In Huntington Beach, Politics on a Plaque
The New York Times
MAGA references on a library plaque have divided the Southern California surf town and thrust it into the national spotlight.
They call themselves the “MAGA-nificent 7.” They once posed for a picture inside City Hall wearing red caps with the slogan “Make Huntington Beach Great Again.”
But the Huntington Beach City Council, in Southern California, had even more MAGA in store. The seven-member body, all of whom are Republicans, decided to turn a seemingly humdrum municipal task — commemorating the 50th anniversary of the city’s central public library — into a political statement, using their favorite acronym.
The council-approved design of the plaque describes the library in this bold-letter fashion:
Magical Alluring Galvanizing Adventurous
“This is a historical moment,” said Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark, who came up with the idea for the plaque. “And if people do not think America is great and don’t want to make it great again, they’re in the wrong country — because millions of people risk their lives to come to this one country.”
The wording of the plaque has thrown Huntington Beach — an Orange County surf town with 192,000 residents that’s about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles — into the national spotlight. But the dispute is part of a yearslong battle over the city’s political and cultural identity.
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