Letter to the Editor: What happened to free speech in Huntington Beach council meetings?
Daily Pilot - Letter to the Editor
Much has been made by the far right of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and locally by the MAGA Huntington Beach City Council.
Charlie Kirk was all about free speech, and yet our city’s leaders have done their best to restrict free expression and public input into the decision-making process.
They have eliminated religious diversity at the City Council meeting invocation by alternating two white Christian public safety chaplains who invoke the name of Jesus as if no other faiths matter. They have eliminated city boards and commissions who are not directly controlled by their appointees. They have gone after our lauded library system for not caving to their ideological views. Last but not least, they have arbitrarily and capriciously restricted the time for public comments in city meetings.
Mayor Pat Burns, in the footsteps of Tony Strickland and Gracey Van Der Mark, has been the worst offender in discounting the three minutes per remarks standard without a sufficiently high volume of speakers. He did this again at the Sept. 16 City Council meeting. In my comments, I stated, “Charlie [Kirk] would have given us three minutes.”
My remarks also stated that the bullishly MAGA City Council has lost the trust and respect of a large segment of the community. I stated that the City Council needed new leaders who were not beholden to ideology and partisan special interests.
Fortunately, a new candidate for City Council introduced herself at the meeting who I believe is transparent, honest, capable and young enough (under 45) to relate to our family demographics who desperately need representation. She is nonprofit executive Taryn Palumbo. As a parent with young children, an attorney, and a non-profit leader, Palumbo has the administration background and the problem-solving skills to serve us well in Surf City. We need more like her. We desperately need change in our local government.
Charlie Kirk was famous for engaging in political discourse, especially with those who did not always agree with his views. Unlike our current local leaders, Palumbo would listen to all sides and all views. She would especially listen to young people and diverse voices in our community.
The bottom line is that we need new leaders in Huntington Beach who can help restore unity and trust in our community, and who can represent all of its citizens honestly and faithfully. We should all want that in next year’s election.
Tim Geddes
Huntington Beach