.

I pray that these emails do not fall on deaf ears and that you listen to your constituents.

Thank you,
Ellen Garibaldi
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:48 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Huntington Beach Council and their Charter Amendments - here is my take...

From: Tina Ziemann <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 7:50 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org>; [email protected] Subject: Huntington Beach Council and their Charter Amendments ‐ here is my take...

I have been watching the council aka counter productive sh** shows online for weeks at night. I know of the crazy issues and agendas being pushed by some conservative members. Books, library, no flying LGBTQ flags on government buildings, pronoun language proclamations, voter ID and special charter elections. This is insane, but no one seems to be able to stop these council members. They steam roll everything even when people are coming out in and speaking in protest. It seems so frustrating and no one has an answer. They don't listen. We have been watching for weeks. Books in a public library contain sexuality, gay and lesbian language because society has gay and lesbians in it and believe it or not, people have sex and have been writing about for years...remember Harlequin romances? Why aren't they targeted? They are in the public library. Parents come to libraries and help their children pick age appropriate books, or at least they should. We don't live a nanny state. In Europe these book and library issues are non existent. Europeans celebrate Gay Day every year and no one attempts to marginalize them and pretend they don't exist. The idea of voter has been proven to be a farse. I have been voting absentee ballot for year and faithfully watch my ballot be counted through the OC Voter email notification. All of this is simply a waste of taxpayer dollars. We have more important issues such a public safety that is constantly in jeopardy. If I could do something to change and inform, I am happy to help, but these guys don't care. Seriously they don't represent anyone but themselves. The only option I see is if they can't and won't listen to what HB residents are saying, then have a recall vote and vote them out. I am a concerned resident of HB for over 30 years, a business owner and home owner. I have never written an email like this in the past and would like to see these issues dismissed permanently.

Sincerely Tina Ziemann.
1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:51 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Library books

‐‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: Joan Wood <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 8:36 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Library books

Dear Council members,
Please leave our libraries and library books alone! It’s not your bailiwick. There are safeguards in place. If you want a library
that is reﬂecƟve of our community, then allow librarians to curate books and let parents make their own choices.

Realize that a review board will not be producƟve with so many diﬀering opinions.

Lastly, the charter amendments proposed by the majority are unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money.

Thank you,
Joan Wood

Sent from my iPad

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:52 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Charter Amendments and Book Banning Resolution

From: Deborah Addy <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 9:08 PM
To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Charter Amendments and Book Banning Resolution

Dear Huntington Beach City Council,
I am a long time resident and property owner in Huntington Beach. I would like to state my opposition to the rush to get the three Charter Amendments on the ballot March of 2024. There is no reason to spend additional money to push these amendments forward when they can be put on the November 2024 ballot. The only reason I can see that anyone wants this pushed ahead is that there is a measure that creates voter intimidation, and this is a way to disrupt the 2024 November election. The Voter ID Requirement measure is not only voter intimidation, it will also impact Huntington Beach financially in lawsuits that will inevitably occur when legality of the measure is contested, plus it would force Huntington Beach to have to run its own elections when California has a perfectly good, clean, and effective system in place for the whole state.

Stop trying to turn Huntington Beach into a restrictive city. We are a city of freedom and inclusivity.

Let’s keep it that way.

Thank you for your time,
Deborah Addy

1 Moore, Tania
From: Fikes, Cathy
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 8:56 AM
To: Agenda Alerts
Subject: FW: Withdraw Agenda # 19: Charter Amendments for the March 5th Primary:

From: Pat Goodman <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 11:19 PM
To: Strickland, Tony <Tony.Strickland@surfcity‐hb.org>; CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity‐hb.org> Subject: Withdraw Agenda # 19: Charter Amendments for the March 5th Primary:

Dear Mayor Strickland and City Council Members,

Please withdraw Agenda #19 for your consideration at the October 17, 2023 City Council meeting. In general, I believe that these charter amendments are confusing and costly but most of all unnecessary. Amendment #1 is likely illegal and its validity will likely end badly for the city in a court of law.

Amendment # 1 Procedure for Holding Elections

Requiring Voter ID is redundant. We voters know that we must sign, date, write our return address on the back of our return ballot envelopes or, if we vote in person, the voter rolls. Our signature and current address is matched to your registration record on file at the Registrar of Voters office before your vote is counted. This is Voter ID. The current system works. Our elections are secure, there is no evidence of fraud or abuse.

Attorney General Bonta and Secretary of State Weber have pointed out to the city council in his September 28th letter said that they will take action to defend the election law and protect voter rights. If the council votes to approve this chater amendment on the March 5th ballot, you will have broken the law and the trust with the people of Huntington Beach.

Ther are many unanswered questions in this action and Voter ID is only one of many issues. You launch the city into so many unkowns and have put our treasury in severe jeopardy by moving this item forward, please withdraw it.

Amendment # 2 Display of Flags

This amendment should be withdrawn because it is unnecessary, and there are costs to administer it.

There is already an Flag ordinance in place. Yet you already broke it when the flags of Australia and Canada were flown at Pier Plaza during the recent air show. It's proof this action is difficult to administer. All you have to do is not approve flying specific flags as you so desire. With this amendment you really limit the council's options to fly flags on city property.

Amendment # 3 General Update of Numerous Sections

2 Please withdraw this charter amendment, put the task to a Charter Review Committee and return to you recommendations of corrections and updates to the City Charter. This amendment needs careful review.

Thank you for your consideration. I hope these commitments may convince you to withdraw this item.

Pat Goodman
Huntington Beach, CA

City Council/Public Financing AuthorityOctober 17, 2023

City Council/Public Financing Authority
October 17, 2023