Debate for the 11 Huntington Beach City Council candidates has 6 no-shows
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A debate typically requires some kind of back-and-forth disagreement, and there wasn’t much of that to be found Wednesday night when candidates for the Huntington Beach City Council gathered at the Senior Center in Central Park so voters could hear what they had to say.
“Surf City Decides” said the advertising put out by Protect Huntington Beach, which organized the debate. Six of the 11 candidates for four open seats in the November election decided not to show up.
For the record:
9:19 p.m. Sept. 17, 2026An earlier version of this story misstated candidate Andrew Gruel’s reason for his absence from the debate.
What that afforded was a nearly two-hour opportunity for members of the so-called Surf City Four, first-time candidates Taryn Palumbo, Erin Spivey, Ben Davis and Brenda Glim, to state their positions and what they would bring to the office. Amory Hanson, running for council for the sixth time, was the other candidate to attend the debate, which was streamed online.
The no-shows included both this year’s and last year’s mayors, Casey McKeon and Pat Burns, along with their slate-mate Brian Thienes, Andrew Gruel, Brian Burley and Rosalind Price.
“I’m really disappointed,” said Spivey, a former Huntington Beach city librarian who successfully sued the city for children’s library book censorship, of the candidate turnout. “I think not only does it show that they weren’t respectful of us as candidates, they weren’t respectful of the community who was eager to hear from their current city council members and people who want to be on city council. It’s important for everybody to take the opportunity to talk to anyone who’s willing to listen, and this was a real missed opportunity for these council candidates who couldn’t be bothered to show up.”
McKeon said Thursday that he and his conservative slate-mates were at a campaign meet-and-greet at a supporter’s home Wednesday night, adding that it had been scheduled since May. He said he was also hesitant to show up given that Protect HB had already endorsed each of the progressive members of the Surf City Four.
“They’ve attacked all of us, with really aggressive, personal, ad hominem attacks, whether through comments that someone posted or things they’ve liked,” McKeon said. “For me personally, I know they’ve gone after me. It is what it is, but it’s a combination of that and already having an event that was booked well in advance of that.”
Gruel, a celebrity chef who is running to stay on the dais after he was appointed to the council last year, on Thursday issued a statement about his absence:
“I let the organizers know as soon as the debate date was announced that I already had a longstanding private speaking engagement that evening. I looked into whether I could Zoom in, but unfortunately the timing and logistics just didn’t make it possible,” Gruel stated.
Both McKeon and Gruel said they are planning to attend the Chamber of Commerce council candidates forum, which takes place Sept. 30 at the Huntington Beach Central Library theater.
Wednesday’s debate was moderated by a pair of former mayors, Jill Hardy and Erik Peterson. Former city clerks Robin Estanislau and Joan Flynn served as timekeepers.
The candidates who did attend fielded questions on a variety of Huntington Beach issues, from the numerous lawsuits the city is involved with to a structural budget deficit that is projected to continue to grow.
Davis, a civil rights attorney, said he would bring back commissions that had been shut down in recent years. His fellow Surf City Four candidtes agreed with him that there should be regular town hall meetings throughout the community, including at the nearly 80 parks within city limits.
“We should also institute office hours, where we invite the community to visit us in our office at City Hall or on Zoom, to share their personal issues with us,” Spivey said.
Glim, a businesswoman, said she wanted to reinstate the Community Café events that former council member Natalie Moser instituted.
Hanson, a member of the city’s Historic Resources Board, said he also wanted to be present in the community, adding that he plans to go to every park city-wide during his campaign.
The Surf City Four candidates said they wanted to lower the campaign donation limits back down from $5,900 per individual to around $1,000, though Hanson said he wanted to keep the limits where they are.
“It’s really hard to convince people to be engaged when they feel like they have no point or influence on an election,” said Palumbo, a nonprofit executive. “If we’re telling somebody that their $20 is going to be the same impact as the $5,900 maxout, they don’t believe it. But if we drop that number and make contributing to the campaign more accessible and more realistic for your average community member, they’re going to see how their money actually connects to the outcome.”
All five of the candidates participating in Wednesday’s event agreed that increasing sales tax should only be a last resort when revenue needs to be raised.
“How can we ask our citizens to pay a sales tax when our city council has been wasting our tax dollars?” Glim said. “We need to understand why we’re bleeding money.”
They were asked about the increased use of Flock cameras, used by police to track license plates.
“I think they are a tool, and they could be used usefully in specific situations, but there’s a lot of room for manipulation and for exploitation,” Davis said.
Mary Ann Celinder, who has lived in Huntington Beach since 1978, attended Wednesday’s debate. She said she was disappointed that more than half of the council candidates didn’t attend, adding that the incumbents “have put themselves in a position to defend the policies they have.”
“I know a lot of people wanted to hear from both sides. I did,” Celinder said. “I would have loved to hear their response to some of the questions that were posed. I felt like they did us a disservice by not being there to answer questions in an open forum like that.”
