New Assembly Speaker Fires 4 From Coastal Commission

Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante (D-Fresno) on Friday fired four Republican-appointed members of the California Coastal Commission, saying protection of the coast called for quick action.

The decision to dump commissioners appointed in May by former Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) was hailed by environmentalists and Bustamante’s fellow Assembly Democrats.

But Bustamante stopped short of immediately filling the new vacancies on the 12-member panel, despite requests from allies that he appoint at least one interim member to ensure Democrat-appointed dominance on the commission before its meeting Wednesday in San Francisco.

With Pringle’s appointees off the panel, the commission is politically split, with four members appointed by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and four by the Democratic-controlled state Senate Rules Committee.

Bustamante’s chief of staff, Dan Eaton, said he did not know whether the new members would be named by the time the commission meets.

Bustamante, completing his first week as speaker, will make his decision after talking it over with Assembly Democrats and experts on coastal matters, Eaton said.

Two former lawmakers mentioned as possible replacements are Lucy Killea of San Diego, who retired from the state Senate this year, and Tom Bates, who left the Assembly at the same time, both because of term limits.

Bates, a strong environmentalist, said that he would be “delighted” to accept the interim position on the commission and that “it would be accurate to say that I’m being considered.”

Killea did not return phone calls.

The authority to select commission members shifted from Pringle to the Democrats after the GOP lost its lower house majority on election day last month.

Pringle’s appointments aroused concerns by environmentalists, especially his selection of two members who, as private citizens, had fought the commission over its refusal to let them make changes to their seaside properties.

Pringle’s press secretary, John Nelson, said Friday that the record showed that the commission, under Republican dominance, protected the coast as diligently as any of its Democratic-led predecessors.

But environmentalists said they were glad to see the Pringle appointees go.

“The Coastal Commission has been left in shambles and needs to get back on track protecting the coast and its $17-billion economy,” said Mark Massara, director of coastal programs for the Sierra Club.