HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.—City Attorney Michael Gates was recently commended by local officials on the night the city council was considering a controversial ballot measure that would change his elected position to appointed.
Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen (R-Huntington Beach) presented Gates with a state Assembly resolution June 21 at a Huntington Beach City Council meeting to recognize him for winning “$20 million case” in March and “brought $5.3 million back to the city and its taxpayers” in April.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer presented Gates with a certificate of recognition June 13 for “fighting crime and improving the quality of life for [the city’s] citizens.”
“It speaks volumes of the great work we’re doing and I really appreciate the recognition,” Gates told The Epoch Times.
Gates said commendations are not normally given out like this; and Spitzer’s and Nguyen’s come during a recent controversy over the role of the city attorney in Huntington Beach.
The city council has been considering charter amendments that would change Gates’s elected seat to an appointed position. But the council ultimately decided against it Tuesday night.
Gates said the impetus for the officials’ commendations at this time is “because the city attorney’s position is perceived to be under attack, and there is a community concern, and they want to show support.”
Both awards specified several other successes Gates had since he was elected in 2014. Among his accomplishments, Gates said his work defending police officers against some of the best plaintiff attorneys around was one of his “proudest” moments.
According to Gates, crime specifically in the downtown area of Huntington Beach has dropped 11 percent after the formation of their in-house prosecutor program in 2017.
Gates and his wife are lifelong residents of Huntington Beach, where they currently reside with their five children.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Management from Pepperdine University before earning his Juris Doctor degree from Chapman University School of Law.
Starting in 2006, Gates worked as a clerk and got the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute fraud cases on behalf of the gov. He was then a clerk for two terms under the OC District Attorney’s Office in the Felony and Major Frauds units. Before becoming the city attorney, Gates was a partner at a law firm in OC where he served as a trial attorney and defended many clients in a variety of legal areas.
Over the years, Gates has represented many clients including the County of Orange, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Orange County District Attorney, Catholic schools and parishes, medical professionals, and hospitals in the OC and LA areas.
