PAT BURNS sworn in as new mayor.

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

A brand new city council – with a brand new mayor – for Huntington Beach was seated Tuesday night.

The swearing in of new members Don Kennedy, Chad Williams and Butch Twining – together with incumbents Tony Strickland, Gracey Van Der Mark, Pat Burns and Casey McKeon – means that Surf City will likely have a unanimous council composed of “hard-right conservatives.”

On a 7-0 vote, Burns was elected mayor and McKeon as mayor pro tempore.

“All the time we will put Huntington Beach first on the agenda,” said the new mayor. “We are going ro serve the best we can and we’re going to do what’s right. I always say it’s easy to do the right thing and I don’t think we’re going to break a sweat doing it.

“We love this city, we’re going to put it first and were going to do exactly what we need to do to put it on great financial ground and take us in a direction that serves everybody both in the long-term, short-term.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done here and – hopefully – I’m gonna be proud of what we’re going to do in the future.”

The direction of the new council may have been signaled by the new councilmembers who spoke of their devotion to God, and audience members wearing red “Make Huntington Beach Great Again” hats. Strickland termed the council as “The MAGAnificent Seven,” a reference to President-elect Donald Trump.

After the new mayor and mayor pro team were chosen and sworn in, City Attorney Michael Gates addressed the council and audience and criticized outgoing liberal councilmembers Natalie Moser, Dan Kalmick and Rhonda Kalmick at length. He described the results of the recent election as “a dramatic change” and a new direction for the city.

In addition to the election and seating of the council members, Lisa Lane Barnes was seated as the new city clerk and Alicia Backstrom to another term as city treasurer.