'No Mask, No Entry' Huntington Beach Council Says To Tito Ortiz

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz was denied entry into a city council meeting at the Huntington Beach Library for an in-person meeting this week due to his failure to wear a required mask.

The Strategic Planning Workshop was intended to introduce the members to each other and discuss key city council priorities.

Ortiz expressed his displeasure with the requirement in a social media video he recorded inside his car, parked outside the library.

He said he was restricted from attending the council session over Zoom. It was unknown if any other city council members were denied entrance due to lack of mask-wearing.

"Kim Carr says, 'you can't come in without a mask, so I've got to do it from Zoom. Great way to start the new year off," he said, shaking his head. "Embarrassing."

Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz’s 2021 isn’t off to the best start. pic.twitter.com/vSW3HRWs8j
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) January 5, 2021

Mayor Kim Carr has made her stance clear: Those who don't wish to wear masks in the meetings can participate over Zoom, and Tuesday, that statement was put into action.

Read: Huntington Beach Mayor Pro-Tem Answers Mask-Shaming Comments

Ortiz has told the Orange County Register what he feels is the real issue with mask-wearing.

"Wearing masks actually drops the oxygen levels required by the U.S. government, making (the) City of HB libel (sic) for dangerously low air intake levels!" Ortiz texted the OC Register.

Mayor Kim Carr is frequently seen wearing a mask around town. She participated in the annual New Year's Day Surf City Splashchallenge wearing her mask but removed it before racing into the ocean to support the Surfrider Foundation.

Carr says that Ortiz is free to share his ideas as a "private resident" but that "his statements about vaccinations do not represent the position of the city, but he's entitled to his beliefs."