Tito Keeps “Pro-Tem” – what you may have missed if you played my drinking game.

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Here’s what you missed if you played my drinking game while watching the Huntington Beach Council meeting last night, and blacked out before the public comments section was over:  They voted 5-2, Ortiz and Peterson against, to stay in the OC Power Authority. 

Oh… is that not what you came here to read about? Ugh, fine.

In the days leading up to the February 1st meeting, prominent Orange County QAnons fired up their outrage machines to gather phone calls and emails in support of Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz, and a few HB community forum admins invited their followers to a protest at City Hall (despite the meeting being conducted over Zoom).

Insane Coup Posse sighting? Sure looks like Joe Magapit Vargas preserving the Major memory. (Click for larger view)

Smelling an opportunity to network, Major Williams, an early-bird Republican gubernatorial candidate for 2022, stopped by to say a few words on Tito’s behalf. And if you’re wondering who this guy is, I highly recommend reading his ‘Platform Q & A’ which includes answers to hard-hitting policy questions like, “What is your shoe size?” and “Do you have a black wife?” 

However, it seemed that the Tito supporters who called or wrote in were outnumbered, and attendance at the City Hall protest was underwhelming despite the appearance of both Major Williams and Amber Nichole Miller. And as Councilman Mike Posey pointed out last night, not even Tito’s election support was particularly remarkable… he only received 14.8% of the vote in an election with record-breaking turnout, against opponents with a fraction of his funding and fan base. With all that in mind, it’s completely baffling that HBCC decided to indefinitely table the agenda item stripping Ortiz of his Mayor Pro Tem title. 

But they didn’t let Tito off the hook completely. 

Mayor Kim Carr mercifully ended the public flogging – sorry, public comments – after three whole hours, presumably to make time for her own lengthy lecture about bipartisanship, integrity, and unity. The HB Forum Dwellers said she sounded like a mother scolding a petulant child, and I have to agree. Everyone took their turn chastising Tito for his manifold snafus, including his failure to understand basic legislative principles and procedures, poor attendance, and social media scandals – except, of course, Councilmember Erik Peterson, who excused Tito’s incompetence as “a different way of doing things.” 

Like many people following the situation, I had thought the vote of no confidence was a sure thing. After weeks of congressional Democrats failing to hold Republican leaders accountable for inciting the January 6th insurrection, it was a relief to feel heard by our community. One of my Twitter followers aptly described this meeting as “the HB City Council Group Therapy Session.” Sure, we didn’t get what we wanted at the end of the night– but we got the catharsis we needed during the public comments. 

I imagine most of you are wondering why council members would introduce such a controversial item if they were just going to table it, and I’m afraid I don’t have a concrete explanation for you at this time. But here’s my working theory:

Me, Tito Watch, concocting my “Working Theory.”

Mayor Carr and Councilmember Dan Kalmick were fed up watching Tito utterly fail at governance and leadership, but they knew they’d fail to remove him without bipartisan support. They approached Councilmember Posey because he seemed the most likely to sign on.

Community Choice Energy is Posey’s pet project, and the final presentation and vote was scheduled for this meeting. Voting in favor of CCE wouldn’t look good if local conservatives called en masse to voice their opposition. Without any intention of voting no confidence, he agreed to put his name on the item to distract conservatives from the CCE vote. 

Remember – all of this is speculation! – but if I’m right about the plan, we absolutely fell for it. I read the first 200 emails to HBCC for this meeting, and only two or three mentioned CCE at all. There were two calls in support last night [and one was from Fullerton’s Jose Castaneda – Vern]  That’s it. 

But regardless of whatever political shenanigans did or did not occur, one thing is absolutely indisputable: Conservatives view Tito’s ceremonial position on city council as a reflection of their values. And they fought so hard for him to keep it that they sacrificed their actual values. 

Pure Poetry in Motion.

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 World 1: #SaveOurChildren… and How it Doesn’t.
Champion of the Oppressed: Unmasked Tito Thrown out of Meeting.
TW 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.
TW3: A Dive into the Deep State, and the Boating Hit-and-Run


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