City of HB Ordered to Pay Gina Clayton-Tarvin's Attorneys $182,000

Huntington Beach, CA-"Public documents are required to be released under California state law, not just the California Public Records Act, but the California state constitution,” Clayton-Tarvin said. “California law is really clear on that. Michael Gates claims to be an attorney who understands California law, but he clearly doesn’t. Had he understood that, he would have turned it over to me the day I asked for it, over a year ago. This could have been so simple. It would have cost them zero dollars and zero cents had they just followed California law and given me the public document.

Legal Update On Air Show Settlement CPRA Case

Huntington Beach, CA-An Orange County Superior Court Judge has ordered the City of Huntington Beach to pay $182,092.50 in attorneys’ fees and costs after the City wrongfully withheld the 2023 Huntington Beach Airshow Settlement.  The Court’s award is more than twice the $91,042.82 that the City argued should be awarded. The mandatory fee award stems from the case brought by Huntington Beach resident and Ocean View School Board trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin under the California Public Records Act, which mandates an award of attorneys’ fees when a government agency wrongfully withholds a public record.  The award came after Clayton-Tarvin’s lawyers had offered in July to settle the dispute for $176,263, which the City rejected by offering $35,000 and later $60,000.  Since that time, the City has spent unknown thousands of dollars opposing the fee motion.

Gina Clayton-Tarvin issued the following statement regarding the Court’s tentative ruling:

“Once again, Michael Gates has played the Pied Piper, leading the city into wasting hundreds of thousands of unnecessary legal fees. The City could have settled this matter for less money to my lawyers—and less money to outside lawyers—if they had settled this matter six months ago.  In fact, the City should have spent zero dollars if it had just followed the law in the first place.”

In May 2023, just days after then-mayor, and now state Senate candidate, Tony Strickland announced the settlement of the Airshow litigation, Clayton-Tarvin requested that the agreement be released.  When City Attorney Michael Gates refused to release the document, Clayton-Tarvin was forced to file an action in Superior Court.  During the course of the litigation, the City unnecessarily ran up costs by filing a fruitless demurrer, a rejected ex parte application, and refused to stipulate with Clayton-Tarvin’s counsel to expedite the hearing of the case. When it was finally released, the Settlement Agreement was not for the announced cost of $5 Million, as Gates, Strickland, and other members of the Huntington Beach City Council majority claimed, but rather will cost the City more than $40 million in cash payments, parking concessions, and fee waivers, while giving the Pacific Airshow (owned by Code Four and Gates and Strickland’s political benefactor) exclusive rights to the airshow for the next 40 years.  Even despite the purported settlement, the City was still liable for claims brought by Pacific Airshow against former Mayor Kim Carr.  After Carr prevailed on a demurrer, Pacific Airshow dismissed the case against her without any payment by Carr. The Airshow Settlement is now the subject of an audit authorized by a bipartisan vote of the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee.  Gates’s office continues to expend legal resources in litigation which he has lost before both state a federal courts of appeal.  Meanwhile, Strickland is currently running for a vacant seat in the California State Senate claiming to be a fiscal conservative.

Merry Christmas🎄and Happy Chanukah 🕎 !

Huntington Beach, CA-When Christmas and Chanukah meet, it brings even more love and joy to the world. Happy Holidays to all of our Christian and Jewish family and friends around the world. We wish you all the best 🎄 🕎 ❤️!

GCT Sworn in for 4th Term on the OVSD Board

Huntington Beach, CA-Tonight we celebrated at our Board of Trustees meeting. I was sworn for a 4th term as a Governing Board Member of the Ocean View School District by presiding officer Jack Souders. Thank you to the voters for placing their faith and confidence in me to care for our students and schools. Trustee Keri Gorsage was also sworn in for her first meeting as a new board member. My mom Dee Clayton and son Max Tarvin were present as well for the occasion. Board officers were recognized by Dr. Hoefer for serving last year. We also elected board officers for 2025 including Patricia Singer, President, Jack Souders, Vice President, and me as Clerk for a second year in a row. I’m honored to serve once more as the Clerk of the Board. We also recognized the Golden View teachers and staff for winning the Golden Bell Award at the California School Boards Association convention. Their program is award winning statewide and we are so proud of them!

BIG WIN-Last Update From The OC Registrar of Voters 🇺🇸

Santa Ana, CA-The Orange County Registrar of Voters office has completed its official counting process and the results are now off to the California Secretary of State for certification on December 12, 2024. Thank you to the people of the Ocean View School District in the communities of Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Midway City, and Westminster for placing their faith in me for the 4th term in a row. Elected in 2012, 2016, 2020 and now 2024, I never imagined being honored with over a decade of public service to our children, families and community. This year’s results are record breaking, never seen before, since the district’s inception in 1874. Thank you, I look forward to completing this term, making my time on the board 16 years. As a career-long educator, I am pleased to continue working for students and schools!