Earlier this winter, a briefly hot topic in local politics was: Which elected officials to nominate for a vacant seat on the California Coastal Commission?
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors weighed in on the process Feb. 28, and voted to nominate four candidates for a seat on the powerful 12-member body that meets monthly to consider land-use decisions on the state's coastline.
Who would fill the seat was to be decided by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, and nominees to fill the seat poured in from various Central Coast jurisdictions.
The supervisors nominated District 5 Supervisor Mary Adams, District 3 Supervisor Chris Lopez, Carmel Councilmember Jeff Baron and Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado.
The county's mayors weighed in March 3 and nominated their own slate, which included all the county's coastal mayors, and well as the supervisors' slate, minus Lopez.
But despite that long list, Rendon announced on Thursday, March 30, that he had appointed Santa Cruz County District 3 Supervisor Justin Cummings to the seat. Cummings is a former Santa Cruz mayor, councilmember and first Black member elected to that county's Board of Supervisors.
Though for the first time since 2009, when Carmel Mayor Dave Potter—at the time a county supervisor—was ousted from the board, Monterey County once again has a resident serving on the Commission.
On March 15, the State Senate Rules Committee appointed Carmel Valley resident Ann Notthoff to a vacant seat on the Commission. In a statement from Rules Committee chair Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, she lays out Notthoff's lengthy qualifications:
"Notthoff served the Natural Resources Defense Council for nearly 40 years, most recently as Senior Western Advocacy Director, before her retirement in 2020. She was a founding member of the California League of Coastal Protection, previously served as Northern Vice President for the California League of Conservation Voters board, and currently serves as board chair of LandWatch Monterey County. She served as a Senate Rules Committee appointee on the State Coastal Conservancy from 2005 until 2023."
Her term on the Coastal Commission will last four years.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.