Sonoma Supervisor Takes Over Coastal Panel

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday unanimously picked Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Reilly as its new chairman, ending an acrimonious battle for leadership of the panel that controls development along the state’s priciest and most coveted real estate.

The 12 commissioners, at the urging of Democratic leaders in Sacramento, rallied around the even-tempered Reilly to replace environmental activist Sara Wan. She relinquished the chairmanship on Wednesday, charging that it had become clear the governor and Assembly speaker wanted someone else for the job.

Wan had been considered perhaps the commission’s strongest voice for controlling construction and improving access to the coast. She had angered Gov. Gray Davis and his top aides on a number of occasions, including by leading a commission majority to nudge San Diego to upgrade its sewage treatment plant, which doesn’t meet federal clean water standards. Lynn Shenk, a former congresswoman from San Diego and now Davis’ chief of staff, was particularly incensed by the decision.

The battles on the commission sometimes reflect differences that crop up among the state’s top leaders. Davis appoints four commissioners. The other eight are split between Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) and Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco).

The commissioners, who had split 6-6 on Wan’s successor on Wednesday, came together Thursday after Dave Potter agreed to withdraw from the chairmanship race.

Potter said he and other more-moderate commissioners accomplished what they set out to do: wrest the gavel from Wan’s hands. His temper, he said, had cooled overnight and he and other like-minded commissioners agreed it was time to end the infighting and personal attacks that left many feeling bruised.

Potter is generally considered more supportive of development than Reilly.

“This is a family,” Potter said of his fellow commissioners. “Every family has internal dysfunctions. I decided the best thing for me and for the commission was ... to suck it up and not take it personally.”

Cynthia McClain-Hill, commissioner and Los Angeles attorney who was trying to orchestrate Wan’s ouster, said she was pleased to see a change of leadership, even if it wasn’t her previously favored candidate, Potter.

Reilly, 58, during his 5 1/2 years on the commission, has racked up a voting record that gets far higher marks from environmentalists than Potter, a Monterey County supervisor and concrete contractor, and McClain-Hill, who manages a Los Angeles law firm that helps clients navigate land-use rules and environmental laws.

Reilly, who ran a nonprofit group to aid rural residents, called Thursday’s vote the “first step” toward ending power struggles and bridging the ideological gap on the commission.

“I’ve had calls from several people in the [state] Capitol,” Reilly said. “All of them were very positive and supportive.”