Filling That Vacancy in Huntington Beach

The current dispute in Huntington Beach over the selection of a successor to the late Councilman Jack Kelly is a notable example of posturing by both pro- and anti-development forces. Each side chooses what seems to be the best arguments for its side to prevail. The Dec. 7 meeting of the City Council made for some interesting, if not unanticipated, speeches by local partisans.

What seems to have been lost along the way was the fact that this is first, last and always a political determination. Both sides of the council should be expected to press whatever advantage they may have, and rightly so.

In this case, the slow-growth, environmentally oriented members of the council are in the majority and would be remiss not to enhance their position. Certainly, if the shoe was on the other foot, you can be sure the present minority and all of its righteous followers would wend their way along the same course.

The real evil in our elective process is the indecent amount of money, laundered through out-of-town sources, which finds its way into the campaign coffers of those candidates willing to do their bidding. The numerous slick campaign pieces with which we have been inundated over the past decade or so, many containing half-truths or outright false information, so distort the political process that it should be stopped. Ironically, some of the recipients of this largess could likely have been elected without the stigma of improper contributions.

Perhaps this council will enact some additional restrictions on campaign funding which will bring this corruption of the system under better control.

For now, the losers should lick their wounds and look forward to another chance in two years. The sooner they resign themselves to defeat this time around and try to work with the new council, the better the community will be served.

Jack Kelly was a friend of mine for 14 years, and his loss will be felt by his family and friends for a long time. But the council must get on with its business.

That’s the way our democracy works, folks.

JACK GREEN

Huntington Beach