County Supervisors nominate four candidates to fill a vacant Coastal Commission seat.

Monterey County hasn't had a member of the California Coastal Commission since 2009, when Dave Potter, currently mayor of Carmel but then a District 5 supervisor, lost his seat on the commission. 

But the opportunity is once again arising for a local elected official to gain a seat on the powerful 12-member commission, which oversees development in California's Coastal Zone, which was formed by state law in the 1970s and spans 15 counties and encompasses an area larger than Rhode Island. 

By statute, the commission must include at least one elected official from either San Mateo, Santa Cruz or Monterey counties, and the seat is open because Carole Groome, a former San Mateo County supervisor and coastal commissioner, termed out from her supervisor seat in 2022.

In a meeting on Feb. 28, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors considered which local elected officials to nominate for the appointment, a decision that will ultimately be made by current State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. 

District 4 Supervisor Wendy Root Askew immediately nominated District 5 Supervisor Mary Adams, citing her interest and dedication to coastal issues, and she also nominated Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado and Carmel City Councilmember Jeff Baron for the same reasons. 

District 3 Supervisor Chris Lopez nominated himself, saying that he thought the more names nominated, the better. District 1 Supervisor Luis Alejo expressed support for Lopez's nomination, saying that he thought diversity was important, and noting that Monterey County is 60-percent Latino.

But before a motion could be made to nominate all four of the candidates, Alejo said he couldn't vote yes in support of Baron, because he didn't know him, and said he would abstain. Alejo suggested voting to nominate the supervisors, and the council members, in two separate motions (he said he would abstain from the latter). 

But Root Askew made a motion to vote on all four nominees at once, a procedural step that passed 4-1 (Alejo dissenting). A separate motion followed to nominate all four officials—Adams, Lopez, Baron and Delgado—which also passed 4-1 (Alejo dissenting). 

The county's mayors will also be meeting March 3 in Pacific Grove, where the agenda includes a discussion of nominees, also from the Board of Supervisors and city-level positions, and they could potentially make their own nominations. Capitola City Councilmember Yvette Brooks sent a letter asking the mayors' group to nominate her.  

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Correction 7:15pm: This article has been changed to reflect that Alejo suggested separate motions for nominating the supervisors, and the councilmembers in two separate motions, not each individually; he said he would abstain from voting on a motion for the two council members.