Huntington Beach voters have spoken, and they like what the conservative city council is selling.
On Tuesday, two controversial measures supported by the council’s conservative majority passed by comfortable margins. Measure A allows the city to require voter identification. Measure B restricts flag displays outside City Hall, effectively banning LGBTQ pride flags. Another measure, which would have moved the city to a two-year budget cycle and updated the process for canceling meetings, was rejected.
"I believe the votes validated that we are headed in the right direction," said Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, a MAGA Republican who was elected as part of a new majority in 2022. Since that majority took over, surf city has become a flashpoint in the culture wars, with right-wing policy proposals and council infighting dominating raucous city council meetings.
The city may still have to answer to the state. Attorney General Rob Bonta previously warned Huntington Beach that the voter ID measure would violate state law.
View Orange County’s election results here.