🚀 go-pugleaf

cdchase@qualcomm.com
Date:   August 18, 1996
To:     Coastal Commission Activists
From:   Warner Chabot, Center for Marine Conservation
Re:     Results of August Coastal Commission Meeting

Summary - Below is the press release which explains what happened at the
August Coastal Commission meeting.  In summary, the Wilson/Pringle
appointees were unable to ram through a code of conduct (including things
like loyalty oaths), so they had to settle on two workshops: A September
(Eureka) workshop on takings and Coastal Act mandates and an October
workshop to help set Commission priorities.  However, they are chomping at
the bit to launch their "management audit" by an outside firm.  Mr. Brennan
(the Governor's chief "hit-man" from the Dept of Business/Trans/Housing),
is taking control of the process by:

1) Offering the Gov's Department of Finance to help do the Financial audit,

2) Getting the "management audit" on the fast track by providing a list (at
the September Eureka meeting) of state pre-approved firms who are available
to do the audit without competitive bids.

Last month Mr. Brennan tried to "help" the Commission's executive director,
Peter Douglas by pushing him over the cliff, so we can expect that he
intends to use the Financial and Management Audit process to conduct his
witch hunt and remold the Commission in the image of Pringle and Wilson.
Given the efforts by the Wilson/Pringle Commissioners at this last meeting,
it is a good bet that they will try to use the Eureka meeting to once again
accelerate their attack.  For example, Commissioner Randa has asked that
the Pacific Legal Foundation be invited to "participate" at the Eureka
Workshop on takings and Coastal Act mandates.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Republicans Fail to Neuter Coastal Commission Staff
Public Outrage Blocks Plot by Wilson/Commissioners

In the face of overwhelming public outrage, the Wilson/Pringle appointed
majority on the Coastal Commission were forced to retreat from their plan
to neuter the Commission's staff and undermine the Coastal Act.

At a Tuesday Commission meeting, Commissioners appointed by Governor Wilson
and Assembly Speaker Pringle proposed a range of management changes
including an oath of loyalty to Commissioners, a code of conduct for staff
related to property rights and a vaguely defined management audit,
partially conducted by the Wilson Administration.

After five hours of predominantly critical public testimony, the
Commissioners dramatically scaled back their plans and settled on two
future workshops on Commission priorities.  "Last month, public outrage
blocked the Commission from axing the Executive Director.  This month the
public again rose up to prevent reject an ideological witch hunt of
Commission staff that smelled like McCarthyism", charged Warner Chabot,
Pacific Region Director of the Center for Marine Conservation. "These
extremist Commissioners scheduled an agenda to impose their ideology on the
staff, but when confronted by the public, they again retreated in chaos.
They first demanded an "outside" audit of the staff but couldn't or
wouldn't articulate what was wrong that needed fixing.  They focused
entirely on developer and applicant rights while totally ignoring public
rights and the mandates of the Coastal Act.  They promoted the illogical
concept that the Commission staff should be suspect and "audited" for the
supposed crime of implement the Coastal Act", he added.

In a face saving compromise, the full Commissioners approved the following
recommendations on Thursday morning only after another skirmish in which
representatives of the Governor's office attempted, but failed to compress
the entire effort into the next two weeks:

*       A September 10th (Eureka) workshop for Commissioners on Coastal Act
mandates and takings issues.  At this meeting, the Commission will also
review a list of outside consultants who can perform a management audit
(without going to competative bids),

*       An October Commission workshop (with an outside facilitator), on
Commission priorities,

*       Staff directed to summarize existing rules relating to staff and
Commissioners conduct,

*       Staff directed to amend the Commission's public Q & A document to
discuss property rights legal issues.
#       #       #



<---- Header information -------------------------------------------->
Received: from lorien.qualcomm.com by donews.cts.com with smtp
       (Smail3.1.29.1 #5) id m0ut26V-0000dXC; Tue, 20 Aug 96 18:29 PDT
Received: from [129.46.54.89] (ra4000-p53.qualcomm.com [129.46.54.133]) by
 lorien.qualcomm.com  with SMTP id SAA15268; Tue, 20 Aug 1996 18:25:39
 -0700 (PDT)
X-Sender: g_cchase@guest.qualcomm.com
Message-Id: <ae40141e1f0210040318@[129.46.54.89]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 18:29:12 -0700
To: earthday@qualcomm.com
From: cdchase@qualcomm.com (Carolyn Chase)
Subject:  Results of August Coastal Commission Meeting