Mailbag: Huntington Beach’s resolution against alleged voter fraud a smokescreen

Regarding Matt Szabo’s article, “Council backs voting reforms,” in the Oct. 9 Daily Pilot, it appears the Huntington Beach City Council is once again demonstrating that when one has a task to do but does not know how to do it, he will find something else to do so he appears to be busy with something.

Elected to govern a city beset with budget issues, affordable housing issues, homeless issues and more, Mayor Pat Burns and his colleagues now busy themselves not with those issues, but with stirring up a smoke screen of alleged voter misconduct or possibly downright fraud. (What does that say about how the seven of them were elected?)

Burns says that to him, “there’s been so much question to the last several elections, and it bothers me.” I would remind the mayor that, as Szabo reports, “An Orange County Grand Jury report released in January found no evidence of fraud or interference in Orange County’s 2024 general election.”

Why does Burns reject that finding? Simply because it does not agree with his feelings? Grand juries are non-partisan groups appointed from lists of registered voters, DMV records, etc. That the report quoted comes from an Orange County grand jury, suggests that the panel was more than likely composed of citizens more aligned with Burns’ and other H.B. council members’ conservative views than opposed.

Furthermore, the Pilot’s article quotes Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page’s statement regarding the validity of Orange County’s registered voters, another report from an officially recognized office, which Burns apparently also disagrees with. So, he and his cronies bring in an anonymous spokeswoman from a hitherto unknown organization who makes broad, sweeping claims and innuendos with few, if any, actual facts or explanations of methods used in “discovery.”

All this to what purpose, Mr. Burns, if not to draw attention away from the fact that you and your colleagues do not know how or do not want to govern our city?

In today’s society, it is easy to find sources who will agree with one about nearly everything.

Also, as studies, as well as Donald Trump’s administrations have proved, a lie, repeated often enough, will be believed.

Mark Wimbish
Huntington Beach