Packed Huntington Beach City Council agenda includes possible censure of member

Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Natalie Moser could be censured by her colleagues on Tuesday night in City Hall.

The agenda item is one of 35 on the docket, beginning at 6 p.m., as the first council meeting in more than a month could again go into the early morning hours.

Mayor Tony Strickland and Councilmen Pat Burns and Casey McKeon brought forward the agenda item for the censure of Moser. It stems from an exchange she had with Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark near the end of the Aug. 1 meeting.

During a discussion on the city’s Declaration of Policy of Human Dignity, Moser questioned Van Der Mark’s ability to serve on an ad hoc committee related to the policy given past allegations that she was a Holocaust denier and had associations with the far-right Proud Boys group.

Van Der Mark addressed the issue during City Council public comments in May 2018 and again to the Daily Pilot in an interview on Aug. 3. She said that a since-deleted YouTube playlist had antisemitic videos sent to her by a colleague. She said she never watched the videos but was planning to question the content, not support it.

In 2018, however, the Anti-Defamation League wrote multiple letters questioning Van Der Mark’s ability to serve as a community leader. One letter asked that Van Der Mark be removed from the Ocean View School District’s Citizens Oversight Committee for Measure R due to “bigoted and hateful” comments and what the group called her participation in activities organized and led by white supremacists.

Tuesday’s censure discussion was introduced because Moser took personal and disrespectful attacks at Van Der Mark, according to the agenda item.

“This type of challenge by Moser of Van Der Mark during a City Council meeting is disruptive, inappropriate, it undermines professional decorum, and is unacceptable,” the item reads. “To that end, Councilwoman Moser should be censured by this City Council. While Councilwoman Moser has her First Amendment rights, so does this City Council.”

Moser said to the Daily Pilot in an Aug. 3 interview that she agreed with the ADL’s initial assessment, which caused her to make the comments she did from the dais.

“To me, those things are a red line, especially the Holocaust hoax piece,” Moser said. “Those associations, and that history, I think it can be seen as indicative of bias that would compromise her capacity to ensure inclusivity and respect for everyone in the community. In my mind, they undermine her suitability for the role that she was given on that ad hoc [committee], which is what I was speaking to specifically.”

Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, center, listens to public comments during a Huntington Beach City Council meeting on June 20.

(File Photo)

Charter amendments to be considered

Three possible city charter amendments will also be considered and could be sent to the voters in the statewide primary election on March 5, 2024.

The amendments were first discussed at the Aug. 1 meeting, per the recommendations of an ad hoc committee.

Amendment No. 1 deals with local election issues, including the requiring of voter identification, more in-person voting locations and monitoring of drop boxes. It would also clarify the city attorney’s role, as well as update the qualifications for city clerk, and require that alleged malfeasance by a city official be investigated by outside agencies.

Amendment No. 2 would provide that the only flags permitted on city property are the U.S., county, state, city, Armed Forces and P.O.W. flags. It would also require the city to adopt a two-year budget and move the city clerk and city treasurer positions to the gubernatorial election cycle.

Amendment No. 3 would require voter approval of any city transaction that forgives, waives or forgoes the collection of property in excess of $100,000 per year, except acquisition of property for parks and infrastructure. It would also allow certain children’s playground equipment, park-related utility structures and public restrooms be built without limitation, and update the procedures to cancel a regular City Council meeting.

Policy on Human Dignity update proposed

The council will also consider an amended Policy on Human Dignity, which was constructed by an ad hoc committee of Van Der Mark, Burns and McKeon.

The amended document is shorter than the 2021 version, at six paragraphs.

Notably, the third paragraph reads: “The city of Huntington Beach will recognize from birth the genetic differences between male and female and respect the strengths and benefits of each. Each sex carries advantages and disadvantages that warrant separation during certain activities (i.e. sports). We encourage an environment free of hostility and discourage the erasure of either gender’s separate accomplishments.”

‘No mask and no vaccine mandate’ city?

Van Der Mark introduced an item for Tuesday’s meeting asking that the city ban universal mask and vaccine mandates.

An exception to the rule would be those who have already tested positive for COVID-19, she wrote in the item, which seeks that Huntington Beach be declared a “no mask and no vaccine mandate” city.

Van Der Mark argues in the item that mask mandates imposed at City Hall and other parts of the city in 2020 and 2021 “unnecessarily limited the freedoms of the citizens of Huntington Beach — even those who were not around anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 or at risk of any exposure.”

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Orange County, according to data from the Orange County Health Care Agency, though hospitalizations remain relatively low.