Huntington Beach City Council Voting Monday On Whether To Remove Tito Ortiz As Mayor Pro Tem
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA) -- Former MMA fighter Tito Ortiz, who is a city council member in Huntington Beach and mayor pro tem, could soon have the honorary title removed.
Ortiz has been critical of pandemic regulations and refuses to wear a mask in public and at council meetings, so now he doesn't attend.
His critics say because of that, he is not doing his job to help govern the city and should no longer serve as mayor pro tem.
Ortiz also recently caused a disturbance at a popular local beach restaurant by refusing to wear a mask before threatening to start a social media campaign against them.
RELATED: Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz Caught On Camera In Maskless Confrontation
The incident happened at a food distribution event while he was handing out food.
Among his critics is Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr, who is part of the call to get his honorary title taken away.
"We were receiving an outpouring of responses from business leaders, residents, community leaders, all expressing the same concerns about Mr. Ortiz and the behaviors and statements he's made," Carr said. "We as a council, we look to mayor pro tem as a leader and we are now giving that a second consideration."
While some people were initially upset at Ortiz's maskless confrontation and other criticisms they had of him, he still has supporters.
Ortiz won by a landslide with the highest number of votes in Huntington Beach City Council history.
If Ortiz is removed as mayor pro tem, he will still maintain his position as a Huntington Beach City Council member.