War At The City Gates

00:00 - Speaker 1
Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture.

00:09 - Speaker 2
Hey everybody, we're going to be sitting down with a city attorney and it's going to blow your mind. You're going to hear some good things and you're going to want to stay tuned. Here we go.

00:20 - Speaker 1
You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to jackhibbs.com slash podcast Today. If this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five-star ratings. To us that's like saying amen or yes. Then that rating will encourage others to listen Now open your hearts to what God's Word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs.

00:49 - Speaker 2
Hey everybody, welcome to this particular episode of the Jack Hibbs Podcast. We are grateful, first of all always grateful for all of you who join us, and we are in the hundreds of thousands of you, which is great, but we're just asking you to make it even bigger, and that is just by letting people know. Subscribe, hit the like button, give us a review, but by all means get out the word. Here's the trick to this. You and I are going to survive if you promote this or not, it doesn't matter. God's in control. Here's the cool thing about it is, if you give us the likes and the thumbs up and the approval on your end, it communicates in the algorithm, in the social media world that people care about content, the kind of content that we bring to you. So that's how we can do this together.

01:43
Listen, today we've got an excellent guest in an excellent location. It's all going to come together in a moment as to why we are here in Huntington Beach, california, here in the Southland of Orange County, but also, what we're going to be discussing is critically, critically important, and so I have the opportunity to have with me Michael Gates, and Michael Gates is the city attorney for the city of Huntington Beach no small job and we're going to talk about some of those things, but we're also going to talk about some candidates that he's speaking up for right now. Just for the record, he's not running for office at this time. You'll be running in 26.

02:29
2026. So we'll get together again.

02:31 - Speaker 3
Yeah, thank you.

02:32 - Speaker 2
And do this.

02:33 - Speaker 3
Thank you.

02:34 - Speaker 2
But first of all most people. I have to confess, most people do not know what does a city attorney do?

02:42 - Speaker 3
Well, that's a good question, and how much time do you have for me to answer? As long as you want. So the city attorney really does everything for the city with regard to all of the legal matters. So whether it's preparing the ordinances for the city council to approve and adopt into law or do the research for the city council to let them know basically what's legal, what's not legal. But in addition to that, we prosecute crime. We defend our city from all civil suits and we do that in-house. I personally try those cases. So just last year alone we tried a few cases, and one of which was a very large police shooting case.

03:21
that I tried in court and defensed that case and successfully defended our police officers. So we're defending our police officers defending our city and so it's really all things legal for the city and I joke with people. I said pretty much the only thing we don't do is wills and trusts, because some of our cases have some bankruptcy elements. Some of them have real estate elements, but we have civil rights. We have First Amendment. We have all kinds of issues in our office that we're tackling every single day.

03:49 - Speaker 2
Well, your bio and people. If you get a, in fact, maybe we'll provide a link, but your bio is extensive and exhaustive. It's almost as though, when I read your bio, that you've lived about two lifespans. You have been anything but idle, and it's not just law and battling in various areas, but this guy raising a family and, on top of it, being I forgot what it was. Was it a little league coach? There's a whole yeah. So married In your spare time, yeah married almost 30 years now.

04:26 - Speaker 3
We've got five children, lived in Huntington Beach pretty much my whole life. I was born in the Midwest but when I was a small child my folks moved us here to Huntington Beach. And I will tell you something, jack, something kind of struck me in high school and I'm a prayerful guy, I've always prayed every single day and something struck me and I think a prayerful guy, I've always prayed every single day and something struck me and I think it was God moving me.

04:52
I basically realized in high school, you know, I was going to really go out and make something with my life. I was going to be one who made life happen.

04:57
I wasn't going to sit idly by and let life happen to me. And so, from that moment forward I think I was a junior in high school at the time I just took life by the horns and have been charging, and charging, and charging and, like I said, we've had a great marriage for almost 30 years, five beautiful children. They're all growing up successful. And ever since I got into the practice of law you know, I started in private practice I was a partner at a law firm and that's where I got a lot of great experience, a lot of great trial experience, and I thought to myself, you know, I could do more with this skill set and this experience than simply serve private clients in private practice, and so that's when I decided to run for city attorney.

05:37
So it's an elected position, pretty rare in California, but I got elected in 2014 and we've been doing some amazing work and I know you're going to have some questions about that, but absolutely amazing work for the past 10 years since 14.

05:51 - Speaker 2
Yes.

05:51 - Speaker 3
Fighting for the city, fighting for liberty, fighting for freedom and fighting frankly against the state of California in a lot of cases so just a lot of great work and, like you said, I'm very passionate about it.

06:02
For me, it's more than a job, it's a cause, and I really feel, I really believe. I get up every day and I go into court and I'm going into court again this Friday knowing that the community is behind me, that I'm representing real people with real lives who are being impacted by everything our government's doing, and so I'm doing everything I can to offer them the best representation possible.

06:24 - Speaker 2
It's amazing about what Michael is sharing is that here we are obviously right on the shore of Southern California, in Orange County, and his family moved from the Midwest to here for a reason, and I'm sure they've got their story. Everyone has their story. But I go back way back. I remember Huntington Beach when I would ride my bike from our house down to Lifeguard Station 4. I would spend my summers at Lifeguard Station 4. That's just north of the pier, and in those days the difficult part was my parents were concerned about getting through Huntington Beach at that time and then getting home through Huntington Beach at that time on my way back home. Because back in those days we're talking about 70s and the early 80s, where Huntington Beach was a drug haven, it was a place of prostitution, it was a place of very, very poor leadership. It was a coastal community that people kind of drove around, and I say all that everybody to kind of set up this conversation even further.

07:42
Regarding this point, elections matter, those who are in charge matter, and I speak predominantly not always, but predominantly to a Christian community, and Christians and Christianity in many respects, I think poorly represented have somehow come to the conclusion well, god is sovereign and I'm a Christian and so I'm not going to get involved in the dirty work of this world. I thank God that Michael and his wife and his family are not like that. I hope you're not like that, because God says in Joshua 24, 15, choose today whom you'll serve. So we live in a constitutional republic whereby we can make change by how we vote. You're in office because this city, some time ago, set a trajectory to turn things around.

08:29
Look, I was on a national radio program this morning before coming down here and it's typical, the host on the program was kind of mocking California and how messed up it is and it's the land of Kamala Harris. And yeah, yeah, okay, get over that. My point was this there's been a great movement and change in California. Huntington Beach has seemed to be an epicenter of change since about 2014, maybe even a little earlier which this city has been reclaimed. This city is now one of the most conservative, iconic not only for Orange County but for California. This place is remarkable. Speak, please, to us about how the economy turned around, how the leadership turned around and how the police force, the city council it's impressive.

09:26 - Speaker 3
Yeah, it's a great question. In 2014, when I got elected, there was a feeling in Huntington Beach among the community members that, you know, the leadership was still off track and we needed to make a correction, and so we got some better leaders elected in 2014. I will tell you that we still continue to struggle and, as the city attorney since then, I've seen a number of city councils here in Huntington Beach, because every two years there's another election and so new members come on, and so there's been some sort of an up and down of leadership. But in 2022, that's when something really magical happened and that's when I was on the ballot for reelection and I went out with four council members or council candidates at the time to fill four seats.

10:12
And, just so your audience knows, huntington Beach has seven city council seats, and so every other year or every election cycle, three or four are up for election, just depending on the cycle. In 2022, it was four, so we had Tony Strickland running, gracie Vandermark, pat Burns and Casey McKeon, and in 2022, I knew that we literally had to step up our game in terms of campaigning. We really had to get the message out to the community and so, and you know, pastor Joe Pettick who.

10:43
I know you're friends with and so many other people in Huntington Beach, so many other people in Huntington Beach.

10:48
We all came together and said you know what? We have got to really save our city and change the trajectory. And we did that and we won overwhelmingly in 2022. And we're trying to continue that now here in 24 with the new candidates that are up who were supporting Chad Williams, john Kennedy and Butch Twining. And what we're doing here, jack, is we are literally trying to stand up for our community, but that oftentimes means standing up against the state of California, and so we're fighting. We're fighting for freedom and liberty, like I said earlier, and it's just such an important battle and people are starting to see Huntington Beach as the land of the free and the home of the brave in California.

11:31 - Speaker 2
We saw that during COVID and we certainly saw that in the 2020 election. And remarkable let's dive into this Without saying it. I don't think he said it, but last week because, by the way, if you guys don't know, california has a super majority up in Sacramento, democrat, and it's not just Democrat. This is dangerous whack-nut Democrat views views. And so Newsom, by fiat, declares that cities are not allowed to check for ballots, a voting ID, because he doesn't want voter integrity.

12:24
Gavin Newsom of his own. If he was sitting at this table right now, he would have to say that's why I made it an edict by the office of the governor I don't want voter integrity. There's another conclusion. He was actually saying I am going to stick it to Huntington Beach. I am going to let them have it. In fact, I'm so upset at them. This is what a narcissist does. A narcissist just throws a blanket over the entire state and I'm going to order this to be done. Why was he so and why is he so upset with Huntington Beach, with you, with these people? Because you guys wanted to ensure voter integrity. What is the problem with this?

13:04 - Speaker 3
Well, huntington Beach, I think, has been frankly sick about the progressive policies in California that have impacted our city for years, and this new city council as of 2022, said you know what, enough is enough. We are going to start implementing or proposing policies to the voter and implementing our own policies at the city council level that are just common sense to the voter, and implementing our own policies at the city council level that are just common sense. And so one of the things that they did, the city council did, with the leadership of Pat Burns and Tony Strickland and Gracie and Casey, is say you know what? We're going to put it to the voter here in March of 2024.

13:38 - Speaker 1
A republic.

13:38 - Speaker 3
Who would have thought Right? So in our primary just a few months ago, it was put to the voter do you want certain election integrity measures built into our city charter? And the voters overwhelmingly passed, like you mentioned voter ID, but also 20 new in-person polling places. Because, as you remember, with COVID, the COVID shutdown, the governor basically said you know what we're going to, we're basically going to cancel in-person voting and we're going to have everybody vote by mail, right? Well, we're bringing that back.

14:05
We're bringing in 20 new polling places throughout the city and then also monitoring of ballot drop boxes with cameras and other things.

14:12
So the voters pass those measures. It upset Governor Newsom so much that they just passed this new law saying, well, we're going to outlaw voter ID. Well, what Governor Newsom is going to find out and Attorney General Bonta is going to find out very, very soon here, is that Huntington Beach, as a charter city, has a constitutional right to implement these measures because it's in the California Constitution, article 11, section 5, if you want to look it up yourself. It literally says charter cities have a constitutional right to control their city elections. I don't know if Newsom knows that.

14:44 - Speaker 1
I don't know if Bonta knows that, but he's going to find out really soon.

14:47 - Speaker 3
So Huntington Beach has a constitutional right. The state legislature and Newsom cannot chip away at our constitutional rights. If that's ever going to change, if Huntington Beach or other charter cities don't have a constitutional right to implement measures or control their local elections, it's going to require a constitutional amendment, not a state law. So there's a, there's an awakening coming to the governor and our California Constitution is going to mean something. It does mean something to us. It doesn't mean much to them, but they're going to find out. It means something very, very soon.

15:21 - Speaker 2
Well, so well said, and what's going to happen is because, again, you know, this is not some philosophical dream I'm about to remind you guys of, but there is something within what is called the American. It doesn't matter, because we live in a region, by the way, where there are tremendous amounts of legal immigrants here who have come to make a tremendous living and impact, and they love the fact that they live in a constitutional republic. They can't believe that they're able to flee from their previous country that they were born in and to have a home and a life here. They're so elated and we're so happy about that. Having said that, there's other cities that are hearing about what's happening here, in Huntington Beach, neighboring Newport Beach and neighboring Seal Beach and other cities, laguna and on, where this type of republic action is native within the American spirit. This is what we do. We are Americans and we have never, ever liked when a king told us what to do and Newsom literally sees himself as a king, and so there's a natural American rejection to that, and I'm just grateful that this city has taken the guts to stand up and to do something about it. People who are in the know they realize wow, newsom's going after Huntington Beach, just like Newsom is going after Chino Hills, which we're very proud to be attacked by the governor because our school board has decided and voted to put Thurman, who is the state superintendent of schools, and our president held order and how the meetings to be conducted and the citizens escorted Thurman out of the building. Newsom is doing this kind of activity because he's losing ground.

17:33
California, you guys, california is turning more conservative. I know that might come to a shock to you, but it really is. Other than downtown San Diego, downtown Los Angeles, downtown Oakland, downtown San Francisco, california is conservative. You just drive around and take a look. But I'm so happy about this city because people have woken up. Look, is it accurate to say that these people are smarter than the average bear? I don't know if they're smarter than the average bear in California, the average citizen, but what I love about people in Huntington Beach is that they've spoken up. They've spoken up.

18:11
I may be wrong about this, but just about every weekend you can drive down Pacific Coast Highway and come up on Main Street where the pier is at, and there'll be people waving American flags or there'll be some sort of demonstration for freedom and liberty. And even my good friend, tony Perkins, was here recently. We had lunch at Duke's and he said I don't know any other place in America where I feel absolutely where liberty is being lived out, because you've got people walking by with Bibles in their hands and correct me if I'm wrong At the pier people have got Bibles open, they're reading publicly and then there'll be some guy walking by with Satan rules and then the next person walks by dressed in a three-piece suit and the next person walks by in a bikini Total, absolute freedom. But you've got the gospel going. You've got churches exploding.

19:11
There's something special happening here and in the words of Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, he said there is something so special in this city and you're part of the reason why. So there's three candidates that you and I know. Can you talk about these candidates that are now going to be on the ballot?

19:31 - Speaker 3
Yeah, so three great, great, great candidates. And I've run in a lot of elections and, like I said, I've seen a lot of city council members get elected. And I can tell you that Chad Williams, a youth pastor, also a former Navy SEAL, just he's got his head on straight and he's not afraid.

19:49 - Speaker 1
Right, he's not afraid, he's fearless.

19:51 - Speaker 3
He's not afraid to do the right thing. Likewise Don Kennedy, a businessman.

19:56
I think he's lived in Huntington Beach for almost 60 years, huntington Beach first, all the way, and likewise Butch Twining, another businessman, very, very successful. Had Twining Laboratories been here for, I think, over 60 years. And you know what we look for when we look for candidates to run for office and we do get together and coordinate is we look these days, what we look for are courageous conservatives, and it's kind of an interesting phenomenon because what you just talked about, about Americans loving liberty- and loving freedom, jack. It's in our DNA.

20:29
You know, Huntington, or I'm sorry, the United States was born in the crucible of freedom, jack, it's in our DNA. You know, huntington, or I'm sorry, the United States was born in the crucible of freedom and liberty right. Not really any other country in the world can say that.

20:39
I mean Spain, right, England. They're all monarchies, they all have one person at the top right. But America has always had freedom and a republic, and so it's in our DNA to be free, it's in our DNA to love and embrace the rule of law, and so we look for these candidates who are willing to be courageous and stand up for that. So they do happen to be conservative, but I will tell you that that freedom and liberty and that America loving, that's nonpartisan. There are a lot of Democrat cities throughout the state of California who are contacting me saying hey, what are you doing there? What you're doing is pretty remarkable because we believe in our local control too. We believe in pushing back on tyranny of Sacramento. What we want to do here in our liberal city or our Democrat-run city is to have our local control and make our decisions for our people. We don't want Newsom telling us what to do every other day of the week. We don't want Bonta suing us or threatening to sue us because we step out of line.

21:36
So this concept, like you're talking about the American freedom and it's in all of our DNA and some people deny it. Right, Newsom's denying it or rejecting it, but many average Californians, we're all of the same cut from the same cloth. We are all Americans, and so cities should be allowed to have their progressive housing policies if they want to, or progressive policing policies if they want to. It should be their choice. Huntington Beach's choice is different. We're fighting for the rule of law. We're fighting for tough police policies, One of the reasons that homelessness is down in Huntington Beach it's real simple, visibly.

22:12
Enforcement. We believe in our officers going out and tackling the problem, offering the shelter and services, but also saying look, if you don't take the shelter and the services, then you're going to end up in jail, because what you can't, do what's not an option is to stay out here on the streets and have young women and children having to walk around you on a sidewalk in fear.

22:35
So we have got to maintain order and the rule of law in our society here in Huntington Beach, and so that's what we've been doing. And what's the effect? Homelessness is down 60% in Huntington.

22:45 - Speaker 2
Beach, that's right 60% people 60%.

22:47 - Speaker 3
And do you know, in this area, in this region, it's not down at all. In other cities we're the only one it's down in consistently, and so it's. But it's because of our city leadership, it's because of our courage, it's because we're literally trying to do everything every day for the best, for the best for the community, best for our citizens, best for our taxpayers. And so the formula is really simple, but I would suggest it's embraced by conservatives and liberals alike.

23:14 - Speaker 2
That's right, really well said. I was asked recently by an upcoming yet announced, but upcoming candidate for governor that's going to be in 2026 here in California, and that future candidate said to me I really want the church to get involved and to help me regarding the homelessness issue, and I said that's fantastic. The church in California should be involved in helping with the homeless and the downtrodden and the outcast and the outcast. However, I've lived here long enough to know that we pay taxes for county facilities to house those who are either on the streets or mentally deranged, or whatever the situation is. There's places for them to be taken care of. Those practices were stopped.

24:08
They were just ignored and then, because of bad leadership up and down the state of California and other liberal leaning states, is that it's almost as though there was a bubble of protection where stay out good people do not help them. This is their overpass or this is their underpass and that you know. You shall not pass this line. Leave them there as though there was some bizarre commission or some bizarre vision to increase homelessness and the acceptance of it. Friends, listen, wherever you're at in these United States, roll back your mind 10 years ago. Did you see homelessness 10 years ago like this? Did you see homelessness 15 years ago like this? Look, some of us can say did you see homelessness like this five years ago? Listen, these are political policies that have generated and created a social crisis, and good leadership causes it to go away. There's a way to deal with this, and so you've touched on something that every community, every village, every town, every city can benefit from if they would just take Huntington's lead.

25:23 - Speaker 3
Well, and everybody wants to live in a safe community, no matter where you are on the political spectrum. Everybody wants to know that an elderly woman can walk down the street to a pharmacy without being at risk, right? Everybody wants to know their communities are that safe? And so we all have to wake up and realize and we all have to actually do something about it. That's why I talk about courageous leaders. We actually have to be brave and take action and restore our communities in spite of the state policies and I absolutely agree with you.

26:01
It's so strange and peculiar and we also I don't know if I mentioned this we also prosecute crime in my office, so I'm the top prosecutor here in the city. But crime is running rampant because of the policies in California are such that they reward criminals, yes, they enable criminals. And that's why there's Prop 36 on the ballot here in November, because the community has had enough and they are trying to fix the old Prop 47. Trying to fix the old Prop 47. The Prop 47 was the one that took a whole class of felonies and converted them or reclassified them to misdemeanors, basically enabling those crimes for wrongdoers. And so Prop 36 is an attempt to fix that. But that's community driven.

26:44 - Speaker 2
So help me. So, those of you in this region, you know how, no offense, but you know how attorneys write some of these things yes, I do not want it, or no, I do Are we talking about Prop 36, a yes vote? Yes, prop 36. Yes on 36.

27:03 - Speaker 3
Yes, yes, yes. Get everybody, everybody you can, to vote for Prop 36. It's so important to vote for Prop 36. It's so important and it's actually polling with 71% favorability right now, so it looks like it's going to pass, to the chagrin of Governor Newsom. He literally was at a podium in front of a camera saying I can't believe Californians would support Prop 36. Well, I can't believe that. He can't believe it because we, everybody, whether you're a Democrat or Republican and independent, whether you're God-fearing or not, everybody wants safe communities. And for crime to be up in California, for there to be policies that encourage crime, that reward criminals, it's just shocking and I can tell you that these elitist policies from the top are meant, I think, by design, meant to destabilize an orderly society. I think there's a dark agenda here by these elitists, absolutely.

28:01
Because the more they can destabilize an orderly society, like we had in California, the more control they can have by trying to fix the problems they created so well said.

28:13 - Speaker 2
Everybody. Listen. I know so many people, as I said earlier, mock California. Oh, california. What a joke, what a joke. Let's just remember something California, for for centuries, has been the gem. Okay, it's, it's awesome, All right. So, as an example, when I left my house this morning, I could see the mountains that are 10,000 feet. 10,000 feet, three peaks, 10,000 feet. From my house I can see the mountains. I live in the hills and I drove to the beach to have this interview. It's a gem. California is amazing, absolutely spectacular.

28:55
No one used to make fun of California. Why do we make fun of California now? Because of bad politicians. Bad politicians. This place is worth fighting for, it's worth getting in and don't write it off. I know a lot of people. If God led you to move out of California, then I'm not getting in the way of that. But if you think that you, I'm leaving California because I'm going to find an easier politician in this state, that state, the other state, no, because what happens in California comes to 49 other states. Comes to 49 other states If California turns good, responsible, like Huntington Beach has and is continuing to go, if other cities begin to wake up. I got to tell you I was going to say off the record.

29:42 - Speaker 3
We're on the record.

29:50 - Speaker 2
On the record, my wife and I went through Santa Barbara recently. We will never go back State Street. We had a guy sleeping on a bus stop, get up out of his blanket in the middle of the noonday and start cussing at us. I don't even know he, I don't even think he realized that we were there. But you couldn't on Epic, you've been there. State Street, santa Barbara was a total disaster. We'll never go back. You talk about crime. We were in San Francisco. I went to a CVS right by Ghirardelli Square, standing in line to get a Coke, a drink, and in front of me a man looks and says hey, and somebody walks in and grabs computer product and walks out and the manager of the CVS just took a picture. I said aren't you going to do something about it? He goes, what can I do? This happens several times a day. We're shutting down CVS. We're closing it down. That's bad leadership and it's at the governor's feet where this falls.

30:46 - Speaker 3
And if I could, if I could mention too you know you mentioned the supermajority here in California and I think, a lot of communities across the country. But even here in California they think well, you know, maybe if it gets bad enough the pendulum will swing. And I have told people look with that super majority, because we're such a deep blue state. We cannot sit idly by the audience members, yourselves, you cannot sit idly by and just wait for that pendulum to swing.

31:11
That's right people are waking up, they are becoming more educated and they are becoming more agitated with our state leadership. But what it's going to require for the pendulum to swing or for us to course correct, is for us to elect courageous leaders. And, like I said, whether you live in a democrat dominated city or republican dominated city, in terms of leadership, you have to elect courageous leaders who are willing to stand up to the state. What we're doing in Huntington Beach is going to catch on, but it's going to catch on with your help, with your council members' help, with their willingness to stand up and do something that's counter to what the state is doing. And, jack, I will tell you, I have heard more people come up to me, most recently just in the past couple months, and say you know what, michael, my wife and I were thinking of leaving California but Huntington Beach. We live in Huntington Beach and it's this bastion of hope.

32:05
It seems to be this beacon of light in this darkness of California, and we're going to stay, stay, we're gonna stay a little while longer and I said, well, I hope you do, because we need to do this together. That's right. We need to fight this together and and I'm taking this on the road I'm so happy you're having me on your program. I know you have a fantastic audience. I've been on other programs as well, spreading this message that we have got to fight. And look, I don, I don't need this job, right, I'm a real lawyer, I'm a trial attorney. I could have a great private sector practice, but I want this job because I know there's such a unique opportunity here to take back Huntington Beach, like we have been, but also really take back California. And I'm telling you, we're on the verge of what's happening in Huntington Beach spreading this type of bravery and this type of courage. It really is contagious.

32:54 - Speaker 2
Yes.

32:55 - Speaker 3
And I can't tell you how many people from other cities have reached out and said what you're doing is remarkable. I totally support you. I want what you're doing there here in my city too. How do I do it? And I'm talking to these folks on the phone or on the internet, and so it is going to spread. We're teetering. What you're doing here today and what you've been doing helps, and so you're part of this fight. And I tell everybody who comes to me and offers support and enthusiasm, I'm like, no, you're part of the fight too, of the army. We've got to go out and fight this, you know, and it really is, um, it really is biblical, right, there's really something about what we're doing here.

33:35
Uh, that is very, very pleasing to god and I tell people all the time because they say, oh, politics is dirty and it's very secular. No, this is all part of god's plan. We are we are operating every day in god's hand. Um god made us in his great omnipotent power, made us insignificant beings to have free will.

33:57 - Speaker 2
Yes, engineered.

33:57 - Speaker 3
He did not create us with that free will and give us that free will to hand us over to the state of California and to have us monopolized and manipulated by the state of California.

34:06
He made us to continue to live in his freedom that he gave us as a great, great, great gift, right? So when I go to work every day and I have my religious symbols up on my wall as a reminder of what I'm doing in my office, I know, if nothing else, I'm fighting for the free will that God gave us, for the ability to elect our local leaders, for freedom and democracy and for liberty. That's what God wants for us. Why should we allow Newsom and Bonta and all of these other elitists to take that away? It's not godly, it's ungodly. And so we're fighting the good fight here. There really is a good versus evil to this, and I put on the armor of God every day and I take up arms and I see what I'm doing as a real crusade, and some people scoff and some people mock, but I'm a believer and I'm going to continue this fight, frankly, until the day I die. I'm just going to keep going.

35:00
I'm drunk by this and I am going to keep you know I'm absolutely intoxicated by this cause and I'm just going to keep fighting every single day. I love it.

35:08 - Speaker 2
And that's why we're sitting down, because when I first met you on our Comeback California tour, I was so impressed that I told our team we've got to sit down with him. And so, friends, listen, we're talking more to a warrior for righteousness than considering Michael Gates as a politician. He works in the realm of politics. Listen, that is something where the Bible tells us that our citizenship as believers that word citizenship in the Greek language is politic, and so we do represent the kingdom of God at all times. But it doesn't mean that we are to sit idly, we're to be busy about our father's business. I think you guys know that we need to register to vote. We need to vote for a biblical worldview candidate. You say, well, I don't know if I have any. Believe me even if you have two really bad people running, and that's all. Your choice is go and see who they are and find out if one of them has maybe an inkling of a biblical worldview issue. Is one a little less dangerous to the unborn child? Is one a little bit less hostile toward the Constitution? Then vote for them, but don't sit it out, by no means.

36:26
But we wanted to bring you, I wanted to bring you what's happening here in Southern California, in Huntington Beach, and I want to give a plug that if you're anywhere coming on a vacation, you should book your hotel in Huntington Beach. You should make Huntington Beach part of your vacation experience. I don't get it. I thank God for it, but even the price of homes continues to go up in Huntington Beach. It's a desirable place, and not to mention that it's home to the American. Now, this is old and this is new. I just read this Huntington Beach now has stolen the title from Oshkosh, wisconsin, for America's largest air show. America's largest air show is the Great Pacific Air Show in Huntington Beach, the US Open Surfing Championships. Huntington Beach, this is Surf City USA. This is where Duke Ahanamoko, himself the legendary Olympic gold medalist, and is. Huntington Beach is filled with patriots.

37:53 - Speaker 3
We absolutely love this city, we love this country, we love our faith and our freedom, and so there is so much passion here, which is why we have the air show and we've embraced the air show. That's why we have such an amazing 4th of July parade which has hundreds of thousands of people come into Huntington Beach. Now, huntington Beach is not some small, obscure city. There's 482 cities in the state of California. By size, by population, huntington Beach is the 23rd largest.

38:25
So we're on the top less than 5%. In terms of size, we're 27 square miles. We're the fourth largest city in the County of Orange, so we are a serious city. We may be new to some people and we may not make headlines all of the time, but we're starting to make more headlines now because we are standing up and we are standing strong and we are not going to roll over. I can tell you, if Newsom thinks, by these fiats that you mentioned or by these declarations, that he's somehow going to snuff us out or stomp on us, he has another thing coming.

38:56
I am absolutely impassioned to keep fighting these legal battles and even political battles. I am absolutely impassioned and I am not going to give up. Huntington Beach is a very formidable opponent for the state of California, and we are going to continue this fight Amen.

39:14 - Speaker 2
You guys. We've been talking to city attorney for the awesome and wonderful city of Huntington Beach, michael Gates. He's not running in this cycle. Your election will be up in what? 2026? 26. But we are excited and we stand behind several. I mean, I stand behind quite a few candidates in this area, but three. You mentioned them earlier. Can you mention them again?

39:35 - Speaker 3
Don Kennedy, chad Williams, butch Twining, and we also want to elect Lisa Lane Barnes for city clerk. Yes, she's going to be responsible for our voter ID and other elections integrity measures.

39:46 - Speaker 2
She is awesome, listen. Thanks for watching, as always. We believe that it's time for you to live out what you believe in. It's time for real life, and you listen. Michael talked about courage. There's only really one source of courage, and that's knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, having died on the cross for our sins, the resurrected Son of God, savior of the world, the prophesied Messiah. It's Jesus, he's the one. And so listen, please pray, register to vote, vote and then pray again. As our nation is on the brink of either something really great or something catastrophic, I think God is calling us to choose today whom we will serve. So, michael, great having you.

40:33 - Speaker 3
Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

40:35 - Speaker 2
God bless you guys, until next time, thank you.

40:41 - Speaker 1
This Jack Hibbs podcast, as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities, are listener supported. Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected. Listener supported. Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected.