When the fox investigates the henhouse, the conclusion is foregone.

Today, Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns released a statement* from the City Attorney’s Office claiming that no violations were committed by Councilman Chad Williams in regard to HB Municipal Code §2.07.080—the ordinance that limits candidates to one campaign committee for any one city office. The statement, unsurprisingly, absolves Williams without an independent investigation, despite clear evidence that he controls two committees: one for his own campaign and another for opposing local measures.

This isn’t transparency. It’s cover-up.

It’s laughable—and tragic—that we’re expected to accept the findings of a City Attorney who reports directly to the same Councilmembers whose behavior is in question. The City Attorney (Michael Vigliotta, following in the footsteps of MAGA star Michael Gates) is essentially being used as a legal shield to block accountability, rendering their office a tool of political protectionism rather than public service. This is exactly why the public deserves independent legal counsel to investigate potential corruption—not friends of the accused.

Let’s be clear: the municipal code doesn’t say “one campaign committee unless you feel like starting another one for fun.” It says one. And while the City Attorney is now stretching language to justify Chad Williams’ second FPPC committee, the community sees through it. If there is no wrongdoing, why the rush to shut down public inquiry? Why the refusal to allow Gina Clayton Tarvin to finish her comments at the council meeting? Why the gaslighting of the public?

This is not just a legal technicality—this is political arrogance.

But the abuse doesn’t stop there. Chad Williams has also violated Section 312(b) of the Huntington Beach City Charter, which prohibits conduct that is “extremely repugnant to accepted moral standards.” Let’s talk about the grotesque, sexualized signs he placed in front of public schools in the name of “protecting children.” Any other city would see this as a moral and legal crisis. In Huntington Beach, it’s a campaign tactic. If this doesn’t qualify as a violation of the city’s moral standards clause, what does?

This City Council is not just out of touch—it’s out of control. And it is actively attempting to co-parent your households, monitor your bookshelves, and define your morality based on religious extremism and political opportunism.

It’s time for the public to fight back.

Vote YES on Measures A and B this month. They restore fairness, stop censorship, and return balance to our local elections.

Vote NO to Gracey Van Der Mark and Co. at the next City Council election. Huntington Beach needs leaders—not culture war puppets.

Demand an outside legal investigation. Because no one should be allowed to investigate themselves.

We are not a city of silence. We are not a city of submission. We are a city of perseverance—and we will not stop until justice, accountability, and transparency are restored to Huntington Beach.

Signed,
Tory D. Johnson
Founder, Black Lives Matter Huntington Beach
Columnist, Orange Juice Blog

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*Today’s Statement from City of HB

Please find statement below on behalf of Mayor Pat Burns:

“The City Attorney’s Office has investigated the accusation made by resident Gina Clayton Tarvin that Councilman Chad Williams has violated and is “continuing to violate Huntington Beach Law” and has concluded that no violation of Huntington Beach Municipal Code (HBMC) Section 2.07.080, as Tarvin had alleged, has occurred.

“The single committee rule in HBMC Section 2.07.080 applies to the campaign for “that City office” (singular) for which the original committee was formed. It does not prohibit a candidate or elected city officer from having other unrelated committees. In fact, Section 2.07.080 expressly provides at least two examples of when a City candidate or an elective City officer can have multiple committees. Therefore, based on the presented facts, it was concluded that no violation of Section 2.07.080 has occurred.

“No further investigation needed.”

First response, from Trustee Clayton-Tarvin:

“Mayor Burns, this response should surprise no one due to the corrupt nature of your meddling and your politically incestuous relationship with Chad Williams. You voted to misuse public tax dollars on a witch hunt to exact political persecution on the nonprofit Friends of the Library, a nonpartisan group of elderly volunteers who work to make our city better. They donate over $250,000 a year to the City of HB. You should be ashamed of yourself.

“You should be thanking them, but instead you libel and defame them. You and Chad Williams are beholden to City Attorney’s Office (and Michael Gates) the same office that advised that you should keep the airshow settlement hidden and then wasted limited city funds, then wasted more money suing the CA Governor in Federal Court just to be turned down by the District Court and the Court of Appeals twice. You just keep losing.

“I will be requesting an investigation by the FPPC and proper authorities to take this matter up. Lastly, there is always a legal challenge that can be filed and you know how that will end for you. As the most successful resident plaintiff in the city’s history, it’s going to be an uphill battle for you amateurs. I have never lost and you have never won against me.”

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