Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz filed for unemployment against the city in February, public records show, despite not having his hours cut during the pandemic.
Ortiz’s filing with the California Employment Development Department, under his given name of Jacob C. Ortiz, was made Feb. 22. He listed Dec. 7, 2020, the day he was sworn in after winning the City Council race, as his first day of work. Ortiz listed Feb. 9 as his last day of work and wrote “still working part-time or on-call — related to the coronavirus (COVID-19)” as his reason for separation.
“That’s a shocker to us,” Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said Tuesday. “I mean, that doesn’t make any sense. I’m hoping that Mr. Ortiz would give an explanation … A lot of us have a lot of questions.”
Attempts to reach Ortiz were unsuccessful, and he did not address the issue during Monday night’s City Council meeting.
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