Cawdrey Renominated for Coastal Commission Seat

Redondo Beach Councilman Ronald Cawdrey last week received his second nomination to the state’s Coastal Commission and said he hopes that it will give him a needed edge with the Senate Rules Committee, which has been considering him and several other candidates for more than a year.

There were indications, however, that Lakewood City Council member Jacqueline Rynerson, who has been pursuing the position for only about two weeks, is emerging as a compromise candidate.

The 12-member commission, formed in 1976 to balance development and protection of the coast, must approve most coastal developments. The Senate Rules Committee, the governor and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint four commissioners.

The vacancy on the commission must be filled by an elected official in Los Angeles or Orange counties. The only member of the commission currently from the two counties is Mark Nathanson, a Los Angeles businessman who lives in Beverly Hills, who was appointed as a public member by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

The Rules Committee will appoint an elected official who has been nominated by Cities Selection Committees or the Boards of Supervisors in Los Angeles or Orange counties.

“I have indications that I’m still in the running, but I also have indications I’m not No. 1,” Cawdrey said in an interview. He said he does not know who the front-runner is but said he heard that the seat was promised to an environmentalist.

He said he believes one of his problems with the committee “seems to be the question of whether or not I’m an environmentalist. . . . I believe I am . . . but I’m not a super, hard-nosed environmentalist.”

Bob Forsyth, press secretary to committee Chairman David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), confirmed that “the important thing is whoever fills the position be a committed environmentalist and the Rules Committee wants to be certain of that.”

Rynerson would not characterize herself as either pro-environment or pro-development, saying: “That would be a very foolish decision for me at this point in time” without talking about a specific issue.

The pro-environment Sierra Club has only endorsed one candidate--Huntington Beach City Councilman Peter Green, who was nominated by the Orange County Cities Selection Committee. Paula Carrell, a Sierra Club legislative representative, said the club plans to take a stand on all the nominees eventually, but called Green a “proven environmentalist.”

Another Endorsement

The Natural Resources Defense Fund also has endorsed Green.

Cawdrey was first nominated last year by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors as the agency’s second choice. Its first choice was Baldwin Park Councilman Leo King, who was already on the commission and was seeking reappointment.

King’s term expired in January, 1986, but it was not until a year later that the Rules Committee rejected his bid for reappointment by a 2-2 vote. King had served in the interim but resigned recently after learning that he would not be reappointed.

Last week, the Los Angeles County Cities Selection Committee--made up of the mayors or their designees of the 83 cities in Los Angeles County--gave Cawdrey his second nomination.

“I think (the Rules Committee) couldn’t reach an agreement on me,” Cawdrey said, “because they really wanted it out of the League of California Cities and now that I have that, I think that’s a plus.” (The Cities Selection Committee convenes during league meetings.)

But Cawdrey might not have gotten the second nomination if he had clearly informed the Selection Committee about the first endorsement, according to Charlie Storing, committee chairman and a La Puente councilman.

Says He Was Not Aware

“I wasn’t aware that his name had been in front of the committee for a year. I don’t think anybody else did either. I’m surprised he didn’t say anything,” Storing said. “I’m sure if the body had known Cawdrey’s name had been up there, they would have voted for somebody else.”

Cawdrey said John Chapman, who also is a Redondo Beach council member and who nominated Cawdrey at the selection committee meeting last week, told the group about Cawdrey’s endorsement by the Board of Supervisors. He said he did not mention it himself because he was limited to a 90-second presentation.

Storing said none of the candidates were given time limits on their presentations. He said it is possible that he may not have heard Chapman mention the first nomination, adding, “I doubt if too many other people heard it either.”

Storing, who said he was unhappy that Cawdrey did not mention it himself, said, “I thought that was the idea--to send additional names.”

Field of 5 Candidates

Rynerson and Cawdrey were nominated from a field of five candidates. The other officials that the Selection Committee considered were Hermosa Beach Councilwoman Etta Simpson, Pasadena Councilwoman Loretta Glickman and Burbank Councilwoman Mary Lou Howard.

Committee officials would not divulge the vote of the 62 members present. Storing would only say: “We selected two; they were far in front.”

Officials close to the committee would not comment on whether the earlier nominations are still being considered or if they have been discarded.

The fact that Rynerson will be the newest candidate may give her the advantage for the commission seat. Senate staff members said she is being looked to as a compromise candidate.

During the past two weeks, Rynerson said she has been familiarizing herself with the commission’s history. “I have a genuine interest and I’m usually very good about being very faithful to a commitment,” she said.

Rynerson said it’s her understanding “that the old list (of candidates) is dead . . . I simply heard that they weren’t chosen, that there was a problem. I don’t know all the facts. All I know is the names went up and they weren’t satisfactory.”

Encouraged to Apply

She said she was encouraged to seek the position by former Claremont Councilwoman Eleanor Cohen and has the support of other local officials. Rynerson said she has not talked to any of the Rules Committee members, but wrote a letter to Roberti. He did not respond, Rynerson said, but she received a noncommittal phone call from his staff.

“Let’s just say my candidacy has been looked on favorably,” Rynerson said. She said friends with connections in Sacramento have told her as much, but she did not want to identify them.

She said she is qualified for the position because of her experience in Lakewood government, which includes serving on the Planning Commission, where she faced land-use and zoning decisions; the Parks and Recreation Commission, where she was concerned with open space and recreational values, and, for the last nine years, the City Council, where she deals with land-use, planning and development issues.

Cites Party Registration

“I am a Democrat,” she added, “and that apparently is one of the qualifications at this time.”

The Rules Committee is made up of three Democrats--Roberti, Henry Mello (Watsonville) and Nicholas Petris (Oakland), and two Republicans--William Craven (Oceanside) and John Doolittle (Citrus Heights).

Cawdrey, also a Democrat, has been a councilman for five years and has said that he would like to be a state senator someday. The commission “would give me more exposure, but I don’t think it’s a steppingstone,” he said. Serving on the Coastal Commission could hurt his political ambitions, he said, because he might get locked into positions on issues.

Rynerson, who said she has no aspirations for higher political office, said that as a coastal commissioner, she would be objective and fair.

“I’ve followed the Coastal Commission, not closely . . . but I’ve always been interested in the commission,” she said.

Rynerson’s candidacy may have been promoted to offset that of Burbank Councilwoman Howard. Rynerson acknowledged that Howard’s bid “may have been a factor. . . . I understood that there was some competition from that corner, yes. It wasn’t personal on my part.”

Besides Cawdrey, Cypress Mayor John Kanel also has been nominated twice, receiving the support of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the Orange County Cities Selection Committee.

Others Identified

Other officials on the list of potential commissioners are Redondo Beach Mayor Barbara Doerr, who was nominated by the Los Angeles County Cities Selection Committee last May, and Newport Beach Councilwoman Ruthelyn Plummer, who was nominated by the Orange County Cities Selection Committee.

The 26-member Orange County Cities Selection Committee may nominate one or two additional officials at its meeting next Thursday, said Chairman Elden Gillespie, mayor of Westminster.

Coastal commissioners serve “two-year pleasure terms,” said Nancy Michel, appointments consultant for the Rules Committee. The terms have no set beginning or ending date and may be extended or cut short at the discretion of the committee, she said, but commissioners generally are reviewed every two years. Commissioners do not receive a salary, but their expenses are paid.

Although the post has been vacant for more than a year, the committee is not expected to fill it soon, Michel said.

Sierra Club legislative representative Carrell said she believes the Rules Committee has been waiting for the outcome of the 33rd Senate District race, which has been vacant since Paul Carpenter, a Democrat, resigned in January.

‘Not a Matter of Substance’

“It’s a political question, not a matter of substance,” Carrell said.

The 33rd District includes southeastern Los Angeles and northwestern Orange counties, and, although whoever is elected May 12 will not have a direct say in the appointment, the Rules Committee may be waiting for the election’s outcome to fill the seat.

Press secretary Forsyth would not say why the Rules Committee has taken so long to reach a decision. “Some appointments take some time, and others go through rather quickly . . . ,” he said. “I’m not sure there is a holdup. They just want to be sure to get a qualified candidate and quality takes time.”