Mailbag: Newsom’s housing law compliance problem

Re State sues Costa Mesa for not complying with housing law, July 16
I am growing tired of both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta gaining fame and press every time they go after a city for compliance issues.

The problem with the excessive building of homes is the lack of water, electricity, and other necessities we need to survive.

Both Newsom and Bonta will never receive my vote.

Marina McDonald
Garden Grove

A council’s smugness

Another calamity at city hall. No surprise, Huntington Beach has a city council bent on destroying the city. To balance its budget, the council uses its precious emergency funds. These funds now serve to fund frivolous lawsuits against the state. The city has lost each one.

Instead of learning from these losses, they doubled down with court appeals which they also have lost. Millions of dollars are wasted. Attacks on our public library have resulted in harassment, resignations of top librarians and fines for banning books. Then came the secretive contract to enrich the air show operator with a multi-decade contract.

Thrice in court, the city has lost battles threatening voting and fair housing. Last month, they approved serving hard liquor at a bikini bar near an elementary school over the objections of parents and educators. Months before, they approved selling wine and beer at the HB Youth Sports complex.

Smugness of the council has no limits. This week, the council, while claiming to be bipartisan and representing all the people of Huntington Beach, entertains the notion of a 7-foot-tall bronze statue of our extremely partisan president. Councilman Pat Burns calls this “awesome” and wants installation at the Patriots Plaza. This plaza honors those who have served in a branch of the U.S. military and were from Huntington Beach. Our president never served in the military, is not associated with HB, made fun of prisoners of war and has joked about soldiers being killed.

Huntington Beach is financially in desperate trouble. Residents want libraries, roads and parks repaired. Taxpayers care about our city and city functions. We want transparency and integrity. As residents, we will work to vote out of office any city council reeking of corruption, ignorance and mean spiritedness.

Nora Pedersen
Huntington Beach