Newly-appointment Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Rhonda Bolton participated in her first meeting of the dais on Tuesday, Aug 3. It was a watershed moment. Bolton is the first Black council member in the city’s history.
And yet…
“At her first meeting, audience members booed after a staffer for Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley presented Bolton with a certificate of recognition,” the LA Times’ Gustavo Arellano reports.
“Speaker after speaker lobbed wild-eyed accusations at Bolton — that a ‘globalist ideology’ facilitated her selection, that she is an ‘extremist’ who indulged in ‘racial pandering’ through her diversity consulting firm, that she wants to impose a ‘radical agenda on the innocent youth of our city.’”
It didn’t end there. During the meeting, a member of Save Surf City announced a recall effort against Bolton and five other council members. The individual said Bolton’s appointment had disenfranchised the voters of Huntington Beach. Someone didn’t do their homework though. Under California law, a council member must serve at least 90 days before they can be recalled.
Bolton, who replaced Tito Ortiz, opted not to respond to her critics. In a text to Arellano, she said she was “focused on continuing to work on matters that help make the city even better.”