Coastal Commission should not be governed by moneyed interests

We appreciate the Perspective by the San Jose Mercury News, “Coastal Commission coup must be stopped,” that ran in The Tribune on Jan. 30. The editorial deserves your endorsement. The deciding public hearing and vote by the California Coastal Commission on the issue of firing Executive Director Charles Lester will occur at the Morro Bay Community Center on Feb. 10 starting at 10 a.m.

Other newspapers attribute the move to fire Lester to being led by the governor’s four appointees, which includes Erik Howell, a Pismo Beach councilman whose term on the council expires this November. This statewide issue is therefore important to San Luis Obispo County.

We attended the November 2015 Coastal Commission meeting to support the staff’s recommendation for the development on South Silver Shoals in Shell Beach. The commissioners approved the project after rejecting the staff’s qualifying recommendations. All the commissioners who negated the staff’s recommendations declared ex parte they had been contacted by either the developer’s lobbyist or lawyer; Howell was among them.

We believe this issue is bigger than the executive director’s continuation; it is whether we are governed by the rule of law or by the power of moneyed interest. We hope The Tribune will take a stand on this issue.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Coastal Commission should not be governed by moneyed interests."