Coastal Commission Executive Director

After reading “Coastal Panel to Consider Firing Top Director” (July 2) I am very troubled by the partisan politicizing of the executive director’s position. This isn’t the first attempt by coastal commissioners to influence Peter Douglas’ interpretation of the Coastal Act. But it is the first time in my recollection that a majority of commissioners have been so transparent in their efforts to put private development interests above the public interest.

Regardless of the commission’s decision July 12, many of us who care deeply about protection of the California coast know Douglas to be a person of integrity and conviction.

MIKE GOTCH

Napa Valley

* The core issue is, how shall we save what little remains of California’s coastal beauty for generations to come and for our state’s economy, which is so reliant on tourism? That is what we had in mind in the late ‘60s when a group of concerned citizens, including Douglas, designed what would become Prop. 20, the Coastal Initiative. In 1972 it was approved by 55% of the voters, despite huge expenditures to defeat it by developers, utilities and oil companies.

For me, the idea to try to save the coast occurred in the late ‘60s as I was driving north toward Malibu with my young children. They noticed that we could rarely glimpse the ocean from Pacific Coast Highway. Recently I took my 10-year-old grandson on the same journey. Sadly, there were even fewer opportunities to see the shoreline.

The question the coastal commissioners should be asking themselves is what, if anything, will be left for their children and grandchildren to enjoy? As long as commissioners are selected for their willingness to approve projects for prospective campaign contributors to their appointing authorities, it won’t much matter who is executive director.

ELLEN STERN HARRIS

Executive Director

Fund for the Environment

Beverly Hills