On the Banal Incompetence of Councilman Tito.

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(A Progress Report.)

On Monday, the Huntington Beach City Council logged into their biweekly Zoom meeting to discuss, among other things, the 4th of July parade, support for local restaurants, and the establishment of a committee oversight committee — that last one passed 7-0. 

The date marked six weeks since Tito Ortiz was given a second chance to serve as the city’s Mayor Pro Tem, and was the date originally proposed to revisit the vote of no confidence that would strip him of his special title on the council. Though he has failed to change his Instagram habits, we did not have another hearing on the vote of no confidence; and the only council member who had the courage to publicly rebuke him was Natalie Moser. (During public comments, HBCC candidate Eric Silkenson gently recommended that Tito use more of his “free speech” talking up HB, instead of repeating wild conspiracy theories.)

Both of the council’s March meetings have been virtually visited by a pair of eighth grade scooter enthusiasts named Chad and JT, who called the Huntington Beach City Council in the hopes that Tito Ortiz might help them confront their bullies at the Vans Off the Wall SkatePark

They’re not actually eighth graders, of course– they’re the hosts of Chad Goes Deep, a podcast and YouTube channel featured on Ellen a couple of years ago. I’ll admit that even I was confused by their March 1st call, but I looked them up after the meeting and found all of their truly hilarious videos, including my personal favorite, “Solving the Mask Shortage in Huntington Beach.” 

Mayor Pro Tem Ortiz didn’t have a clue who they were, didn’t bother to find out, and then played directly into their joke. He addressed Chad and JT in his closing comments, and without a trace of irony or awareness, asked them to email him for a skate park meeting (don’t leave him hanging, dudes!). While I agree with Tito’s anti-bullying message, his failure to get the joke the second time around doesn’t inspire much confidence in his intellect. 

We spend a lot of time talking about the spectacular failures of Tito Ortiz’s infant (and infantile) political career — like his attempts to undermine OC’s COVID vaccination efforts, or his refusal to follow the rules of local businesses — but Ortiz fails his constituents in more mundane ways, too. And those little things add up. 

City Council members take two or three minutes near the beginning of each public session to report on meetings and events they attended. This week, Councilmember Moser told us about the interviews for HB’s Human Relations Task Force, Councilmember Posey discussed his work with the new OC Power Authority… and Tito said nothing at all. 

There is no law requiring him to provide an update on council-adjacent activities, mostly because the boards and committees council members liaise with have their own set of rules for public disclosure. Council members give these additional updates as a courtesy, a good-faith effort to increase government transparency and inform the community. That said, it’s certainly ironic that a man who runs his mouth about Deep State, Orwellian government conspiracies refuses to do basic work like reporting to his constituents. 

This lack of effort isn’t out of character for Mayor Pro Tem Ortiz, the only member of the Huntington Beach City Council to vote by verbal ‘yea’ or ‘nay.’ Ortiz continues to struggle with the council’s electronic voting system, despite the fact that even dinosaurs like Mike Posey have figured it out (no offense, Mike). Tito likes to say “the first time is a mistake, and the second time is a decision.” He’s had two weeks between each of his eight meetings to ask for help with this technology, which means he has decided to waste everyone’s time. 

Ortiz is only one of seven equally-weighted voices on the council, so there is a limit to how much legislative damage he can do — but it’s a moot point because he hasn’t even attempted to introduce his own ideas. He entered the world of politics by “standing guard” downtown– now, it appears he’s sitting on his hands, waiting for his scary friends to join him on the dais in 2022.

Here’s hoping Chad and JT make Tito look as foolish as those who voted for him. 

Previously in this series:
And Our Tito Watch Begins…
Tito Tries a Council Meeting!
Tito and Facial Coverings: A Dark Surf City Comedy
Tito’s Credo 1: #SaveOurChildren… and How it Doesn’t.
Champion of the Oppressed: Unmasked Tito Thrown out of Meeting.
Tito’s Credo 2: The HB Mayor Pro-Tem’s Plan to Kill Your Grandma.
Tito’s TK-Burger-Gate
Tito to Lose “Pro-Tem” Title? We Answer his Distraught Fans’ Complaints.
Tito’s Credo 3: A Dive into the Deep State, and the Boating Hit-and-Run
Tito Keeps His “Pro-Tem” Title!
Tito’s Credo 4: The Stolen Election (NOT!)
The Argument AGAINST Recalling Tito Ortiz
Transphobic Amber.


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