Huntington Beach city leaders were unable to reach consensus this week on what should appear on a commemorative plaque marking the nation’s semiquincentennial at Pier Plaza, spotlighting tensions over how the city will honor veterans and recognize current officials.
Council rejects listing council names; veterans remain focal point
At Tuesday’s meeting the City Council voted 5-2 to send the project back for redesign without the names of sitting councilmembers. Mayor Casey McKeon, Mayor Pro Tem Butch Twining and Councilmembers Don Kennedy, Pat Burns and Gracey Van Der Mark supported removing elected officials’ names from the plaque. Councilmembers Andrew Gruel and Chad Williams dissented.
The dispute followed an earlier iteration presented Aug. 18 that included names near the bottom of the plaque: Medal of Honor recipient Chris Carr and veteran Mike Ali, plus the names of council members. The inclusion of elected officials’ names prompted debate over whether a civic commemoration should highlight officeholders or focus strictly on veterans and collective civic memory.
“There’s so many veterans that we honor and we appreciate. To pick only a couple, it just doesn’t sit right with me,”
McKeon urged the council to adopt a more inclusive message that recognizes all veterans rather than singling out a few individuals. He pointed to other local memorials, including those at City Hall and an American Legion plaque planned for Veterans Day, as context for how the city honors service members.
Arguments for preserving specific veteran names
Other councilmembers argued for keeping particular veterans on the plaque. Williams, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, and Gruel said they did not want their own names included and preferred that space honor decorated service members instead. Advocates for including specific names cited the significance of individual sacrifices and local history — for example, Carr, a World War II Army veteran who died in 1970 and for whom Carr Park is named.
Williams directly challenged McKeon to relinquish his own name on the plaque if it meant making room for a veteran important to the mayor, an appeal that underscored the symbolic stakes of whose names appear where in public spaces.
What’s next: revised design and lingering questions
By a 5-2 vote, the council asked staff to return with a design that excludes the names of individual councilmembers. The motion did not, however, resolve whether the final plaque will include the names of particular veterans or adopt a general dedication to all who served.
- Council vote: 5 in favor of removing council names, 2 opposed.
- Names previously included: Chris Carr and Mike Ali, plus council members in an earlier design.
- Location: Pier Plaza, Huntington Beach.
| Issue | Position |
|---|---|
| Including council names | Majority opposed (5-2) |
| Including veteran names | Disputed — some councilmembers want specific veterans listed |
| Alternative | General message honoring all veterans |
The exchange revealed differing views about how municipal commemorations should balance recognition of individuals with broader civic values. Supporters of a general dedication argued it avoids elevating some residents over others; proponents of listing specific veterans said a name can carry local historical meaning and provide a tangible link to community memory.
For Huntington Beach residents, the debate touches on familiar themes: how the city honors military service, the role of elected officials in civic remembrances and how public monuments reflect local history. The council’s decision to rethink the plaque design buys time for additional public input and for councilmembers to negotiate whether the final marker will list specific veterans, adopt a single inclusive message, or take another approach entirely.
Staff are expected to return with a revised design at a future meeting. Until then, the plaque’s final wording and the question of whether any individual names will be preserved remain unresolved.
