Mailbag: Anyone else want to start a Grandpa Brigade?

Kudos to the Grandma Brigade for protesting in front of the Costa Mesa Tesla showroom (“Grandma Brigade holds its first protest in Costa Mesa to ‘stop the Musk takeover,” March 7).

I’m sure the Raging Grannies of Spokane, Wash.; Eugene, Ore.; Madison, Wis. and other communities salute your efforts. Which begs the question: Where is the Grandpa Brigade? Because I am 76 and about to become a grandfather for the third time, I think it’s safe to say I could easily qualify as a charter member. Who’s with me?

Denny Freidenrich
Laguna Beach

Is MAGA-only library book collection next?

How many times does this need to be repeated? There are no pornographic or obscene books in the Huntington Beach Library children’s department. It is illegal for book publishers to sell such books for children.

Puberty books, books about the human body and sex education books are not pornography, no matter how many times the Huntington Beach City Council tries to convince people otherwise. Councilman Chad Williams claims the ACLU is stripping parents of their right to decide what is appropriate for their children, but this is what our council is doing.

They want a 21-person committee of their choosing to have the ultimate say over what books can and cannot be ordered for the library. They want to restrict access to library books they find questionable to anyone under the age of 18. Censorship is censorship. The City Council is not letting parents decide for themselves. They are deciding for them.

Although they had the option, they chose not to accept either library petition, one to do away with the review committee and the other to allow residents to vote before the library management can be outsourced. They claim they have no plans to move forward with outsourcing the library. If this is true, why didn’t they accept the petition? Instead of waiting until the next general election, our council has chosen the most expensive option to fight against them. Our city will hold a special election, June 10, at the cost of at least $1 million.

Our city is known to have low voter turnout for special elections. If residents love their library and their freedom to read freely, they need to vote in favor of the library petitions. This is just the beginning of the chipping away of residents’ rights. If our council is allowed to continue their censorship of library materials and is given the freedom to outsource library management to a private company without resident approval, what will come next? Residents need to get out and vote. If you are upset now about a MAGA library plaque, wait until you have a MAGA-only library book collection.

Barbara Richardson
Huntington Beach

H.B. City Council’s claims of voter fraud nonsense

The Huntington Beach City Council claims that voting is unsecured. I say such claims are unfounded and problematic, and here is why: On Jan. 1, the Orange County Grand Jury published its report, “Is Voting Integrity Alive and Well in Orange County?” On page 19, it states: “The Grand Jury’s analysis confirmed that the 2024 election maintained the highest level of integrity for OC voters.”

The panel listed its findings:

• “There was no evidence of fraud or election interference ascertained in the 2024 general election in Orange County;
• Voting in Orange County is fair, secure, and transparent;
• The ROV communications and outreach programs promote transparency and public confidence in the voting process. Orange County eligible voters can feel secure in knowing that the ROV provided an election of the highest recognized standards.”

Yet, despite these findings, the City Council continues to make unsupported allegations. Show us the data! If there is any, who published it? How many cases of voter fraud have been reported to the O.C. district attorney’s office?

On May 15, 2024, I heard Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer address this issue at the office of the O.C. Registrar of Voters. He said that while many claim voter fraud has taken place, they do not provide evidence to that effect.

Clearly, this council is talking nonsense about voter fraud! Now, they want to divert taxpayer funds to run city elections?

Kathleen Bunge
Huntington Beach