Liberal Ex-Assemblyman Named to Coastal Panel

To the delight of environmentalists--and criticism from Republicans--Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante (D-Fresno) on Monday announced the interim appointment of liberal former Assemblyman Bob Campbell (D-Richmond) to the California Coastal Commission.

Campbell becomes the potential tiebreaking vote on the panel responsible for controlling growth along the state’s 1,100-mile coastline.

Last week, Bustamante removed four commissioners appointed in May by former Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), reducing the 12-member panel to four members appointed by Republicans and four appointed by Democrats.

Bustamante said Campbell, an assemblyman since 1980 who was forced out this year by term limits, was respected by members of both parties for his “intellect and ability to work toward consensus.”

Campbell said he was honored to accept the position during a “critical transition period” and was “happy to serve.”

He will be sworn in Wednesday, in time to become the swing vote when the panel meets that day in San Francisco.

The California League of Conservation Voters gave Campbell a 100% favorable rating on his conservation-related voting record.

“He’s an environmental hero,” said league Executive Director Sam Schuchat, a sentiment echoed by similar groups.

Sara Wan, a coastal commissioner from Los Angeles appointed by Democrats, said she was pleased that six months of “divisiveness” appeared to be at an end with Campbell’s appointment and that the commission’s work could “move forward in a positive way.”

But John Nelson, a spokesman for Pringle, who is now the Assembly’s Republican leader, questioned whether Campbell represented the balance on the commission that Bustamante said he would look for in his appointees.

Nelson said Campbell “certainly does not live up to Bustamante’s rhetoric” when the new speaker said last week that commissioners should show fairness to environmental as well as property owners’ concerns.

Dan Eaton, Bustamante’s chief of staff, said Campbell was chosen “because he had the intelligence, integrity and trust to serve for a short time” and will not resist stepping down when all four of Bustamante’s permanent appointees are named.

“Bob has agreed to serve for as long as we need him,” Eaton said.