Dave Potter may have a fight on his hands to keep the Coastal Commission seat he’s held for seven years.

At home in Monterey County, when he’s wearing his county supervisor hat, Dave Potter is often the lone environmental vote on an otherwise pro-development board.

But when he takes his seat on the California Coastal Commission, many environmentalists say, Potter’s not all that green.

On May 20, Potter’s term on the coastal panel expires, unless he is reappointed by state Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. It’s a post Potter has held for the past seven years. And he doesn’t intend to give it up without a fight.

“There’s not a whole lot of experience on the Commission,” Potter says, pointing to his long tenure on the panel that regulates development along the California coast. “That’s the ingredient the Commission needs: experience. And that’s the perspective I would provide: What can and cannot be done on the coast of California.”

And then, perhaps speaking more pointedly to local coast dwellers: “Monterey County needs a representative on the Commission.”

Potter serves as the Central Coast’s local-government representative. Next week, when Potter’s term ends, Núñez has 60 days to make a decision. He can reappoint Potter to a four-year term. Or he can “call for the list,” which would open the seat up to nominations from local governments in San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

In 2002, the Sierra Club unsuccessfully lobbied to get Potter kicked off the Commission and replaced by the more conservation-minded Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt. At press time, Wormhoudt was unavailable for comment. But she has previously said that should Núñez call for nominations, she would be interested in serving.

“If Mardi ended up on the list, it’s hard to imagine a situation where we would not support her,” says Mark Massara, who heads the Sierra Club’s coastal program. “Mardi has a strong, long-established record of coastal protection. If she were interested, and there was a list, and she was on it, she’s likely a person that the Sierra Club would support.”

Wormhoudt also has close personal and political ties to Assemblyman John Laird.

Potter says he recently spoke with Laird about the Coastal Commission seat.

“He told me that Mardi was a close, personal friend and he didn’t want to get caught in the middle,” Potter says. “I said, ‘There’s got to be a lot of pressure there.’ And he said, ‘There is.’”

Laird, on the other hand, isn’t talking about who he would like to see sitting on the coastal panel. Nor would he comment on Potter’s recount of the conversation.

“I’m not going to get into that,” Laird says. “There’s lots of dynamics at play here.”

When asked to comment on Potter’s record on the Commission, Laird will not comment beyond: “He’s worked hard.”

At press time, Núñez hadn’t reappointed Potter or called for nominations. Steve Maviglio, Núñez’s deputy chief of staff, says his boss doesn’t wish to comment on the appointment yet.

“The speaker has a very strong record on protecting the coast,” Maviglio says. “and believes his appointment should reflect that.”

A more pressing concern for the speaker is a soon-to-be-empty Southern California seat on the Coastal Commission. Late last month, San Diego City Councilman Scott Peters announced that he would not seek reappointment to the Commission when his term expires in June. Maviglio says Núñez has already put a letter out asking for applicants interested in filling Peters’ post.

Maviglio says Núñez has received “a lot” of letters from coastal residents about Potter’s seat, and has attended several meetings with other assemblymembers from coastal districts.

When asked to evaluate Potter’s performance, Maviglio says: “He’s a stalwart protector of the coast and that’s something the speaker certainly appreciates.”

But some environmentalists disagree.

“Dave’s record represents one of the worst” when it comes to protecting the coastline from development, Massara says. He says the Sierra Club would oppose Potter’s reappointment and is urging the Speaker to call for the list.

“All that means is that Dave has to participate in a fair and open process where he has to have his record considered,” Massara says. “From our perspective, speaking on behalf of the conservation community, we’re really disappointed in Dave’s record.”

Massara points to the Conservation Voting Chart, which is compiled by the Sierra Club, the League for Coastal Protection, the California Coastkeeper Alliance and the Surfrider Foundation. He says that it shows “unequivocally that Dave has experienced a steep decline in recent years in his conservation voting.”

The Conservation Voting Chart, compiled every year for the past 18 years, analyzes the “most important, controversial, precedent-setting” decisions made by the Coastal Commission. This year’s scorecard looks at 32 votes. Although the Commission reviews about 1,000 projects every year, the conservation chart “is designed to highlight the most important votes, the votes where the stakes are high.”

The 2004 scorecard analysis includes a vote to allow a resort to be built at Dana Point Headlands, one of Southern California’s last open coastal promontories; a vote to approve a 600-foot long seawall for the Monterey Beach Hotel; and a vote to deny a 25-acre subdivision in North Monterey County near the Elkhorn Slough. Potter supported all three projects.

The scorecard gives Potter a “conservation voting score” of 25 percent for 2004, dropping 13 points from the previous year, and 39 points from his high of 64 percent in 1999.

“From a conservation perspective, he’s not our favorite,” says Chad Nelson, former environmental director of the Surfrider Foundation.

And while the Pebble Beach Co.’s controversial Del Monte Forest development has yet to come before the Commission, many coastal watchdogs point to Potter’s vote to support the plan—which includes a new golf course, homes and a hotel—at the Board of Supervisors level.

“From a variety of quarters there are folks who have not been terribly happy with [Potter’s] performance,” says Mel Nutter, a former commissioner who chairs the League for Coastal Protection. “Dave is a likeable guy, but sometimes I must confess I scratch my head about what he’s doing.”

Potter says he’s doing the job he was appointed to do.

“I think Mark [Massara] has got an extreme agenda,” he says. “I think the moderates of the world understand Dave says no when he thinks it’s the right thing to do.

“Is every decision I’ve made perfect? Probably not. I’d be arrogant if I said I was always right. However, I will say in my own defense, I do think I have a strong record. I have voted against a significant number of projects.”

He voted against a seawall in Santa Cruz County and a bid to build housing and retail development overlooking Morro Bay Harbor. He also voted for stronger protection against discharge from offshore oil operations.

And when it comes to his yes vote on the Pebble Beach Co.’s plan: “I gave a very strong speech indicating they need to make it a better project,” he says. “There’s got to be a better tradeoff for the forest. There’s a couple of pieces of development in there, areas slated for development that could be saved. There is better balancing to be done.”

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Potter describes himself as an environmentalist.

“I think I’ve proved that pretty consistently,” he says. “Locally, I’m the guy who stands up and says, ‘You need an EIR. Don’t approve a project to determine a future, land-use policy decision. Finish the General Plan.’ This all pissed off the ag community and the ag community gave me Steve Collins,” he says, referring to his 2004 battle for reelection to the Board of Supervisors.

“One of the guys who recently spoke up in my defense was Lou Calcagno,” a fellow Supe. “He said, ‘You go out of your way to do the right thing for your district and for the environmentalists, you support this little project in North County, and they throw you under the bus.’”

Meanwhile, Potter says he’s asking supporters from both the environmental and business communities, to call or write Núñez, “and tell him I’m a good guy.”

To date, US Rep. Sam Farr has phoned Núñez, and, according to a spokeswoman, the congressman will also write a letter supporting Potter’s service.

Potter says Leon Panetta, newly appointed Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and Assemblyman Simón Salinas are backing him, too.

“Dave’s done a good job advocating for the Peninsula, and for the coast in general,” says Salinas, who has also called Núñez. “I worked with him on the Board of Supervisors, and we disagreed quite a bit, but he was always a strong advocate for the coast.

“He’s at the point where the enviros are ticked off at him, everybody is ticked off at him, so he must be doing something right.”