The Huntington Beach City Council, composed entirely of Republicans, has controversially linked the 50th anniversary of the city’s central library to the “Make America Great Again” movement with a plaque designed to read “Magical Alluring Galvanizing Adventurous.” This decision has sparked national attention amid ongoing cultural and political conflicts in the city, which is becoming known for its strong pro-Trump stance. Critics argue the council distracts from pressing issues, including the city’s budget problems, while supporters defend it as a reflection of local identity. Recent protests, including an arrest during a council meeting, highlight growing tensions among residents.
They refer to themselves as the “MAGA-nificent 7.” At one point, they posed for a photo inside City Hall, proudly wearing red caps emblazoned with “Make Huntington Beach Great Again.”
However, the Huntington Beach City Council, situated in Southern California, aimed to inject even more MAGA spirit into local governance. The seven-member council, all Republicans, transformed a simple municipal duty — marking the 50th anniversary of the city’s main public library — into a political statement, showcasing their preferred acronym.
The design of the plaque approved by the council presents the library in an eye-catching manner:
Magical Alluring Galvanizing Adventurous
“This is a historic moment,” stated Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark, the mind behind the plaque’s concept. “If people don’t believe America is great and aren’t interested in making it great again, they’re in the wrong country — because millions risk their lives to come here.”
The plaque’s wording has thrust Huntington Beach — a coastal surf town in Orange County with 192,000 residents, approximately 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles — into the national limelight. This contention is part of a longer struggle regarding the city’s political and cultural identity.
Huntington Beach has emerged as one of the reddest locales in one of America’s bluest states. Following the November ousting of the last three Democratic council members, city leaders have driven a series of Trump-esque policies and tangled with state officials in legal battles.
They enacted a voter ID law, prohibited non-governmental flags from being flown on city property after prior council members allowed a rainbow flag during Pride month, and banned Covid-related mask and vaccination mandates. They altered the city’s human dignity declaration to strip references to hate crimes, acknowledged “genetic differences between male and female,” and passed a resolution backing the Texas governor’s decision to send the National Guard to the southern border. Additionally, they eliminated several commissions, including a human relations committee established after two hate crimes committed by white supremacists in the 1990s.
Michael Gates, the city attorney who led multiple legal confrontations against the state, resigned this year to join President Trump’s Justice Department. The city has challenged the state over its “sanctuary state” law, which limits police cooperation with federal immigration requests. Concurrently, California has filed a lawsuit against Huntington Beach for its voter ID law and its refusal to implement state-mandated housing plans.
This recent shift to the right has ignited a vocal backlash from liberal residents, independents, and anti-Trump Republicans. These disputes contrast sharply with the sunny atmosphere and relaxed vibe of a city boasting 10 miles of open beach, a protected estuary, and a vibrant surf culture.
Former Councilman Dan Kalmick, a Democrat who lost his re-election bid last year, reported hearing from residents who have put their homes on the market due to the city’s pro-Trump stance. He has also considered leaving the city he has called home for two decades.
He and other critics of the council argue that city leaders are attempting to divert attention from pressing issues, including a projected budget deficit for the upcoming years and claims of poor management regarding the settlement of a lawsuit linked to the city’s annual air show organizer.
“These people are going to ‘own the libs’ into bankruptcy, and it’s absolutely wild,” said Mr. Kalmick, addressing the city’s financial hurdles.
Kim Carr, a former council member and mayor, expressed that council members realized that if the public began to “look under the hood,” they would uncover “that the city is a hot mess,” adding: “We’re missing the point of what the City Council is supposed to do. It’s not about these performative antics.”
In recent years, the public works director and other department heads have departed as the Council has embraced the MAGA agenda. Those opposing the Council reached a significant milestone last week.
During a crowded City Council meeting, former N.F.L. player and resident Chris Kluwe denounced Mr. Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign as akin to Nazi ideology. Just before addressing the council, Mr. Kluwe, who played as a punter for the Minnesota Vikings, proclaimed he was engaging “in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience.” While standing before the council members, he was forcibly taken to the ground and arrested by police.
Days later, an opposition group named ProtectHB, energized by Mr. Kluwe’s high-profile protest, convened at a member’s home for a letter-writing and public-speaking workshop, complete with refreshments and cheese. Outside, a lawn sign read: “Chaos culture wars — and — higher costs. Are we great yet?”
“We’re becoming nationally recognized as somewhat like Nazi Central, and, as a city that relies on tourist revenue, that’s detrimental,” stated Dave Rynerson, a group member who has resided in Huntington Beach for 28 years. He mentioned that friends from out of town have reached out to inquire about the situation in his city.
Council members stood firm in defense of their initiatives and agenda, proudly labeling Huntington Beach as a red city and downplaying the outrage over the plaque as a reaction from a vocal anti-Trump minority. They attributed the budget deficit to previous councils and claimed that opponents’ frequent use of the Nazi label was offensive to the Jewish voters who supported them and Mr. Trump last November.
Mayor Pat Burns, a member of the Council, remarked that national political issues had adversely impacted the quality of life in the city.
“A friend of mine commented, ‘What’s happening in Texas has nothing to do with what’s occurring in Huntington Beach,’” the mayor recounted, referring to the Council’s resolution favoring the National Guard’s deployment to Texas. “I said, ‘Like hell it does.’ Do you think those migrants are staying in Texas? You don’t think they’re thinking, ‘Hey, let’s go to California?’”
The political shift within the Council commenced in 2022, with Republicans seizing a four-member majority.
“We had some individuals who claimed to be Republicans, but consistently voted against our interests, so we flipped from a 6-1 to a 4-3,” Ms. Van Der Mark recounted, referring to the Council’s composition prior to the November election, which solidified it to 7-0.
Ms. Van Der Mark has a large mock-up of the library plaque in her office. Last week, it leaned against a bookshelf filled with library books, with sticky notes marking the pages that she identified as containing pornographic material. A framed photo of Mr. Trump, with his fist raised following an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally last year, was nearby.
Like numerous public libraries across the nation, Huntington Beach’s library has become a focal point for political contention. Last year, the Council contemplated privatizing the library’s operations, a proposal that met with widespread opposition. Moreover, Ms. Van Der Mark was instrumental in forming a parent review board aimed at removing books deemed inappropriate from the children’s section of the library, including some titles she keeps in her office.
The unveiling of the plaque is slated for April and is currently still in the design phase, with the Council raising $8,000 in private contributions for its creation.
In the plaque’s design, the Council seemed to make an effort at bipartisanship, though its meaning remains ambiguous. The inscription states: “Through hope and change our nation has built back better to the golden era of Making America Great Again!” The phrases “hope and change” and “built back better” appear to reference slogans associated with former Presidents Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Councilman Chad Williams, elected last year, indicated he did not perceive the slogans as political. He expressed that the plaque aimed to represent a significant moment for the public library.
“The golden era we’re currently in is indeed the era of making America great again,” he stated. “And it merely happens that the 50th anniversary aligns with this period.”