Council to consider adding religious motto to City Hall meeting room

The Huntington Beach City Council will consider posting the motto “In God We Trust” in its council chambers.

At the council meeting Monday, members will discuss a proposal by Councilman Joe Carchio and Councilwoman Cathy Green to approve the motto and set up a committee to decide on its design and placement. The push to add the motto originated with Bakersfield City Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan, according to a city staff report.

Green said she didn’t see it as a controversial move.

“Actually, some citizens called me and asked me if I would do it,” she said. “I said, ‘Sure, no problem. It is our country’s motto.”

Not all council members agreed. It could be divisive and deter participation in local government, Councilwoman Jill Hardy said, adding that her Christian faith made her more wary, not less, of pushing religion too hard on the public.

“I want to know about the motivation for this,” she said. “If it’s a religious motivation then it doesn’t really belong in City Hall. If it’s a political motivation, I personally feel it’s taking the Lord’s name in vain, and I absolutely oppose that.”

Sullivan has been at the head of a recent movement to approve the motto in city councils around the state, following Bakersfield’s own vote to display “In God We Trust.”

Some other Southern California cities that have voted for the motto include Westminster, Cypress, and Compton. And Ocean View School District Board Member John Briscoe recently argued for displaying the motto at the Westminster School District’s meeting chambers.

Briscoe said he hadn’t been part of the effort in Huntington Beach, but was pleasantly surprised to hear it was on the agenda.

“I am enthusiastically excited about the idea that two council members bellied up to the bar and took a great position,” he said.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the council chambers, 2000 Main St.