Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz took a dive on the voters who elected him to the HB City Council in November and resigned yesterday. Ortiz cited numerous news reports attacking him and threats against him and his family as reasons why.
The Voice of OC has the scoop here. From the story:
“To put it simply, this job isn’t working for me,” Ortiz is heard saying in a video posted on Twitter.
In the video, Ortiz cited his family and children’s safety as one of the deciding factors as well as being targeted in the press.
“From day one, I was sworn in and I was met with hostility and judgment. Being a public figure nothing is new, however, to be the sole focus of character assassination each and every week, with multiple news stories, and leaked personal information, all of which were in hopes to slander and defame my name. I thought it was up to this job,” he said.
So the question remains, how best to replace Ortiz: appointment or special election? The remaining city council is split 3-3 along party lines but voter registration trends Republican.
Gracey Van Der Mark, Oscar Rodriguez, Brian Burley, Matt Harper and Casey McKeon were all within 4,000 votes of each other. If the council decides to go appointment, candidates in the middle may have the best shot.
As far as Tito goes, its was apparent from the get-go he was more interested in being a candidate than an office holder. His experience with Roberts Rules of Order were practically non-existent (and he’s certainly not alone in OC on this for that matter). I thought he was made of tougher stuff; guess not. But then again, maybe there’s a sequel for “Zombie Strippers” he’s preparing for instead of this city council stuff.
Classic case of playing the victim when he’s the offender. The fewer people like this in office, the better.
Like her or not, Gracie is the RIGHTFUL appointee. But, I suspect the council will shoehorn in Oscar Rodrigez, which will usher in a ton of rehashed allegations about Oscar, Victor, Gina and Vern Nelson and their drinking.
Verns recent target on the blogs and Twitter posted the troubling exchange and GTC defended Vern. Making her AT ONCE unfit to serve.