Libraries generally are among cities’ least-controversial services, yet Huntington Beach’s conservative City Council decided to make the city’s libraries a flashpoint in its culture war—and the latest battle is heading to the ballot box.
The council on March 4 unanimously approved placing two ballot initiatives on a June 10 special election after proponents gathered sufficient signatures. Both are reactions to council policies. One would repeal the city’s measure establishing a 21-member board to vet books and prevent children from checking out unapproved ones. That board has not been empaneled, but the decision has sparked concerns about censorship.
We opposed that measure, which seems like unnecessary meddling by elected officials in the book-selection process. Librarians don’t always make the right call—but it’s far better letting them do their jobs than to empower a committee of Karens. The second initiative would place roadblocks in the way of the council’s now-scuttled goal of privatizing its libraries. That idea made sense, as a host of Southern California libraries have improved service through privatization.
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Instead of placing the measures on a general-election ballot, the council took the $1 million route of calling a special election, which is likely to draw a more committed number of conservative voters. What a waste of time and money—and for what? The city’s MAGA initiatives (voter ID and challenges to state housing deregulation) have pushed it into a never-ending sea of costly lawsuits. As the Register reported, a group of residents and a nonprofit group recently sued Huntington Beach over its 2023 vote to start this book-review nonsense.
None of this was necessary, nor does any of it improve the city’s budget or the quality of its services. The council also approved a library anniversary plaque that uses the acronym MAGA. It stands for “Magical, Alluring, Galvanizing, Adventurous,” but we—wink, wink, nod, nod—get the real message. This pointless and inappropriate political posturing sparked overflow crowds to debate it even as the city faces pressing fiscal issues.
Excuse us for preferring a time when library services were less controversial.