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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Meeting - Discussion of Potential Charter Amendments .... „,- 2000 Main Street, 1✓,\ iiNGro� Huntington Beach,CA g 92648 �, City of Huntington Beach �j FC II.116f•,. ,pUN',i , File #: 23-765 MEETING DATE: 9/14/2023 Discussion of Potential Charter Amendments for the March 5, 2024 Statewide Primary Election City of Huntington Beach Page 1 of 1 Printed on 9/13/2023 powered by LegistarT"" City Council/ ACTION AGENDA September 14, 2023 Public Financing Authority 6:00 PM—COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALLED TO ORDER— 6:01 pm ROLL CALL Present: Kalmick, Moser(arrived at 7:03 pm), Van Der Mark, Strickland, McKeon, Bolton Absent: Burns PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE — Led by Councilmember McKeon ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS (Received After Agenda Distribution) -Administrative Item No. 1 (31) PUBLIC COMMENTS—ROUND ONE (90-Second Time Limit)— 39 Speakers ADMINISTRATIVE ITEM 1. 23-765 DDISGUSS, Presentation of Potential Charter Amendments for the March 5, 2024 Statewide Primary Election PUBLIC COMMENTS— ROUND TWO (90-Second Time Limit) — 21 Speakers ADJOURNMENT — 8:00 PM The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Huntington Beach City Council/Public Financing Authority is Tuesday, September 19, 2023, in the Civic Center Council Chambers, 2000 Main Street, Huntington Beach, California. INTERNET ACCESS TO CITY COUNCIL/PUBLIC FINANCING AUTHORITY AGENDA AND STAFF REPORT MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE PRIOR TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AT http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov Page 2 of 2 Moore, Tania From: Chris Varga <christopher.j.varga@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 5:06 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Charter Changes 9/14/23 NO on any Charter changes. The Fascist 4 campaigned on keep no changes to the charter. Stick with that plan. No changes are needed Chris Varga Huntington Beach SUPPLEMENTAL CO AMUPUCA ION Meeting Date: /1eI/x?3 Agenda Item No.; / (eV — 7145) Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 10:21 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW:Charter Changes From:Shawn Hollub<shawnhollub16672@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday,September 12, 2023 5:02 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Charter Changes Dear Council Members, My name is Shawn Hollub. I am a HB business owner, an HB homeowner and a 30 year+resident.My family and I feel VERY strongly that the vote to change the charter should be a resounding YES!!!. This is a huge benefit for many reasons to the people lucky enough to call this beautiful city home. Only positive benefits can come from voting yes. One must question the motives of any council members that oppose amending the charter. Thank you for your time. Shawn Hollub Huntington Harbour 1 Moore, Tania From: Fikes,Cathy Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 1:15 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: City charter amendments From:Jennifer Wilson<jwilly1068@yahoo.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13, 2023 12:42 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:City charter amendments Dear Councilmember McKeon, Although this email is going to all City Council, I'm addressing you directly as you seem to be not only the most reasonable of the new members, but also the one that cares the most about this town. You're from here, have family here, are raising children here, so the future of our city matters to you. Once the Mayor has left this city behind, likely in shambles, you'll still be here to clean up the mess. Of course I'm referring to the charter amendments. After telling the community we are heading into a budget deficit, how can this council recommend spending $1.2 million on a special election for amendments that fix nothing, solve no actual problem, and are clearly unnecessary. What if they actually pass, which is highly unlikely? How much money will implementation take? Where will that money come from? I think before this council takes up issues you all should be asking yourselves what problem does this fix? So far, I haven't seen evidence that your work is solving problems. What problem did the new statement on Human Dignity fix? There was no problem there. What problem does restricting and rating books fix? The public told you there was no problem there. No parent said their child has been harmed. We have actual problems in this City and I think your focus should be on those. Do you want to be remembered as someone who creates problems or fixes actual problems? As someone who helps build this city or leaves it a bankrupt mess with a ton of lawsuits? Please live up to your potential and your care for our town. Thank you, Jennifer Wilson i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 4:36 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: General Comments Regarding Charter Amendments From: Rob Pool<rob.pool.oc@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13,2023 2:11 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Cc: Fikes,Cathy<CFikes@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:General Comments Regarding Charter Amendments Mayor Strickland and Fellow City Council Members, What conservative among us would ever agree with the notion that the U.S. Constitution be amended to preserve the salary of an elected government official or the size of a government agency? No One! Such a foolish idea would be anathema to any clear minded, principled conservative thinker. What conservative among us would ever increase the size and scope of a smaller government agency simply to make a point, and to virtue signal to their supporters? Again, no clear thinking, principled conservative. No true conservative would exchange one bad policy for another. It would not be the way to create good, principled policy. Policy built upon sand will not last the test of time. It will crumble to the ground like the careers of those who enacted said policy. But clearly the populism that has invaded our city is not based upon true conservatism. It's based upon what the Oxford Dictionary says:a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. And,while I acknowledge that many in our city have felt our concerns have not been heard for a long time,the correct approach is not to begin governing in ways that are harmful to our city simply to show constituents that their voices are now heard.And what about the voices from the other side? Do we want to enact policies that are as tone deaf to them as the policies that we felt were tone deaf to conservatives by prior city councils?Simply said, is revenge the new underlying conservative principle upon which we should base policy? I hope not. In the past, it was explained to me (possibly by our current city attorney) that the city charter should remain as a foundational document, rarely changed. It was told to me that, if we wanted standing in the state courts, it would be important to not make changes to it that would diminish the fundamental reason that it was created in the first place. That made sense to me when I voted against the charter amendments in 2022. But apparently new council majorities bring new principles. Not only is that sad, it's a fundamentally wrong way to govern. And, as someone that proclaims to follow principles over people, I cannot support the path on which some on the current city council are leading us down. I will oppose these changes-and everyone of you should as well-for a variety of reasons. We should never govern differently when we have the majority as we would when we were in the minority. To do so is not representative of freedom. It is simply another form of tyranny. Racking up wins, especially when many of those wins will be overturned when the pendulum swings the other way (and we all know it will) is shortsighted. Further, it is a poor example of leadership lest any of you have aspirations for higher office. I encourage you to simply examine your hearts and minds. Follow your principles. Base your decisions on those foundations. Thanks for listening! Rob Pool 2 Moore, Tania From: Fikes,Cathy Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 4:36 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW:City Charter Amendments From: K Carroll<kcrissie7@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13, 2023 3:31 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:City Charter Amendments Greetings Mayor Strictland,Pro Tern Gracie Van der Mark and Councilmembers. Me and my family (and neighbors) support all of the charter amendments.Although,I had hoped that the motion would pass to get these on the ballot,I do understand Casey's concern and thought it was a good compromise to gain additional input from citizens. Many of the people that showed up and spoke were obviously from a cattle call by Moser,Kalmick and Bolten and affiliates and many from outside HB. That is clearly the trend now. I do hope the people that people who reached out to Casey in opposition will come to the special meetings and present their opinions and logic or send e-mails that can be shared with citizens so we can understand their logic. Amendment 1: Voter ID contributes to eliminating voter fraud. City Atty.: Will prevent council members interfering with the ability of City Atty. doing his job effectively/efficiently. Staff or positions (Titles)may not be tampered with or attempted to handicap City Atty. by decreasing the budget or expertise level for staff. The oldest game in the book to create a handicap to set up someone for failure. Take away their budget,expertise, cut their staff as the previous majority attempted and current Moser, Kalmick and Bolten. Update Qualifications of City Clerk: Too vague currently(coming from a retired Career HR Director). Amendment 2: Flags: These flags represent all Americans. Two Year Budget: Increased, long term planning, control,projection and scrutiny when Board Members change. One of the companies I worked for did a five year budget. This company was very successful. Move City Clerk and City Treasurer to Gubernatorial election cycle: Yes. Makes total sense and should not be packaged with City Council elections. Amendment 3: Voter approval for transactions that forgives, collection of property in excess of $100,000/yr.: This loophole should be closed. The CURRENT citizens and taxpayers should benefit from taxes revenue in their quality of life. I would also like to see, in the future, an item that would eliminate a property purchase such as Pipeline for a homeless shelter that lost the City Taxpayers over a million dollars because the City turned around and had to sell at a loss be the council said it could not be used for a homeless shelter. The industrial park rules (for this and regulations for this property prohibited overnight accomodations. Chi said that there was a flaw in the process and that it had been corrected. (That's the 'ask for forgiveness later' game) I would like a guarantee. Children's Playgrounds: Slam dunk YES! Procedures to cancel CC meeting. Yes. On a side note, I was at the last council meeting. Thank you for having Michael Gates present part two of his informative series at the beginning of the meeting. I would like to see this trend continue so that when there is a cattle call,people interested won't have to wait until the end of the speakers.Although, I did see first hand the 1 shenanigans of undermining that occurred by attending or watching the council meetings, I was not aware of ALL of the details and appreciate the additional insight. I am looking forward to part 3. Since Kalmick continues to try to discredit Atty. Gates facts, I urge the Council to take the next steps mentioned in Atty. Gates presentation so that the citizens fully informed and lies are discredited. Most importantly, those involved need to be held accountable. Thank you very much! Please put ALL these amendments on the ballot. Making milestones at lighting speed! Keeping promises!!! THANK YOU! Best regards, 2 Moore, Tania From: Douglas Hart <dbhart2001@yahoo.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 3:53 PM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org;CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Comments on Proposed City Charter Amendments I am writing concerning the proposed Charter Amendments that the Council plans to put on the ballot in March 2024. General - The Council wants to place these amendments on the March 2024 Primary Ballot. Historically, primary elections have less participation than general elections. For something as major as the proposed changes to the charter should require the maximum participation by the voters. There is nothing in the proposals that require the vote to be held in March. In fact, it has been suggested that State Law prohibits charter amendments in any election besides a general election. The Council needs to defer these proposed amendments to the November 2024 General Election to assure full scrutiny by the voters. - The packaging of the 3 Charter Amendments as they would appear on the ballot(as presented at the 9/4/23 council meeting) are confusing and possibly misleading. The 3 amendments, as written, are a compilation of several unrelated topics that I believe can lead to voter confusion. I fail to understand why topics as diverse as Voter ID, giving the City Attorney new powers, prohibiting Pride Flags, changing the terms of the City Clerk and Treasurer, changing from an Annual to a 2-year budget, tax waivers, and how to cancel City Council meetings can be put together the way they were. They need to be repackaged into amendments that have related topics to avoid misleading the City voters. - The City Council has failed to provide any justification for the changes that they are proposing. While I understand that there will be short statements for and against on the ballot, before the City spends a lot of money on an election, the voters deserve to hear the justification for spending that money. The Council, at a minimum, owe the voters that. Section 705 The addition of an undefined Voter ID requirement should be removed. It is a violation of California law and will subject the City to legal challenges that will unnecessarily spend the taxpayers' money. I am also concerned about the undefined monitoring of"ballot drop boxes" As the county is in charge of elections,the county is responsible for security of the drop boxes.Any other"monitoring"could be looked at as potential interference with a citizen's right to vote. Both of these sound a bit like voter suppression methods that have been implemented in other areas of the country. I don't see any need for any of those items since there isn't a problem that they are solving. Section 304(b)&Section 309 The proposal to give the City Attorney unprecedented powers with very limited oversight from the Council is worrisome. This essentially gives the City Attorney power to do whatever he or she wants to do in the name of the City without any checks or balances at all. Regardless of whether the City Attorney is elected or not, since he/she doesn't pay for the City Attorney's office or any legal losses by the office out of their own pocket, oversight by the Budget Authority, the City Council, is required. In addition,the amendment gives the City Attorney the power to prevent the citizens of the city from finding out what the City Attorney has done in the City's name due to"attorney/client privilege". As we have seen with the Airshow fiasco, this can easily be abused. This seems like nothing but a power grab for the City Attorney and goes far beyond what anyone outside of the City Attorney would believe reasonable. Just because the current City Attorney had a disagreement with the previous City Council is no justification for this power grab. Section 310 It is unclear why the qualifications for City Clerk are being reduced. The qualifications currently in the Charter are reasonable for that position. This proposed change should be eliminated 1 Section 806 This addition is completely unnecessary and it certainly doesn't belong in the City Charter. Just because some people seem to fear a rainbow-colored flag is no reason to change the City Charter to politically placate a small minority. And the need for a unanimous city council vote to add any other flags when all the other provisions require just a majority makes this seem even more politically motivated and unnecessary. Section 401(b),&Sections 601-605 It is unclear what problem making the City budget biennial instead of annual actually solves. It would seem to limit the flexibility of the City to adjust the budget based on changing conditions in the City and in the economy. There needs to be a better justification of why this is necessary. Section 300 It is unclear why it is necessary to change the terms of the City Clerk or Treasurer to sync up with when the 4 Council members and City Attorney are elected vs.when the 3 Council members are elected. This seems to make one election more important than the other and has no other apparent justification. If this change is implemented, however, the one- time change in terms for both the Clerk and Treasurer should be 2-years and not 6-years. Section 618 Requiring taxpayer approval of property tax waivers seems to be a bad way to conduct business by the City. Since each one of these waivers,which are often granted to businesses as incentives to establish their businesses in the city, requires a potentially costly election, it could take years for approval, by which time,the businesses will have moved on to another city. Section 303(a) While the basic ability to occasionally cancel a City Council meeting could be desirable, this provision as written seems to give the Mayor or Council majority the ability to cancel Council meetings as many times as they like. This is not good for conducting City business. There should be a limit to how many meetings in a row that could be cancelled, perhaps 1 or 2. I hope the members of the Council will take the time to reconsider some of these proposals and to repackage the amendments into sensible ballot measures before implementing them. Thank you. Douglas Hart 5221 Chadwick Drive Huntington Beach, CA 92649 2 Moore, Tania From: Judith Lewis <judilew22@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 4:34 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF);supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Special Meeting re March 2024 proposed charter amendments City Council Huntington Beach I write to oppose your proposed charter amendments in their entirety because you have not done due diligence to research their impacts nor costs, nor have you provided a reasonable effective way for citizen participation in their promulgation. I attended and spoke at your Council Meeting on September 5th as did over a hundred speakers and hundreds more emails and letters, most opposing Council actions. Despite that, the majority on the Council totally ignored any input they had received and voted to proceed with their ideological and questionable changes. Some were even crass enough to allege that although the majority present opposed their actions that we did not in fact represent their constituencies. There is no opportunity for citizens to question Council Members to get their justifications and rationale for recommended changes in these three minute comment sessions. There should have been a Charter Committee or Commission to develop the proposed charter amendments, not a three person Council committee who have provided no information or justifications for these proposals. These four special meetings are a farce. You can claim you did allow lots of citizen input— which you will again likely ignore. There is no clear document I can find with your charter proposals so I am still unsure exactly what you are proposing. From comments I think the following are in the mix: • Voter ID required for City elections • Ballot Box Monitoring in HB elections • Giving City Council power to censor books in the public library. • Changing the minimum requirements and voting sequence for City Clerk • Changes to the power and authority of the City Attorney • Banning the Pride Flag on City property First, I have not seen or heard justifications for any of these. These are my reasons for opposing them. 1 • The cost to HB citizens of these ballot initiatives is unnecessary and wasteful. • Voter id and ballot box monitoring are not now the purview of the city and were it to pass, would require a large sum of money to administer to fix a non-existent problem. No one has identified any voter fraud in HB. • Third, the changes in the requirements or authority of elected city officials are not justified and are suspicious. • Fourth, are we to become a City that explicitly discriminates against the LGBTQ community? Who will we choose to discriminate against next? Judith A. Lewis 4057 Warner Avenue Huntington Beach CA 92649 714 742 5444 Captain, Retired, L.A. County Sheriffs 38 years public service Served on Huntington Beach, Los Angeles and Orange County Citizen Advisory Committees 36 year Huntington Beach Resident 2 Moore, Tania From: MEG ROBINSON <twokyu@aol.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 3:09 PM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Ballot measures It is extremely fiscally irresponsible to propose ballot measures without a cost analysis. It also sounds like we expect to hire the OC registrar to perform a large part of the voting segment thereby paying them for what they do for free or a nominal fee.And they do a superb job as well. And since you are proponents of"transparency"where is the adopted budget? Margaret"Meg" Robinson 8788 Coral Springs Ct 206G 92646 1 Moore, Tania From: J C <qhlady@me.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 5:07 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF) Cc: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: 9-14-23 City Council Meeting, 6pm I support Voter ID for elections I support more in-person voting locations I support monitoring of drop-boxes I support Resolution Numbers: 2023-42 2023-43 2023-44 2023-45 I support the submission of 3 Charter amendment ballot measures for voter approval at the March 5, 2024 Statewide Primary Election. 1 Moore, Tania From: SallySanders <sally_sanders@cox.net> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 5:19 PM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: City charter changes Hello, My name is Sally Sanders and I live in Orange County,California. I'm writing to ask that you please do NOT make changes to the city charter. These changes would compromise residents'voting rights, make our elections less secure,and significantly alter the balance of power in city government. Please do the right thing. Thank you, Sally Sanders 1 Moore, Tania From: Isabella Ford <issyford@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 5:22 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF);supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Why? What is your concern with the election process? Are you saying the process was not fair last year? If that is the case,all newly elected officials should resign. Why do you want to give the City Attorney so much power?Is he all knowing? Is he perfect that he never makes a mistake? Is it that difficult for you,our City Council members,to question anything he does? Is he threatening you somehow so you must kowtow to his every wish? Why do you want voter approval for certain City transactions that forgive,waive or forgo property tax collection by the City in excess of$100,000- without both Counci and citywide voter approval? Are you going also ensure at least 50%of our population votes to ensure the vote is indicative of citywide approval? Have you lost all sense of morals and ethics that you really think he is so incredible? What is the purpose of allowing City Council meetings be cancelled as needed? These meetings are for the public and you decided you wanted to be a public servant. So serve the public by doing your job as scheduled. If you didn't like this,why did you run? What is the purpose of moving the election of the city clerk and treasurer to the same cycle as the city attorney? Staggering elections for certain seats ensures there is someone with experience at the helm instead of all new people coming in at the same time. Casey McKeon gave a little hope that he might actually have a brain,conscience and free will. If he will take a step back and listen to what's being done and said.Maybe Casey is the youngest so can process what has happened. The newly elected had a campaign saying"No changes to our charter",yet less than a year,that is exactly what you're proposing? If you made it to the end of my email,thank you for reading. I hope you will remove all these and actually work on doing things that will bring our community together. Isabella Ford 714-308-0660 1 Moore, Tania From: Tamantha Bowman <tamanthajbowman@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 11:03 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF); supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Thursday September 14 City Council Meeting I oppose all changes to our City Charter. As a retired veteran of the armed forces I'm appalled by the audacity to suppress votes by pushing for in person voting and monitoring of ballot drop boxes by intimidation. This hurts our Active Duty and Reserve community members that often do not take time off from an operational duty day that lands on election day.The regulations state a military member could request 2 hrs off back in my day. However, none of us would dare ask the Chief for time off when resources are limited and time off is not an option. As a veteran that served on active duty, and as a reservist that was activated several times,absentee voting was essential for me to participate in our democratic system. Are you telling our community that you do not support our active and reserve duty military members to their right to vote?Dropping off our ballots at the ballot box is efficient and allows us to participate in all elections. Furthermore, it limits those who work as civilians in our community that do not get Election Day time off. Most full and part-time workers have significant commute times to their place of employment. Voting by mail and dropping off my ballot at a drop box allows me the opportunity to exercise my right to vote without requesting unpaid time off on Election Day. Voting in person suppresses our younger voter population that also votes by mail. Parents like me,ensure my college student receives their ballot at college and that it's either mailed or we return it to a drop off ballot box. Will we be turned away at the ballot box for returning our family's ballots? Many in our community use ballot boxes and we should not limit accessibility or allow voters to be intimidated by unnecessary guards. I have used drop off boxes at our City center or at 5 points while on break from my job because it is convenient for my employer and myself.Working in HB I have limited time off. The disabled in our community also depend on those ballot boxes.Are we going to limit their access or right to vote? Are you going to make disabled people vote in person and waste an unnecessary amount of time in line? Requiring in person voting limits the votes from our disabled and/or elderly that struggle to stand or wait for long durations. VOTING IN PERSON is a LUXURY for those that do not report for duty and serve our country.The only community members that have the luxury in time are retirees that no longer have to work to support their families.This ballot measure is unnecessary and is voter suppression if approved. I OPPOSE LOCAL CONTROL our OC Registrar's systems are top rated. All city meetings should have published agenda's transparent to our city citizens. No to cancellations to scheduled meetings without a published agenda. Do not change City Clerk position qualifications. Not everyone with a 4 year degree is qualified to serve in this position. The specific requirements should not be changed or lowered. 1 The only update to our City's flag policy I approve is BRINGING BACK THE PRIDE FLAG to our pier during the month of June.We have many LGBTQ+ members in our community including LGBTQ+that serve in our armed forces that live here in HB.Our city should be INCLUSIVE and supportive to our LGBTQ+community members. HB resident and Retired Veteran, Tamantha Bowman 2 Moore, Tania From: StarsStripes <starsstripes@me.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 11:45 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) Cc: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: 9-14-23 City Council Meeting I do support Voter ID for elections I do support more in-person voting locations I do support monitoring of drop-boxes I support Resolution Numbers: 2023-42 2023-43 2023-44 2023-45 I support the submission of 3 Charter amendment ballot measures for voter approval at the March 5, 2024 Statewide Primary Election. Rob Cloyd Huntington Beach Resident 1 Moore, Tania From: nora pedersen <pedersennor@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 7:58 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF);supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: City Charters Please vote no to changing our Huntington Beach City charters. Seriously, how does it look when it takes a majority council vote to make a charter change to the flag policy but to reintroduce the Pride Flag to the charter requires a unanimous vote? I'm telling you, it looks like the council majority is stabbing its constituents with their narrow personal beliefs. Instead, why aren't the four fixing the homeless issues that they were elected to fix? Don't change any Charters! Nora Pedersen Huntington Beach i Moore, Tania From: Devin McBride <devinmcbride13@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14,2023 7:58 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF); supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: HB Charter and Elections City Council, Stop trying to change the Charter. And if you can't help yourself,Tony,at least do it cost effectively in November not March of 2024.Screwing around with elections in a county that has a stellar record for clean and clear elections is nuts. Get back to what you promised us. Deal with homelessness,street ruts, downtown rabble. Devin McBride Resident, Huntington Beach 1 Moore, Tania From: buzz mccord <buzzmccord@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14,2023 8:00 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF); supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Cc: opinion@scng.com Subject: Dumbing down City Clerk Good morning City Councilmembers. Dumbing down the qualifications for City Clerk! No wonder the OC Register Editorial Board yesterday called Mayor Strickland's tenure a "descent into madness." But then, as long as the Majority Four appear to be personally leading the dumbing down of City government,you might as well change the Charter to make room for Tony Strickland's wife or other currently unqualified people to be responsible for little things like elections. Buzz McCord Huntington Beach resident and business owner Retired 1 Moore, Tania From: Cooper Carrasco <askcpr@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:00 AM To: CITY COUNCIL (INCL. CMO STAFF); supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Charter Amendments Meeting Dear City Council, As you all know, thousands of Huntington Beach citizens have been demanding rent stabilization for quite some time (I have met many myself) notably the Mobile Home Resident Coalition. In 2022, the Mobile Home Advisory Board recommended a carve out of Section 803. https://www.Iatimes.com/socal/daily- pilot/news/story/2022-04-27/hu ntington-beach-board-recommends-enabling-rent-carveout-for-mobile-home- owners Since it has come time to discuss City Charter Amendments, I feel someone must bring this up! Upon researching the origins of section 803, I found even more reason for a carve out or even to remove it entirely. When collecting signatures for the ballot initiative, a petitioner so egregiously misled an HB Resident that they complained to the City Clerk. How many other people signed based on misleading words? Here's the complaint: /- „(i. November 21,2000 • Connie Brockway,City Clerk City Cleric's Office City of Huntington Beach P O Box 190/2000 Main St Huntington Beach,Ca 92648 Re Proposal 803 to City Charter of Huntington Beach Dear Ms.Brockway As a followup to our telephone conversation on Monday November 20,2000,I am directing this letter to you to express my disagreement with the way the petitions for this measure are being gathered. My wife and I were entering the Vons Grocery Store on Springdale 8 Warner on Sunday afternoon November 19,2000 around 5.30 PM and were greeted by a lady petitioner and asked if I was a registered voter residing in Huntington Beach-the following conversation ensued. 1 My question—What am I signing for? 2 Her Answer-The truth on Rent Control 3. My question-Is it for or against Rent Control? 4 Her Answer-Its just to get to the truth on Rent Control 5. My question-So its to put the question of Rent Control on the ballot? 6 Her Answer-Yes to get to the truth on Rent Control 7 My Question-Who are you working for/who pays you to collect signatures? 8 Her Answer-I work for the people to get to the truth of this matter I onginally signed the petition thinking it was to put the matter to a vote,before returning to her I read the measure,which of course is nothing like she told me I asked her directly why did she feel she had to deceive the public to get them to sign the petition? Her answer said it all as far as I was concerned,she said what I too you was what I was told to say. I then asked her who old her to say that and she refused to tell me. By now she was beginning to get a little irritated and started in on my wife and I by saying this was her first day at this and had met a really of of very nice people and she was going to be praying to God for them. I said I guess you will not be praying for us and she said that's right We asked her what any of - this had to do with religion?I found this a little odd for a petitioner to be bringing up religion At this point I was getting a little irritated myself and decided to go into the sore and complain to the Manager,got our groceries and left. I have no problem with this petition and the nght for Property Owners to circulate this petition but I do have a problem with misleading the public and a lot of people probably went ahead and signed this petition,thinking it was something different than what it actually is because she was not telling the truth. If someone is telling at of the petitioners to present the petition this way then I feel the City Legal Department should look into this matter Also I scratched my name off of the petition. Thank you for your assistance 1 Ironically, the supporting argument given in the newspaper was that seniors & young people would be most- hurt by rent stabilization, however it is a coalition of seniors now asking for it. Since 2000, has Huntington Beach seen a decline in the number of family households with children? The answer is yes. (The overall % of under 18 residents in Huntington Beach has declined from 22% in 2000 to 18% in 2020 according to census.gov) (Paid Advertisement) NOTICE OF INTENT TO CIRCULATE PETITION ' Notice is hereby given by the person whose name ' appears hereon of his/her intention to circulate the ' petition within the City of Huntington Beach for the _ purpose of qualifying the Property Rights Protection Measure. A statement of the reasons of the pro- — posed action as contemplated in the petition is as fol- lows: There is strong and convincing practical evi - dence which shows that once controls on the sale or ' rental of any residential accommodation does noth- ing to preserve or maintain affordable housing. In fact the evidence in Southern California appears to show that rent control destroys affordable housing and accelerates development pressures to turn old- er properties into new and higher density commer- cial and so-called "up-scale" housing. To pick just one of may examples-- in the City of Santa Monica with its rent control regulations Santa Monica has ' seen a decline in the number of family households with children which is larger than any other compara- ble city in Southern California without rent control, Under rent control, Santa Monica's elderly popula- tion (age 65 or over) declined by 1.7 percent be- tween 1980 and 1990, whereas the elderly popula- tion of Los Angeles County rose by more than 15% • over the same decade. The elderly population in- creased over this period in every comparable city without rent control in Southern California.The result of social experimentation with rent control in South- ' em California produces the following conclusion: Rent control does not provide more or better afforda- ble housing for anyone-- especially the elderly and young families. The imposition of rent control forces i some property owners to change the use of their property and this change of use often can result in more development and pressures which cause the destruction of existing neighborhoods. Unnecessary and complicated government interference in private property transactions and homeownerships and rent- ' al decisions produces wasteful lawsuits and impos- es needless costs on all taxpayers. We the people find that the best means to assure that our communi- ty and neighborhoods are preserved is to protect property rights and to allow owners to make their own decisions about the price and other terms on which they can sell or lease tneir residential property. , , All of this points to the case that it's time for the voters to have another chance to vote on this. Side Note: If you're wondering if Santa Monica currently has more affordable housing than HB, as of right now Santa Monica has more total <$2000 rentals than HB on Zillow, with less than half the population. (For a variety of reasons. Huntington Beach is of course better so it makes sense.) Another claim from the original advertisement for the ballot initiative that has since been disproven. i440, f a 2 20 years after Santa Monica was used as an example of rent control failure to justify the city charter amendment, SM residents voted to lower the rent cap to a max increase of less than 3%! (Measure RC) https://smdp.com/2023/06/23/rent-control-increase-capped-at-dollar67/ So apparently, they don't hate it! These mobile home park residents are being gouged, not by Huntington Beach residents. They're being gouged by corporations who buy up tons of mobile home parks as investments. So to defend the residents of Huntington Beach from corporate greed, I argue for Local Control of Rent! I hope you'll consider this. 3 Moore, Tania From: jodykyle1@aol.com Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:17 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org; CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) Cc: Jody Kyle Subject: City Council Meeting for Sept 14, 2023 - Proposed Changes to City Charter Dear City Council Members, I am a 25 year resident of Huntington Beach and am writing regarding the upcoming City Council Meeting on September 14, 2023. I strongly oppose the proposed changes to the City Charter. These proposed changes grant unprecedented powers to the City Council and especially to the City Attorney. The current city attorney has abused his position (and tax payer money) to pursue politically motivated lawsuits including suing a private citizen and Huntington Beach resident for circulating a petition for a ballot measure banning assault weapons in the city. The city attorney has also flouted California state law regarding housing and the California Values Act. There are doubtless many other examples of his disregard for the law when it suits his political ambitions. These actions have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars that are needed elsewhere. Enough is enough. Yours, Mary Kyle i Moore, Tania From: Monika Calef <mcalef@soka.edu> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:40 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF);supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: charter amendments Dear City Council, since I cannot attend the Special City Council meetings just scheduled on Thursday evenings, I wanted to express my strong opposition to any changes to the city charter via this email. -I am against interfering with our current(legitimate)election system which includes posting people near dropboxes or polling locations,voter IDs,and any other ludicrous and probably illegal changes you are proposing. -Changing the qualifications,election cycles,and length of term for the city clerk,the city attorney and city treasurer. -As a mother of a gay son, I would like to see the city support LGBTQ+members of this community and fly the pride flag. Why not use flags to show the city's support and welcoming of many different groups? I strongly oppose all changes to the city charter. If it ain't broke,don't fix it. Sincerely, Monika Calef Robert Lane HB 1 Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:39 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: City Charter From: HAROLD AND CHERYL COOK<ramstock1971@msn.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13, 2023 4:46 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:City Charter We are a family of 4 voting adults and have owned our home for 45 years. We are against a special election to place unnessessary Charter Amendments on the ballot for March 2024. We are demanding full transparency of what you are trying to do and why. We are totally against requiring voter identification and monitoring ballot boxes, changing requirements to be the City Clerk, movin g the voting for the City Treasurer and City Clerk to the same year in which the City Attorney is on the ballot to align with the gubernatorial elections. Leave the Charter alone. We do not want to permanently restrict which flags are flown on public buildings. Our city has gone from a place that welcomed all to one of intolerance against people that are different in race, religion, Igbtq and political views Sent from Mail for Windows 1 Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14,2023 8:40 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: For the Record on Thursdays Discussion on the City Charter Amendments. From: larry mcneely<Imwater@yahoo.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13,2023 7:01 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: For the Record on Thursdays Discussion on the City Charter Amendments. While I see these City Charter Amendments as a timing and consistency issue, I feel that when it comes to changing our City Charter it should be driven over time by the community input and not be a Three Person Council Member Ad-Hock Committee for something this important and costly, I am grateful Casey brought up the change for public comments, but Why the Rush?While I do not see the need to raise the listed items in the proposed Charter Amendments here is why. 1. To Stop Any Further Purchases of Private Property by the City of HB and convert them as Tax-Free. This is already covered in our"City Charter Section 803. Property Rights and Protection Measure". (a)The city shall'Not'enact or enforce the Sale, Lease, Rent, Exchange, or Transfer of Real Property. (Our previous council Broke This Law by trying to avoid these restrictions by using an Illegal Straw Buyer, These city council members for doing so can be prosecuted under our City Charter Section 309. (b)Violation of the Charter and prosecution on behalf of the people of any or all criminal cases arising from violation of this charter) (BTW this same statute can be applied to their hiring an outside attorney outside the Elected City Attornies Preview in the case of handling his staff) 2. The Amendment to require Voter ID, adding In Person Voting places, and cameras at our voting locations. On the Voter ID requirement,what type of ID would be required a California Drivers License?That is freely handed out to any person without proof of legal status in the US?or maybe the Real ID that many have yet to apply for as they do not come into full practice until 2025?And at What Cost to Administer?"Currently Section 702. of our Charter, Procedure For Holding Elections". Have worked well over the past many years using "All Elections Shall Be Held in Accordance with the"State of California Elections Codes"and the requirements set forth Have we had any demonstratable proof of Voter Fraud that would sway the outcome of our local elections? NO, then why add any new Charter Amendments? Now as far as adding In Person Voting Locations and Cameras,that is allowed using the"City Charter Section 502. Resolutions". The City Council may act by Resolution or Minute Order in all actions not required by This Charter to be taken by Ordnance., I feel the same applies to No#4.the Flag Amendment that was already passed and no need to bring attention to the subject with a Charter Amendment. (The same applies to the Flag Issue) On Item 4. The Charter Amendment changed the requirements to become a City Clerk. Why are we having problems finding candidates to run for this office?This Whole Effort can Backfire and open the door for all future city councils to take action to change our City Charter as they tried to Kneecap our City Attorney and change our charter that Failed, so then allow other councils to change our Charter at will and in support of their political party and the head cases power grab, as we saw with the past"Most Corrupt City Council SIX in or Cities History" I feel our City Charter is a document that changes as needed but is rarely changed for good reason, and we should not set the standard to change it with each new city council majority. i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:40 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: In opposition to the Proposed Charter Amendments From: Carol Daus<caroldaus@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13, 2023 8:21 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: In opposition to the Proposed Charter Amendments Dear Council Members, The OC Register Editorial Board is generally very conservative, so sadly the following editorial is a testament to how bad things are with Huntington Beach's city government. https://www.ocegister.com/20 23/oQ/12/huntington-beach-council-maj ority-picks- culture-war-battles-over-governing/?share=eosmnreatkwoaanlckcg Spending money on more polling places, installing cameras in voting areas, and implementing voter IDs makes no sense. For last year's midterms, in Orange County, 83.5 percent cast a vote by mail and only 16.5 percent cast an in-person ballot. Huntington Beach numbers reflect this growing trend. And even if you insist on increasing the number of polling places (which is unnecessary), how will you recruit and train these poll workers? I have served as a poll worker and election judge and it's a complex process, between finding bodies who will work for peanuts, training them on the process and the equipment, delivering the vote, etc. How would you audit the election? The county has been doing a superior job with Huntington Beach elections, so why fix something that isn't broken? And if you feel there's been election fraud, you need to tell the public about those instances. You promised transparency, but I'm not seeing it at all. I'm also deeply concerned about removing requirements for the City Clerk position. This is an extremely important job and is one that should not be "dumbed down." Finally, if these 3 amendments end up costing over a million to put on the March ballot, I'm deeply opposed to this move. It appears that the expense of placing these on the March ballot was not officially budgeted, and yet in June we learned that the city needs to make budget cuts. What gives? It just looks like another political stunt on your part, and the end result could be that our city suffers from more litigation. Sincerely, 1 Carol Daus Huntington Beach resident for 28 years 2 Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday,September 14,2023 8:40 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: proposed charter amendments for 2024 ballot From: marykay pink<marykaypink@hotmail.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13,2023 8:55 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: proposed charter amendments for 2024 ballot September 13, 2023 To: HB City Council Proposed Charter Amendments for March 2024 Ballot I write to oppose the unnecessary and costly proposed ballot measures for March 2024 being proposed by the City Council. It is my understanding that these amendments were written by four Council members with no input by the public or staff. This is just wrong. We don't need to take over the expense of voting administration to require voter ID or monitoring ballot boxes where there has been zero evidence of voter fraud in Huntington Beach. We definitely do not want to become the City that censors books in the public library based on the ideological beliefs of four Council members. Nor do we want to close libraries because of wasteful bad financial decisions by this Council. And given rumors that changes to City Clerk and City Attorney requirements are to favor certain individuals, we definitely don't want to make changes without a rational explanation of the need given to HB citizens. I ordinarily don't closely watch City government, but now, having been alerted to these political actions having potential detrimental effects to us as taxpayers, I will be watching. Mary Kay Pinkston 3941 Aladdin Drive Huntington Beach, CA 92649 i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:40 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: Changes to the Charter From: MARILYN Boehm <beachmama7@msn.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13, 2023 9:04 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Changes to the Charter I am OPPOSED to changing our current Charter. It's an unnecessary and expensive proposition which benefits no one. This appears to be part of the four new Council members' agenda which is more focused on culture wars than on taking care of the needs of Huntington Beach residents. Marilyn Boehm, HB resident 1 Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:41 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: Charter meeting 9/14 From: ellen riley<2ellenriley@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday,September 13, 2023 11:13 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Charter meeting 9/14 I would like to attend but need to know what charter items will be reviewed or if all,that would be great to know also. Will someone kindly email me the Charter amendments to be discussed 9/14 at 6pm? Many thanks, 2ellenriley@gmail.com I. Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:41 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: Our City From:vanessaweb@aol.com <vanessaweb@aol.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 7:03 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Our City Dear City Council Members, I am unable to be at the meeting tonight, however I was there last week to protest there following items that have been proposed. How can the council propose closing library branches and cutting hours, cutting funding to our senior center one month, then propose spending $1.2 million for a special election that can easily wait until November? I am against all of the following: • Reducing the qualifications for serving as Elected City Clerk • Making the City Attorney not longer accountable to the City Council, and effectively relinquishing budgetary power control. • Stopping all non-profits or government agencies from partnering with the City on real estate projects without a vote of the people (no more affordable senior housing projects). • Having local elections conducted by the City instead of the County Registrar • Requiring voter ID for elections - this is voter suppression and will likely result in costly litigation • Allow for "poll-watchers" at ballot drop-off locations • Changing the election cycle for City Clerk and City Treasurer to occur with the City Attorney and Four Councilmembers • Giving the Clerk and Treasurer a one-time six-year term, allowing that newly Elected person to vest in CalPERS in their first term Our city is heading down the wrong path. We've lived here for 40 years and are senior citizens. Thank you, Vanessa and Jeff Webster Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14,2023 8:41 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: Comment on HB charter amendments From: Dan Jamieson<danjamieson4@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 7:55 AM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Comment on HB charter amendments Sept. 14, 2023 Dear HB council members: None of the charter amendments are needed. Please do not proceed with them. Any amendments that are ultimately proposed will be tainted, due to the underhanded political process used to develop them. The ad-hoc committee of three like-minded council members who met behind closed doors developed a set of amendments that has been met by stiff resistance from a cross-section of residents who did not trust the process and did not like the outcome. Now,the council licks its wounds and hastily offers two public meetings to further discuss charter changes. This process remains flawed, as the same like-minded council members will still be in charge of any ultimate changes. Unlike the 2022 charter proposals,no diverse group of citizens is running point in coming up with proposed charter changes. Those 2022 proposals were produced by a seven-person citizen committee appointed by council members,which met publicly several times a month from December 2021 through May 2022 in open meetings with public input and guidance from an experienced consultant. The council took those committee recommendations and reviewed them in a series of public meetings, and together with staff feedback,put three items on the ballot.All three failed. The current process will not fare any better, especially considering that the current council majority promised not to make any more charter revisions. Rushing new changes onto the primary ballot will inflame opposition even more. Please stop the political gamesmanship and end the current charter review process. Sincerely, Dan Jamieson Huntington Beach i Moore, Tania From: Harry McLachlan <mclachlanharry621 @yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:46 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org;CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Discussion of Potential Charter Amendments Attachments: Huntington Beach City Council Sept. 14, 2023.docx Please see attachment from HB resident Harry F. McLachlan 1 Huntington Beach Special City Council Meeting September 14,2023 For Discussion of Potential Charter Amendments My name is Harry F. McLachlan,I am a resident of Los Amigos Mobile Home Park in Huntington Beach. At the September 5`h City Council over 100 citizens aired their views on the council's agenda, including the 3 proposed charter amendments. Of this number a mere 19 citizens spoke in favor of the agenda,mirroring the August 1st and August 31st 31st meetings where the overwhelming majority of citizens spoke out against the authoritarian overreach of the conservative majority's personal and politically motivated agenda items.All of the items were passed I lockstep by the conservative majority on a 4-3 vote,with the exception of the charter amendment proposals.In an effort to avoid a future legal issue and as a result of even their supportive propaganda group"Save Surf City"urging them not to proceed without public input,if only to avoid the"perception"of a blatant power grab. So now we have a four-meeting fig leaf called the"Discussion of Potential Charter Amendments"after which they will have absolutely no problem when the conservative majority votes 4-3 to approve them. Regarding all the proposed Charter Amendments,after the charter review and citizen input,I am hopeful the council will decline to consider submission of ALL of these amendments for voter approval,some of which reek of the actions a fascist government would endeavor to see implemented. With regard to Chater Amendment No. 1,make no mistake.The majority on this City Council are following the nation-wide Republican playbook by continuing to cast doubt on the security and legitimacy of our elections.No good will ever come of letting power-hungry authoritarians anywhere near amending the city charter in an effort to control the voting process. "Local Control" is merely an Orwellian euphemism for a blatant"Power Grab."Dumbing down the qualifications for the City Clerk position in an effort to enable currently unquailed candidates to run for this position should be an obvious red flag to opening the door to political favoritism and even nepotism. Giving the City Attorney more power and the ability to run his own little fiefdom unbeholden to the City Council,especially if he ran for election in cahoots with them as an enthusiastic member of their team should alarm every reasonable voter in this city.Drop this entire amendment from consideration. Charter Amendment No.2 is ridiculous on its face and a faux-patriotic jingoistic effort to ensure that the Pride Flag is permanently excluded from being displayed at City Hall.Again,it is right out of the playbook used by fascists world-wide: pick a scapegoat,an"other"and attempt to rile up the masses against them. In this case,it's the gay,lesbian,and transgender segment of our population that is being marginalized.So I ask,just as many earnest speakers asked of the conservative majority at the meeting on September 5`h,"Why do you hate them?".Drop the vindictive amendment in it's entirety! In closing I would urge the council to better and more clearly explain what would benefit the citizens and City of Huntington Beach if Charter Amendment No.3 were approved. Moore, Tania From: Steven C Shepherd Architect <steve@shepherdarchitects.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14,2023 8:48 AM To: citycouncil@costamesaca.gov;supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: OUR FAMILY OPPOSES THE PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS Our family opposes all the proposed City Charter Amendments both in terms of their substance and based on the deeply flawed process employed to bring these proposals forward. In completely ignoring the recommendations and efforts of last year's resident-led Charter Revision Committee,you insult our community's intelligence and undermine trust in competent local governance. Steve Shepherd Huntington Beach,CA 92646 1 Moore, Tania From: Harry McLachlan <mclachlanharry621 @yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:56 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Public Comments Set. 14, 2023 Attachments: Huntington Beach City Council Sept. 14, 2023.docx Please see attachment from Harry F. Mclachlan 1 Huntington Beach Special City Council Meeting September 14,2023 For Discussion of Potential Charter Amendments My name is Harry F.McLachlan,I am a resident of Los Amigos Mobile Home Park in Huntington Beach. At the September 5th City Council over 100 citizens aired their views on the council's agenda, including the 3 proposed charter amendments. Of this number a mere 19 citizens spoke in favor of the agenda,mirroring the August 1st and August 315t meetings where the overwhelming majority of citizens spoke out against the authoritarian overreach of the conservative majority's personal and politically motivated agenda items.All of the items were passed in lockstep by the conservative majority on a 4-3 vote,with the exception of the charter amendment proposals. In an effort to avoid a future legal issue and as a result of even their supportive propaganda group"Save Surf City" urging them not to proceed without public input,if only to avoid the"perception"of a blatant power grab. So now we have a four-meeting fig leaf called the"Discussion of Potential Charter Amendments"after which they will have absolutely no problem when the conservative majority votes 4-3 to approve them. Regarding all the proposed Charter Amendments,after the charter review and citizen input,I am hopeful the council will decline to consider submission of ALL of these amendments for voter approval,some of which reek of the actions a fascist government would endeavor to see implemented. With regard to Chater Amendment No. 1,make no mistake. The majority on this City Council are following the nation-wide Republican playbook by continuing to cast doubt on the security and legitimacy of our elections.No good will ever come of letting power-hungry authoritarians anywhere near amending the city charter in an effort to control the voting process. "Local Control" is merely an Orwellian euphemism for a blatant"Power Grab."Dumbing down the qualifications for the City Clerk position in an effort to enable currently unquailed candidates to run for this position should be an obvious red flag to opening the door to political favoritism and even nepotism. Giving the City Attorney more power and the ability to run his own little fiefdom unbeholden to the City Council,especially because he ran for election in cahoots with them as an enthusiastic member of their team should alarm every reasonable voter in this city.Drop this entire amendment from consideration. Charter Amendment No.2 is ridiculous on its face and a faux-patriotic jingoistic effort to ensure that the Pride Flag is permanently excluded from being displayed at City Hall.Again,it is right out of the playbook used by fascists world-wide: pick a scapegoat,an"other"and attempt to rile up the masses against them.In this case,it's the gay,lesbian,and transgender segment of our population that is being marginalized. So I ask,just as many earnest speakers asked of the conservative majority at the meeting on September 5th,"Why do you hate them?".Drop the vindictive amendment in it's entirety! In closing I would urge the council to better and more clearly explain what would benefit the citizens and City of Huntington Beach if Charter Amendment No.3 were approved. Moore, Tania From: Carol Daus <caroldaus@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 8:59 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: For tonight's City Council Meeting-in opposition to Proposed Amendments to City Charter Dear Council Members, The OC Register Editorial Board is generally very conservative, so sadly the following editorial is a testament to how bad things are with Huntington Beach's city government. https://www.ocregister.corn/2o23 joq/i3Jhuntington-beach-council-majority-picks- culture-war-battles-over-governing/?share=eosmnreatkwoaanlckcg Spending money on more polling places, installing cameras in voting areas, and implementing voter IDs makes no sense. For last year's midterms, in Orange County, 83.5 percent cast a vote by mail and only 16.5 percent cast an in-person ballot. Huntington Beach numbers reflect this growing trend. And even if you insist on increasing the number of polling places (which is unnecessary), how will you recruit and train these poll workers? I have served as a poll worker and election judge and it's a complex process, between finding bodies who will work for peanuts, training them on the process and the equipment, delivering the vote, etc. How would you audit the election? The county has been doing a superior job with Huntington Beach elections, so why fix something that isn't broken? And if you feel there's been election fraud, you need to tell the public about those instances. You promised transparency, but I'm not seeing it at all. I'm also deeply concerned about removing requirements for the City Clerk position. This is an extremely important job and is one that should not be "dumbed down." Finally, if these 3 amendments end up costing over a million to put on the March ballot, I'm deeply opposed to this move. It appears that the expense of placing these on the March ballot was not officially budgeted, and yet in June we learned that the city needs to make budget cuts. What gives? It just looks like another political stunt on your part, and the end result could be that our city suffers from more litigation. Sincerely, Carol Daus Huntington Beach resident for 28 years Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 9:38 AM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: From:Jerry Donohue<outlook_3F76BA7571D23BF1@outlook.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 9:34 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: $1.2 million spend to assure our elections are safe and proper when no reputable organization has found any alleged improprieties? We can do better. You can do batter. Thanks, Jerry Donohue Sent from Mail for Windows 1 Moore, Tania From: Kirby McCord <kirbymccord@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 10:21 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Stop wasting my money Please stop wasting my money! Attorney Gates didn't need a big raise.The air show company didn't need a rush settlement,especially when there are other organizations who can set us up for an air show for a LOT less money. The city doesn't need more attorneys. We already have one of the top paid attorneys in the state (your fault.) And NO more wasted time rushing to change the Charter. You Four are not doing what I voted for. STOP! I Kirby Mills Lifelong resident and Huntington Beach homeowner. 1 Moore, Tania From: Andrew Mills <amills5512@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 10:55 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) Cc: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Charter A good friend a long time ago helped me with my teen age beater cars. One important lesson he taught me was: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." It looks like that would be good advice for you guys in City Hall. I don't see why you can't get back to the nuts and bolts of what we all know is really broken, like the way to deal with homelessness. I read in a local newspaper that 10%of OC homeless had died through mid-year. Several were in Huntington Beach. I see homeless camped all along PCH. They are living in alleys and crannies downtown. Fix that. It's broken. NOT the Charter. Andrew Mills Resident of Huntington Beach 1 Moore, Tania From: Julie Hampel <julie.hampel4@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 11:15 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Amendments to City Charter Dear City of Huntington Beach City Council, I am opposed to any Amendments to the Current City Charter as proposed in Item 23-678 since specifics on the proposed Amendments (changes) have not been posted with today's Agenda. Spending$1.2M on Charter changes that benefits no HB resident is wasting Tax Payer dollars. I am still opposed to Items 23-700 (Charter Amendment Ballot Measures for Voter Approval), 23-734 (changes to the Policy on Human Dignity) and 23-738 (the No Mask/No Vaccine City Mandate). Regards, Julie Hampel Sent from Mail for Windows 1 Moore, Tania From: Wendy Rincon <wlrincon1995@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 12:31 PM Subject: Huntington Beach Charter Amendment Meeting #1 Hello HB City Council, I am sending you questions that my family and I would like answered regarding the proposed HB Charter Amendments. Having local elections conducted by the City instead of the County Registrar What are the exact reasons that you think the City of HB should be running elections? What cases can you cite that would disqualify the Orange County Registrar from continuing to run our elections? .Requiring voter ID for elections What examples of voter fraud IN HB can you provide to the citizens of HB? What cases can the City Attorney cite of voter fraud cases prosecuted in HB / The County of Orange? In the last year, five years, ten years? How many ongoing cases are CURRENTLY being prosecuted for voter fraud in HB / The County of Orange? How many HB residents have been found to be guilty of voter fraud? In the last year, five year, ten years? Allow for "poll-watchers" at ballot drop-off locations How many cases can you cite of voter fraud at a ballot drop off location? How many cases can you cite of vandalism of ballot drop off locations? How do you plan to mitigate voter intimidation at the ballot drop off locations? We look forward to receiving an answer via email and/or at tonight's meeting. Sincerely, Wendy Rincon 714-501-9499 2 Moore, Tania From: R Ross <rross4488@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 1:48 PM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org; CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: Proposed City Charter Amendments To the Mayor and City Council: Please do not attempt to reduce the qualifications for City Clerk. It would be an insult to the esteemed City Clerk profession and it is not necessary. Please remain with County consolidated elections. The Registar of Voters does a remarkable job. Changing to stand- alone local elections would be expensive, difficult to manage and unnecessary. Voter ID is facilitated through voter registration and the County's top notch comprehensive oversight. Voter ID at the polls is unnecessary in Orange County. Please do not attempt to change the election cycle for the City Clerk and City Treasurer. We don't need 70%newly elected officials all at once. We need less, not more, brain drain at City Hall. We have been experiencing overwhelming citizen input. Please listen to the people. Sincerely, Rebecca Ross Retired Huntington Beach Senior Deputy City Clerk and Certified Municipal Clerk 52-year Huntington Beach resident 1 Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 12:35 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: City councils poor choices From: Honie Abramowicz<honieiam@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 11:47 AM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:City councils poor choices I am alarmed at the bad decision, making, and lack of concern that the Mayor and his 3 right wing extremist allies are making. It seems they are only interested in passing their own extreme right wing agendas. For the mayor to send out birthday letters to constituents on our tax money is a waste of tax dollars. These four keep on making bad decisions and costing us taxpayers lots of money. Other bad decisions that they are making are calling for local elections instead of the County Registrar with new added costs in the millions of dollars. Add in the notions of poll watchers and voter ID. Certainly this push will lead to accusations of voter suppression and expensive litigation. Somehow we must stop these four before we lose our democracy our wonderful city is known for their biases and hate. i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 12:36 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: Charter Amendment meeting-Thursday 9/14/23 Original Message From: Domnic McGee<dmcgee@reagan.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 12:25 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: Charter Amendment meeting-Thursday 9/14/23 To whom it may concern, As a twenty-two year resident of Huntington Beach, I'm writing in favor of the newly proposed amendments to the City Charter. The amendments in their entirety will ensure a greater degree of election integrity, checks and balances against corruption and a return to patriotism over government sponsored displays of divisive, political ideologies. Sincerely, Domnic McGee Memento Mori 1 Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 3:27 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: Meeting From: Brandi Desso<brandidesso@yahoo.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 1:25 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: Meeting I am for the new proposed amendments for the city charter. Please acknowledge my support for this change. Thank you, Brandy Wertheimer Citizen of Hunting Beach Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 3:27 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: Charter Amendments etc. From:Jim Proctor<jamesrproctor@yahoo.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14,2023 1:47 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Charter Amendments etc. Dear Council: I oppose the Charter Amendments. Additionally, I oppose the proposed flag policy, and taking over election administration from the County and reduction of qualifications for city clerk. My whole family and I vote. Best regards, Jim Proctor We live in 92648. • Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 3:28 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: HB CHARTER AMENDMENT FOR PROPER VALID IDENTIFCATION TO VOTE. From:dougwheelerl@netzero.net<dougwheelerl@netzero.net>On Behalf Of dougwheelerl@netzero.com Sent:Thursday,September 14,2023 2:04 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: HB CHARTER AMENDMENT FOR PROPER VALID IDENTIFCATION TO VOTE. To all Huntington Beach City Council Members, My name is Doug Wheeler. I am a sixty three year resident of Huntington Beach. I am in favor of the proposed amendment to the HB City Charter to require proper valid identification to vote in all city, county, state and federal elections. Sincerely, Doug Wheeler 16152 Fairway Lane Huntington Beach, CA 92649-2718 i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 3:28 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: End HB council culture war From: RON ULRICH<fiberron@aol.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 2:09 PM To: letters@ocregister.com Cc:CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: End HB council culture war Your comments on the HB City Councils new focus on culture wars instead of focusing on our real issues is right on. The majority of the conservative councils focus on book banning, banning celebratory flags or making them require "by unanimous vote", rescheduling certain, not all elections, expanding poll-watchers to ballot drop-off points, and adding voter I.D. for elections are all focused on solving problems that have not exist in HB. Having elections conducted by the City instead of the County Registrar as they have been (adding to the cost for no reason) is answering another question no one asked. Trying to manipulate these aspects of our city instead of focusing on our high cost of housing, issues affecting our shrinking student pollutions leading to closing schools, homelessness issues, E-bike issues should be more at the front of city discussions and action. We have issues, the council does not have to bring battles being fought in other dysfunctional communities to find problems to solve. Ron Ulrich Huntington Beach 714-349-8102 i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 3:28 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW:YES to Voter ID From: Diana 0 Brien<diobri@yahoo.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14,2023 2:31 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:YES to Voter ID Dear City Council members esteemed and otherwise: My name is Diana O'Brien. I am a 22-year resident of Huntington Beach. I am in favor of the proposed amendment to the HB City Charter to require proper valid identification to vote in all city, county, state and federal elections. The only reason to oppose a voter ID requirement is to facilitate cheating — and every single sentient human being darn well knows that. Thanks for your efforts in this regard. Diana'Brien 5822 Trophy Drive 92649 Sent from my iPhone i Moore, Tania From: Fikes, Cathy Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 3:29 PM To: Agenda Alerts Subject: FW: HB CITY COUNCIL ON THE HB CHARTER AMENDMENT FOR PROPER VALI D IDENTIFC ATION TO VOTE. From: dougwheelerl@netzero.net<dougwheelerl@netzero.net>On Behalf Of dougwheelerl@netzero.com Sent:Thursday, September 14, 2023 3:02 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: HB CITY COUNCIL ON THE HB CHARTER AMENDMENT FOR PROPER VALI D IDENTIFC ATION TO VOTE. To all Huntington Beach City Council Members, My name is Rudy Morgan. I am a 6-year resident of Huntington Beach. I am in favor of the proposed amendment to the HB City Charter to require proper valid identification to vote in all city, county, state and federal elections. Rudy B. Morgan (714) 914-3187 rudybmorgan yahoo.com Moore, Tania From: Scott Malabarba <scott@malabarba.org> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 4:15 PM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org; CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) Subject: in opposition to special election and all three proposed charter amendments Dear Huntington Beach City Council, I am repeating my opposition to special election and to all three proposed charter amendments. Each proposed amendment is clearly manipulative in its construction,with an inflammatory"culture war" initiative grouped with unrelated and innocuous-looking changes that further corruption and nepotism. For example,the election takeover is grouped with a measure that eliminates the requirements that the city clerk be trained as a city clerk, so that friends and family can run for the job. The election takeover initiative is,aside from being a brazen attempt at voter suppression, poorly conceived with no workable plan to implement or pay for it. The flag policy is a clear projection of the hatred toward your queer constituents that was displayed at the nightmarish proceedings around library books. The new majority ran on a platform of opposing charter amendments, even modest ones.Yet now you are attempting a broad,sweeping set of amendments that most voters won't even understand. Councilmember McKeon has raised repeatedly the specter of massive budget shortfalls and the majority has attempted to cut services across nearly every city department(excepting, of course,the City Attorney's).Yet, here we see the city taking on new fiscal responsibilities that will likely end up in the millions(if it costs 1.2 million to add three boxes to a ballot, how much does it cost to run the entire election?). The HB city government is now under intense scrutiny by thousands of HB citizens.You've shown that we cannot trust you and must therefore question and examine every proposal, every budget item, every meeting agenda. Thank you again to council members Kalmick, Bolton,and Moser for your dedication and integrity. Sincerely, Scott Malabarba HB resident 1 Moore, Tania From: F. Starr <wfstarr3614@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 5:36 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF); supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Special Charter Review We became aware of some of the proposed changes to the City Charter.We are disturbed that these proposals were not made public with sufficient notice given for all Huntington Beach residents to respond to these proposals and changes. My husband,William Starr, and I are AGAINST: • Reducing the qualifications for serving as Elected City Clerk. • Making the City Attorney no longer accountable to the City Council, and effectively relinquishing budgetary power control. • Having local elections conducted by the City instead of the County Registrar (WHY IS THE EXTRA TIME AND MONEY NEEDED?) • Requiring voter ID for elections. • Allow for"poll-watchers" at ballot drop-off locations. Whose "poll-watchers"-- politically affilated? • Changing the election cycle for City Clerk and City Treasurer to occur with the City Attorney and Four Councilmembers- UNNECESSARY • Giving the Clerk and Treasurer a one-time six-year term, allowing that newly Elected person to vest in CaIPERS in their first term. WHY SHOULD THEY GET A BENEFIT NO ONE ELSE HAS? • Adding the City's Flag Policy that bans the Pride Flag to the Charter, changing the policy for the third time since being proposed,that would require unanimous vote to add a flag, STRANGE,SINCE IT REQUIRES ONLY A SIMPLE MAJORITY TO BAN A FLAG. Going forward we must have more transparency and sufficient notice from the City Council on proposals that affect all Huntington Beach residents. Thank you, William and Frances Starr Seacliff Peninsula residents 1 Moore, Tania From: McKeon, Casey Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 10:49 PM To: F. Starr Cc: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF); supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Re: Special Charter Review Hi William,there are three more Charter Amendment meetings the next three Thursdays at 6:00 pm to discuss and debate all of these items before a final vote is held to decide what if any will go on the ballot.The public can speak before the items are debated and then afterwards. Casey McKeon City Council Member City of Huntington Beach 714-536-5553 On Sep 14, 2023, at 5:36 PM, F.Starr<wfstarr3614@gmail.com>wrote: We became aware of some of the proposed changes to the City Charter. We are disturbed that these proposals were not made public with sufficient notice given for all Huntington Beach residents to respond to these proposals and changes. My husband,William Starr, and I are AGAINST: • Reducing the qualifications for serving as Elected City Clerk. • Making the City Attorney no longer accountable to the City Council, and effectively relinquishing budgetary power control. • Having local elections conducted by the City instead of the County Registrar (WHY IS THE EXTRA TIME AND MONEY NEEDED?) • Requiring voter ID for elections. • Allow for"poll-watchers" at ballot drop-off locations. Whose "poll-watchers" --politically affilated? • Changing the election cycle for City Clerk and City Treasurer to occur with the City Attorney and Four Councilmembers- UNNECESSARY • Giving the Clerk and Treasurer a one-time six-year term, allowing that newly Elected person to vest in CaIPERS in their first term. WHY SHOULD THEY GET A BENEFIT NO ONE ELSE HAS? 1 • Adding the City's Flag Policy that bans the Pride Flag to the Charter, changing the policy for the third time since being proposed,that would require unanimous vote to add a flag, STRANGE, SINCE IT REQUIRES ONLY A SIMPLE MAJORITY TO BAN A FLAG. Going forward we must have more transparency and sufficient notice from the City Council on proposals that affect all Huntington Beach residents. Thank you, William and Frances Starr Seacliff Peninsula residents 2 Moore, Tania From: Levin, Shannon Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 7:52 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: Fwd: Last night's meeting Get Outlook for iOS From:Terri Manzo<mamanzo27@me.com> Sent: Friday,September 15, 2023 7:45:06 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Cc:Terri Manzo<mammamanzo27@yahoo.com> Subject: Last night's meeting Good morning. I am a resident of Huntington Beach for 25 years. I am a supporter of the newly elected council members. But I am here to say last night I was so disappointed in the actions of our Mayor. I did not watch last weeks meeting I just was following on social media but I was interested in why these changes were necessary. I understood at the beginning of the meeting that there would be open comments by the public then discussion then anyone who wishes to speak again would get their opportunity.Why else would the Mayor have divided the 3 min? When that time came to have discussion the way I feel the mayor handled it was awful. I felt he was squirming and was so dishonest in his response. I was agreeing with Dan and that is not a side I ever thought I would be on. I am concerned about trust in this new group and I am sure as I spoke with some of my friends who are loosely following but at least trying to pay attention that they are in my same boat. I don't know what you are trying to do but please stop this nonsense and fix what you have done. For the record I do not think any of your amendments are necessary.The only one I agree with is voter ID. But is it necessary? Huntington Beach resident Concerned citizen Terri Manzo Sent from my iPhone 1 Moore, Tania From: Levin, Shannon Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:19 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: FW: Special Meeting Sept 14 2023 From: hb sandpiper<hbsandpiper@gmail.com> Sent: Friday,September 15, 2023 10:18 AM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF) <city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Special Meeting Sept 14 2023 Mayor Strickland and Council Members, Thank you so much for proving beyond a doubt the incompetence of the majority council. That meeting last night was absolute chaos. The OC Register was spot on. You four bring nothing and I mean nothing to the table. As a long time resident I am so embarrassed for all the hard working citizens of Huntington Beach who have to put up with your amateur antics. It is obvious that these special meetings are a sham, a ruse. I can't really say I'm disappointed because this is exactly what I expected to happen. You four are charlatans and soon enough everyone is going to realize it! Sincerely, HB Sandpiper 1 Moore, Tania From: Levin, Shannon Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:19 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: FW: all Huntington Beach City Council Members... From:John Runyard<runyard@yahoo.com> Sent: Friday,September 15, 2023 9:15 AM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:all Huntington Beach City Council Members... To all Huntington Beach City Council Members, My name is John Runyard. I am a 65 year resident or business owner of/in Huntington Beach. I am in favor of the proposed amendment to the HB City Charter to require proper valid identification to vote in all city, county, state and federal elections. Sincerely, John Runyard 5451 Old Pirate Drive Huntington Beach, CA 92649 1 Moore, Tania From: Levin, Shannon Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:19 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: FW: Charter Review From: D DAVENPORT<highc32@verizon.net> Sent: Friday,September 15, 2023 8:49 AM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:Charter Review Speaking as a supporter and a forty year plus resident of Huntington Beach, I was and am interested in learning why the various proposed amendments to the city charter were offered. Having read all of the material available, I was ready to speak during the public comment at the Charter Review meeting on the 14th. I did not speak because I thought it would be better if I listened to the council discussion portion of the meeting so that I would have a better understanding of why some of these changes were proposed. THERE WAS NO DISCUSSION and I learned nothing, other than an appreciation of how much this leadership has effectively organized its opposition. For the record: 1. I support limiting the flags on city property.This was never a problem until it became one by flying the flags of selected special interest groups. 2. The mayor should not have the authority to cancel city council meetings. I can easily see a future mayor cancelling a meeting when their opposition has organized for a given meeting. 3. Amory Hansen recommended that one proposed charter amendment that should be considered is the replacement for vacancies on the council. The last council handled this very poorly, resulting in a long term city council member that no one voted for. 4. A-two budget cycle make good sense to me. 5. I can not see any reason to adjust the terms or election cycles for any of the elected office positions. 6. Whereas I do support voter ID requirements,the only way I can see it working is if it is limited to in-person voting only.The government has already shifted to mail-in ballots and that can not be controlled at the local level. 7. I do support limitations on the waver of collections or forgiveness of taxes. 8. Measure C has served us well, but may have become somewhat over restrictive. 9. The mess between the old council and the city attorney certainly indicates that language in the charted does need to be tighten up. But the proposed changes are not acceptable. We probable will not have Mr. Gates as our attorney forever and the next one could easily create a fiefdom under these changes. 10. If any charter amendment has merit it should be able to stand on its own as a proposed change. I should not be bundled with others. Thank you D. Davenport Resident Moore, Tania From: Levin, Shannon Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:20 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: FW: HB Charter Amendment for ID to Vote From: Helena Foutz<rhfoutz@verizon.net> Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 6:22 AM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: HB Charter Amendment for ID to Vote Good morning, Huntington Beach City Council Members, I've lived in Huntington Beach since 1971 and am a property and business owner. I am in favor of the proposed amendment to the Huntington Beach City Charter requiring proper identification to vote in all city, county, state, and federal elections. Thanks, 3-Selena Foutz Licensed Independent Life and Health Broker#0M50453 CA, NV, AZ, TX, MO, MI, NE, OR, AR, and KS (714) 657-6355 (714) 477-1728 recorded line GetGreatPlans.com GetMedicareAndMore.com Required Disclaimer: "We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 0 to 28 organizations that offer 0 to 28 or more products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov,1-800-MEDICARE,or your local State Health Insurance Program to get information on all of your options." So there. 1 Moore, Tania From: Levin, Shannon Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:20 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: FW:A Few Items From: Eric Halsey<ehalseyhb@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14,2023 11:07 PM To:CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject:A Few Items I'm a 22 year resident of HB and grew up in Seal Beach. Thank you Council Member McKeon for proposing reinstating the Charter Committee. I kindly ask that you slow down and reduce the number of items that either cost unbudgeted money or add additional laws or overhead. I do not support having the government decide what books our kids can read. If our library services aren't doing their job then replace them. Please don't add more government. I do not support having any other flags than the city, state and the American flags. Not everyone agrees with the Olympics and while I support our service members to the fullest I do not agree with all of the non-declared wars our government has been involved with. I do not support any of the current charter amendments as proposed. Please do not spend my hard earned money on these items. For the record, I voted for Burns, McKean, Van Der Mark, Strickland and Gates in the last election. In my opinion, Burns and Van Der Mark are proposing too many things that are unnecessary and waste resources and are dividing our community just like the previous liberal council did. If you keep this up we will keep flipflopping between conservative and liberal ideologies and get nothing that the majority of constituents need done. Thanks, Eric Halsey 16292 Arlington Ln (949)296-5389 i Moore, Tania From: Levin, Shannon Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:20 AM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: FW: City Charter Amendments Original Message From: Claudette Brunelli<cbrunellihb@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday,September 14, 2023 6:18 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL.CMO STAFF)<city.council@surfcity-hb.org> Subject: City Charter Amendments The only charter amendment that I am for is the amendment clarifying the City Clerk position qualifications.While I agree a 4 year degree should be required, it does not necessarily need to be a degree in business.A good critical thinker can be successful in this position.As an example, my son majored in history but works in finance without a finance degree. Narrowing the qualifications to a business degree could eliminate many potential wonderful applicants. I am against the other charter amendments. Thank you, Claudette Brunelli 1 Moore, Tania From: Robert Frederickson <grnrmhb@yahoo.com> Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 12:46 PM To: supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: special election/charter ammendments To be honest, I don't feel safe speaking at a council meeting. To maybe over emphasize, I don't think I'd make it out alive! Facts and history don't mean anything to Liberals. To them it's all emotion. The anger you see in so many of the speakers is pure emotion driven by the "Fear of Loosing Power". For years, the liberal majority had their way and they used that POWER to instill their ideology as fast as they could with impunity. And then they lost that POWER when the HB residents flipped that majority by a landslide. I understand "loosing the power" can be a bitter pill to swallow, but karma is a bitch. And I understand the powerless feeling of the current council members and their supporters, because we conservatives lived thru it. Very hypocritical when people yell "you were elected to represent ALL the residents". You were right to censor Moser. That was a public personal attack of an issue that has long been remediated as pointed out in the 9/5 council meeting video from 2018. Also, Gracey explained it all to me during our one-hour phone call prior to the election. But liberals believe that telling a lie over and over makes it the truth. I emailed Gracey afterwards telling her that seeing her stand up for herself just made me believe and trust her more. All the clamor of surrounding "having a special election" or "changing the charter" is again hypocrisy since the liberal council just did it purely for their own benefit. Charter Amendment #1 Section 705 - Voter ID: Doesn't go far enough. I have been pulling out my wallet to force polling people to look at it for 40 years. It is ridiculous to say that we don't need Voter ID since we don't have voter fraud. Protecting the sanctity of our elections is their intent and this is one very easy way to add more protection. But we should stop mass ballot mailings. Mass mailing of ballots was part of the governments power grab during covid. Section 310 —City Clerk: I have yet to hear the argument FOR changing the requirements. At least a current certification sib a requirement. We shouldn't have to wait 3 years to have a certified City Clerk. I think that combining it with the Voter ID and the malfeasance is a mistake ... not too much support i Section 314: - Malfeasance: Agree Charter Amendment#2 Section 806— Flags: OK, but why include "unanimous vote of the council ? Section 601, 602, 603, etc— Biennial budget: OK Section 300—CC & CT term: I don't know why the change but OK Charter Amendment#3 Section 618— Property Tax: OK Section 303 — Cancel Meeting: OK, but should ADD "notice of cancellation along with an explanation for full transparency s/b on the City's website". Robert Frederickson 8412 Norfolk Dr, HB 714 856 9132 I ' 2 Moore, Tania From: Lisa Swanson <lisainlb@ymail.com> Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 2:28 PM To: CITY COUNCIL(INCL. CMO STAFF);supplementalcomm@surfcity-hb.org Subject: AGAINST CHARTER AMENDMENTS Dear City Council Majority Proposing the Charter Amendments, I am forgoing attending the special meetings but wanted to add my voice to the strong public opposition to wasting money to add unnecessary charter amendments to the March 2024 ballot. You ran on a platform of transparency and listening to all residents but your actions since have been the complete opposite. From abolishing community advisory boards to voting to take away our choice regarding energy providers, you have shown a disregard for a majority of your constituents. I strongly urge you to start listening to us and back off on these unpopular, costly charter amendments. Sincerely, Lisa Swanson 13 yr + SE Huntington Beach Resident i