Mailbag: America’s strength in diversity

Re Apodaca: Continued support for new scientific endevors will bring life-changing advancements
The three UCI scientists mentioned who advanced the prosthetic breakthrough are Do, Heydari and Nenadic. All “foreign” names of immigrants. Draw your own conclusion.
Dr. Eberhard Neutz
(also an immigrant)
Laguna Beach

Costly censorship policies

Ten months ago, Huntington Beach voters decisively rejected the City Council’s attempt to impose political control over our public library by creating a book review board of political appointees.

Soon after, an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled that the city violated California’s Freedom to Read Act by continuing to restrict access to library books for young readers — a ruling the City Council is still appealing.

Now taxpayers are paying the price. This week, a court ordered Huntington Beach to pay nearly $1 million in attorneys fees to the ACLU and related attorneys because the City Council continues to pursue unlawful library censorship policies. Sadly, these fees will increase if the city continues to keep censoring books.

When will this madness stop?

Instead of waging costly culture wars, the City Council should focus on the real needs of Huntington Beach residents: repairing aging infrastructure, supporting public safety, developing housing, maintaining parks and beaches, and strengthening our library system.

Yet city officials continue to hide award-winning human biology and puberty books in the adult section on the fourth floor of Central Library, restricting access for middle-school and teenage readers. They have also kept 40 children’s and young adult books under review for nearly a year after complaints from the Huntington Beach Republican Women group led by Carla Dispenza Strickland, wife of former mayor and current state Sen. Tony Strickland. It should not take a year to review a children’s picture book!

During the City Council’s three-year attack on the library, two popular librarians were fired and 10 other library employees resigned. The city also made the young adult section of Central Library less appealing to teens by removing the large “Teen Central” signs in that space and by censoring a number of popular books.

The only way to end these divisive attacks on our public library, and the costly lawsuits that come with them and other issues, is new leadership. On Nov. 3, voters should elect candidates who will respect the rule of law and focus on governing, not political theater. I will be voting for Taryn Palumbo, Erin Spivey, Ben Davis and Brenda Glim.

Carol Daus
Huntington Beach

A new slate of candidates

The thrill is gone for the MAGA incumbents on the Huntington Beach City Council. Not only has their lack of transparency, accountability, competency, and respect for the greater community been exposed, but their unbridled cronyism has infuriated many of the residents who voted for them in the “change election” of 2022.

It was not enough for these extremists to foist their ideological idiocy on the citizenry and run afoul of county and state authorities over issues like housing and voter ID. It was not enough for them to bring a state audit down on the city over the suspect Pacific Airshow settlement.

They had to try and push a more than $700,000 sweetheart P.R. “branding” deal onto our taxpayers with an outfit that didn’t even have a city business license but which had City Council connections. Mayor Casey “At the Bat” McKeon struck out in his attempt to push this boondoggle to acceptance. Added to the insult was the lack of proper bidding process to begin with.

Many in the Surf City community have lost trust and confidence in these often bungling leaders and are demanding another “change election” in 2026. A new slate of City Council candidates, dubbed the Surf City 4, has emerged to challenge the incumbents. They are committed to taking the city back from the destructive and irresponsible path taken by the extremists.

They bring a wealth of leadership experience in legal, financial, administrative, organizational and nonprofit competencies to the table. They will be able to serve our residents honestly and fairly. They will be able to protect our city’s cherished institutions like our public library system.

These new candidates are Taryn Palumbo, Ben Davis, Erin Spivey, and Brenda Glim. They are all active in community activities and non-profit service.

With their election, the thrill will be restored to local government, along with transparency, accountability, and trust. They will make Huntington Beach respectable again. They deserve the support of our electorate.

Tim Geddes
Huntington Beach

The case for Porter

Katie Porter’s supporters are special people. They know that California will never have a female governor unless we do it right now. They might think highly as I do about some of the other contenders, but they know that their past use or backing from corporate or questionable sources compromises their candidacy.

Porter has never compromised on her refusal to take corporate money. That is revealing in itself.

How can California think of itself as one of the most forward leaning states if it is one of only 17 which has never elected a female governor? It sounds pretty hypocritical if we don’t take the chance to vote for one of the strongest female candidates we have ever had in California.

Porter was a famously powerful Congressional representative for Southern California for six years. Remember how she stood up to corporate leaders all the time? She would question them unmercifully, one of few government officials we have had in modern times to do so. Yes, she uses colorful language, but if there ever was a time to do so, it is now!

I hear people question her show of bad temper. You are not being asked to adopt Porter as your best friend. Because that is not what is at stake here, your social perspective. We need sincerely strong and brilliant members of Congress and state governors to stand up for us and our democratic principles and time is running out.

Besides, maybe more of us should be showing anger over our diminishing democracy.

Please don’t use a double standard when you cast your vote. It is not often that you will have the chance to vote for a Yale, Harvard graduate with a law degree from the latter, a candidate who stands up for consumers and homeowners while holding CEOs and government officials more accountable.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

The case for Steyer

There has been great anxiety that, with so many Democrats running for governor of California, two Republicans could win the June 2 primary. My suggestion to avoid this outcome is simple: vote for Tom Steyer.

Tom Steyer has over a decade of accomplishments as an activist outside the political system. He led a ballot proposition to defeat Big Oil on climate, helped pass a tobacco tax increase, closed a corporate tax loophole for out-of-state companies, and raised billions for California’s healthcare and public schools.

Nationally, he helped register more than a million young voters and led a grassroots movement calling for President Trump’s first impeachment. More recently, he led a successful effort to pass Proposition 50, which allowed California to temporarily redraw its congressional districts, countering a unilateral gerrymander by Republicans in Texas.

Skeptics are critical of his background as CEO of Farallon Capital, a hedge fund which invested in fossil fuels and private prisons. But Steyer is a billionaire of a different stripe. He left his hedge fund business 15 years ago and signed the Giving Pledge, committing to give away the majority of his accumulated wealth during his lifetime. He has since worked tirelessly for the public good.

Steyer used his wealth and skills to achieve pro-California goals, which of course benefit Orange County. He is also self-funding his campaign. As governor he hopes to build a million affordable homes, break up monopoly utilities and reduce electricity costs by 25%, fully fund public schools and make community college free, ban corporate PAC money from political campaigns, and fight for single-payer health care. Clearly, all these measures will benefit Orange County.

And finally, Steyer’s platform includes protecting our climate. While other candidates say little about it, Steyer began his post-business career as a climate activist and remains committed to mitigating climate change.

Steyer is a white male who also happens to be a billionaire. But, more important than this “same-old’” demographic, he has the track record, knowledge and commitment to make life better for everyone in Orange County as California’s next governor.

Roger Gloss
Rancho Santa Margarita

Dixon needs a map

As president of the Ocean View School District Board of Trustees, I believe residents deserve full and focused representation from the officials they elect.

State Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) was elected to serve Huntington Beach and surrounding communities. Those residents depend on her attention to critical local issues such as beach water quality, traffic, public safety and other day to day concerns that affect their quality of life.

It is concerning to see her, along with taxpayer-funded staff, spending significant time attending events outside the district she currently represents, particularly in communities where she is now seeking another elected office.

Those cities already have elected representation. The people of Assembly District 72 should not have to wonder whether their assemblymember is fully focused on the responsibilities they entrusted her with.

Public resources should serve constituents, not political ambitions. Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and Lake Forest still need their representative. Costa Mesa, Irvine and Dana Point already have theirs.

Maybe someone should show Ms. Dixon a map.

Gina Clayton-Tarvin
Huntington Beach