Ballots are out and vote centers will open at the end of the month for the upcoming June 10 election in Huntington Beach that will determine if two ballot initiatives, Measures A and B, concerning city libraries will be put into effect.
The election is a test for some of the most polarizing policies from the conservative City Council, including its push to create a review board over children’s books. Voters could also decide to make it harder for future councils to privatize the library’s operations.
In November, Huntington Beach voters approved two of three charter amendments proposed by the council, including one requiring voter ID in local elections. But no issue has symbolized the arrival of the new council in late 2022 than the libraries and the related change in direction for the city.
Measure A
Measure A calls for eliminating a law the City Council initiated last year that created the rules for a 21-member children’s book review board.
The board has not yet been formed, but it has the power to move children’s books already in the library to restricted shelves that wouldn’t allow children to check them out without a parent’s or guardian’s permission.
The board also has the power to block the library from purchasing new books that a majority of its members decide don’t meet “community standards.”
If approved, Measure A would eliminate the law creating the review board and instead would declare the director of the city’s libraries as the person in charge of setting standards for what materials the library has. Measure A also says, “The public has the right to receive access to a range of social, political, aesthetic, moral, and other ideas and experiences,” and library materials “should present diverse points of view in the collection as a whole.”
Supporters of Measure A argue the motive behind the law they want repealed was to ban books and silence ideas.
Lindsay Klick, a Huntington Beach parent and Orange County librarian, said many of the books that have already been moved to restricted shelves on an upper floor of the Central Library are puberty books.
“To me, this is shaming of girls for going through natural things like puberty,” Klick said. “And I just worry for them and for parents that feel like they’re going to have to make a trek up there just to deal with their own bodies.”
Klick said a vote for Measure A would keep parents in charge of their family’s reading choices and not politicians.
“Measure A locks parents out,” counters Councilmember Chad Williams, who joined the council after the law was passed but supports the move.
Williams said voting against Measure A would keep the power in the community instead of it being reverted to an unelected librarian.
Councilmembers said the law they created is to prevent children from being exposed to “library books and/or materials that may be considered lewd or pornographic.” A vote against Measure A, they say, will preserve community input on what children are exposed to in city libraries.
Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark in June 2023 ignited the issue when she proposed making a law to screen out children’s books with sexually explicit material.
Williams pointed to “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human” that says viewing pornography online can help people discover new aspects of their sexuality as a book in the nonfiction young adult collection of the library that teenagers can check out and shouldn’t be able to without parental permission.
Opponents of Measure A have argued more broadly that the review board will give residents an opportunity to instill values that align with community values in public libraries funded by taxpayers. Huntington Beach, council members have said, is the first city in the state to take action on getting parents more involved.
A lawsuit challenging the law in court is holding up the city from finally forming the board, Williams said.
Measure B
Measure B would make it harder for the library’s operations to be privatized after the City Council solicited bids from contractors in the past to manage the libraries.
Last year, the City Council explored having a private company manage the library system to save money. In response, a community group gathered signatures for what would become Measure B. The ballot initiative would create a law requiring both the City Council and then a majority of voters in an election to approve a change in management of the libraries.
Supporters said Measure B gives residents the final say over what happens to the city’s libraries and sends the message that public libraries aren’t for sale.
“Voting YES sends a strong message to politicians and for-profit corporations: our public libraries are not for sale,” supporters wrote in ballot arguments. “Simply put, our libraries benefit every resident, are a resource to our entire community, and must remain public and available to all.”
The council ended its discussions last year on the privatizing of the library’s operations after the sole bidder withdrew from consideration.
Opponents to Measure B say it would strip the council’s ability to make financial decisions in the city’s best interest.
“By voting no on this measure, the people of the city of Huntington Beach will preserve the City Council’s ability to protect our city budget and preserve the City Council’s decision-making authority to manage our libraries as necessary,” a group of three councilmembers wrote asking voters to reject Measure B.
Vote centers open May 31
Voters can return their ballots by mail or at a drop box, but mailed ballots must be postmarked no later than June 10 and received by June 17.
A first wave of vote centers will open on May 31, with the rest opening up on June 7, three days before the election. The City Council must certify the results of the election by July 4. For more information on voting, visit ocvote.gov.