Over the past three years, Huntington Beach leaders have been some of the most outspoken city council members in the state championing the MAGA movement – now, they’re set to be represented in congress by a man who’s vehemently opposed to many of their ideas.
The shift came after California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50 on Tuesday night, which shifted Huntington Beach into a congressional district that stretches up the coast all the way to Long Beach.
[Read: Here’s How Prop. 50 Could Reshape Orange County’s Political Landscape]
Their new congressman is Robert Garcia, a progressive Democrat who has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, calling him “the most corrupt person to ever be president of the United States.”
It’s unclear what Garcia’s new role could be in Huntington Beach – he’s only publicly talked about it once, at a No Kings rally earlier this month, saying his goal was to help Democrats get elected to every city council and school board seat in his new district.
“I’m taking on more Republicans than any Democrat in the state of California,” Garcia said. “When they asked me ‘are you willing to do it?’ I said absolutely. Bring it the fuck on.”
But Huntington Beach’s city council is among the county’s most Republican, holding a majority since 2022 and currently control the entire city council.
Over the past three years, city leaders have repeatedly challenged Gov. Gavin Newsom on issues including voter ID laws and state housing mandates as well as championing several controversial discussions around what books are allowed at the public library.
Garcia’s approach to politics makes some Huntington Beach city leaders apprehensive about their new congressman, with Mayor Pat Burns saying Garcia doesn’t represent the city council’s priorities.
“We’re proponents of self governance, local control, and he (Garcia) doesn’t believe in any of that for Huntington Beach,” Burns said in an Oct. 29 interview. “We just want to be able to live our own lives with minimal effect by big government.”
Councilman Butch Twining agreed with Burns in a Wednesday statement, saying he’d known Garcia for years through his business.
“Robert Garcia is perfect for LB. His values don’t align with a huge majority of HB Citizens,” Twining wrote. “Did I mention how disgusting it is to have to pay $300mil of tax payers money to install him, probably illegally, as a representative of Huntington Beach not to mention a billion dollars of special interest money to install him.”
Despite that tension, some city council members also see a possibility of making it work.
Councilman Andrew Gruel, who was appointed to the dais in March, said while he recognized he wouldn’t agree with Garcia on a number of issues, he still wants to figure out where they can work together.
“I think it’s important that anyone who’s representing us understands what our needs are,” Gruel said in a Wednesday interview. “I don’t think we’re going to ever see eye to eye on everything but there might be some shared interests.”
He also pointed out that while congress members don’t shape the day to day life of many of their constituents, they can be instrumental in bringing federal funding to their cities.
“It’s ultimately a competition for resources, and by resources I mean money. Like grants, jobs, coastal resiliency funds, anything related to federal and state infrastructure,” Gruel said. “Those are areas where I would just want to understand his perspective and his strategy. I try and look at these things on an issue by issue basis.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
