The OC, are these political trends still true?

I would doubt any list of conservative towns in CA that does not place Huntington Beach above Newport Beach, unless they are drawing a distinction between "conservative" vs "way out there beyond reach". (Fun fact, when I first moved to this country in '87, I was warned about HB right off the bat as a place that has a lot of skinheads. I am not sure much has changed there other than their fashion sense.)

Laguna Beach strikes me as a pretty liberal, gay friendly, artsy town.

My impression of San Clemente and Newport Beach is that they are both cool and laid back towns that may have some conservatives, but I would not be nervously looking over my shoulder in either place.

I’ve lived in Huntington Beach for over 30 years, close to the pier. I describe the local environment to my friends from other areas as “Youth Culture Gone Amok”: there’s the surf scene, the punk scene, the goth scene, the skinheads, etc.. You’re never far from a tattoo parlor or an MMA gym.



And of course the political environment has long been dominated by a form of virulent, ultra-right wing Republicanism.



But things are changing. Years ago, I noticed the Confederate flags in my neighbors' homes were disappearing (mainly because the homes were disappearing). And in the last election cycle, the voters of the 48th Congressional District - dominated by HB - replaced ultra-right-winger Dan Rohrbacher with a Republican-turned-moderate-Democrat named Harley Rouda.



Reasons for the changes are clear. It’s no longer cheap to live here. Most of the cheap little cottages have been converted into large, new expensive homes. Several up-scale housing developments brought in large numbers of affluent new citizens. Gentrification is changing the city. It's happening slowly, but the change is real.



Don't get me wrong: HB deserves its reputation as Ground Zero for aggressive stupidity. The skinheads are still here, but their comparative numbers are now much weaker than before.



I am frequently at the beach, just south of the pier. I always wear a mask going to and from the beach, and I am usually the only person doing so. Weeks ago, I rarely saw anyone else wearing a mask. Lately, I’ve noticed a few.



As for the anti-mask protests: yes, there is a very strong anti-mask sentiment here in HB. The site is ideal for a high-visibility event: there’s a lot of traffic on PCH, plus the beach-and-pier scene provides terrific visuals for the news media. I suspect the overall effect was a bit misleading: the protests attracted knuckleheads from all over southern California.