Brown’s Choice for Coastal Panel Draws Fire : Politics: Fellow Democrats complain that the real estate agent appointed by the Speaker has a weak record on environmental issues.

SACRAMENTO — Assembly Speaker Willie Brown is facing mounting pressure from Los Angeles Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups to rescind the appointment of a real estate agent to succeed California Coastal Commissioner Mark L. Nathanson, who left the panel after being indicted on federal political corruption charges.

In a joint statement, three legislators say that in the wake of the indictment Democrat Brown needs to restore confidence in the commission by naming “a strong environmentalist,” instead of Beverly Hills real estate agent Diana Doo, who has served as Nathanson’s alternate since December, 1990. The call to drop Doo was issued by Sen. Herschel Rosenthal and Assemblymen Terry B. Friedman and Burt Margolin.

In a separate letter to Brown, Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) and representatives of seven environmental groups, including Greenpeace, urged the Speaker to appoint someone “with strong qualifications in environmental law and land-use policy and a demonstrated commitment to protecting the coast.”

Hayden said in an interview Tuesday that his analysis has shown that Doo has “been the swing vote and will continue to be the swing vote on many crucial coastal issues and that she is very pro-development.”

The attack on Doo’s appointment serves as a way for the lawmakers, all of whom represent strong environmental constituencies on the Westside of Los Angeles, to attempt to cement their conservation credentials on the eve of next Tuesday’s primary election. Hayden, who had long sought Nathanson’s ouster from the commission, and Rosenthal, in particular, are embroiled in a hard-fought, three-way race with businesswoman Catherine O’Neill in a newly drawn state Senate district.

An agitated Brown defended his commission appointments and blasted his critics, citing what he believes is a political dimension to the criticism.

“I get sick and tired of anybody questioning my judgment. . . . I will not permit anyone’s exploitative political conduct to attempt in any fashion to denigrate my appointing authority,” Brown said Tuesday.

Brown makes four appointments to the 12-member Coastal Commission, as do Gov. Pete Wilson and the Senate Rules Committee. The San Francisco-based agency was set up to protect the state’s 1,100-mile coastline, guarding against overdevelopment and ensuring public access to beaches.

The indictment of Nathanson, a Beverly Hills real estate broker and property developer, has put a renewed spotlight on the commission’s activities. Nathanson was indicted earlier this month on eight felony counts. He was charged by a federal grand jury with extortion, racketeering, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.

Four days later, Speaker Brown disclosed that two weeks earlier he had received an undated resignation letter from Nathanson.

Doo, 40, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Doo has said that she had no idea why Nathanson originally chose her as his alternate. “I can only guess that it was because he knows I’m concerned with the environment, because sometimes we talk about building and things like that,” she said.

In another development, Steve MacElvaine of Morro Bay resigned last week from the commission after nine years on the panel, saying he wanted to pursue other interests, Gov. Wilson’s office confirmed on Tuesday. James Lee, a Wilson spokesman, said the governor would “like to fill the spot as quickly as possible with a qualified candidate” to replace MacElvaine, the commission’s vice chairman.

Times staff writer Jerry Gillam contributed to this story.