Justice Dept. Draws Bold City Attorney from Huntington Beach

The U.S. Department of Justice has plucked a right-wing city attorney from Huntington Beach who tussled with Sacramento over housing requirements to serve its civil rights division.

Michael Gates, who for the past decade has helped the conservative City Council fight state housing policy from planning targets to builder’s remedy approvals, has left for Washington, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“I am profoundly humbled and honored for this opportunity to serve the American people at a time like this — to advance President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, fight to restore law and order throughout the country, and fight to restore faith in the Nation’s justice system,” Gates said in a statement announcing his exit.

Last week, the Senate confirmed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a close ally of Donald Trump who pledged to reform the department. Gates, 49, said he’s been an “unapologetic supporter” of the president since 2015.

Gates grabbed the spotlight in Orange County as a legal bulldog on behalf of Huntington Beach, picking battles with state Democratic leaders.

The city recently sued the state over its immigrant sanctuary law, which Trump 1.0 also fought, alleging it is unconstitutional.

Gates’ lawsuits were also based on Huntington Beach’s status as a charter city, which allows local governments the power to trump state laws on municipal issues.

The former city attorney fought against a state housing mandate to build more than 13,000 homes, arguing that, as a charter city, Huntington Beach could skirt state laws it deemed overreaching.

Builder’s remedy, a legal loophole in state housing law, allows developers to bypass local zoning rules in cities that haven’t certified their required housing plans, provided they include enough affordable housing.

Gates and Huntington Beach became legal foils for Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who traded lawsuits with Surf City.

After Huntington Beach pulled up its drawbridge against dense housing development, the state sued, saying its ban on approving applications for the builder’s remedy and granny flats broke California law.

Newsom and Bonta announced the legal challenge two days after the City Council voted 4-3- to shun any applications filed under the builder’s remedy.

In November, a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court decision to toss a lawsuit by Huntington Beach that sought to skirt a state housing law requiring the city certify the “housing element” blueprint for the thousands of homes demanded by the state.

— Dana Bartholomew