Supervisors Debate Over Seat on the Mountains Conservancy Board : Redistricting: In the end, board supports Ed Edelman’s environmentalist candidate.

In a debate between two of the less confrontational members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Ed Edelman and Deane Dana locked horns Tuesday over a seat on the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board.

Edelman, who gained the mountainous region between the ocean and the San Fernando Valley through court-ordered redistricting earlier this year, wanted to appoint Jerome C. Daniel, an environmentalist and homeowner activist.

Dana, who represented the area for 10 years before the supervisors took over their new districts on March 8, fought to retain his appointee, Tim Riley, the supervisor’s former Malibu deputy.

Riley has served on the conservancy board for about a year.

Dana said Riley’s experience should override territorial concerns.

Riley understands the inner workings of the county Public Works Department, Dana said, and he knows how that department’s needs fit into conservancy plans.

At conservancy meetings, observers said, Riley has been particularly insistent that land be preserved for future garbage dumps.

“We felt there should be another voice on that board, some hope of attaining balance,” said Dennis Morefield, Dana’s chief deputy.

Edelman said a conservancy appointee needs more than just public works expertise.

Dana also said, “Whether we like it or not, the districts have been changed and I now represent the mountains.”

In the end, the board backed Edelman in a 3-2 vote, appointing Daniel to the post.

The nine-member Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board, formed in 1980, makes all decisions regarding use of the conservancy’s $11-million budget, most of which goes toward the purchase of parkland.

Members are appointed to indefinite terms by elected officials, including the governor, the mayor of Los Angeles, and the California Coastal Commission.

Daniel, 55, an attorney and life insurance salesman who lives in Bel Air Estates but works in Tarzana, has served on various public boards ranging from the TreePeople and the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assn. Inc. to the Mountains Conservancy Foundation and the 16-member Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Advisory Committee.