Traditionally, the Coastal Commission vice-chair is elected to be chair. That did not happen for William Burke, some say, because he had many political opponents.
By Anthony York/Political Pulse
A pair of last-minute appointments to the California Coastal Commission-one made by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the other by outgoing Senate leader John Burton-were part of a coordinated, bipartisan effort to block Coastal Commissioner William Burke, husband of Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, from becoming chair of the commission.
One week before he left office, Burton surprised many Coastal Commission watchers when he announced the appointment of Mary Shallenberger to fill the seat being vacated by incoming Assemblymember Pedro Nava.
Shallenberger, who had a $110,000 per year job as a principal consultant on Burton’s staff, left the Senate for the new job, which pays a maximum of $150 per month.
Shallenberger had been the top environmental advisor to Burton and to the previous Senate leader, Bill Lockyer. She was reportedly offered a job in Sen. Don Perata’s shop, but opted to move on.
Shallenberger’s appointment came as something of a surprise to many people close to the commission. Among them was Nava’s alternate on the commission, Trent Orr.
Orr, a San Francisco environmental attorney, had expressed his interest in taking over for Nava when Nava moved on to the Assembly.
A week after Shallenberger’s appointment, the governor filled a seat on the commission that had been vacant for months. According to commission guidelines, the seat had to be filled with an elected official from Ventura or Santa Barbara County.
Rumors abounded that Schwarzenegger was waiting for Brooks Firestone to be sworn in as Santa Barbara County supervisor so that Firestone could serve on the commission.
But on Dec. 2, Schwarzenegger named Dan Secord to the vacant seat. Days later, with the new commission in place, the commission elected a new chair and vice-chair. Meg Caldwell, a Schwarzenegger appointee with strong environmental credentials, was named head of the commission.
In the end, Caldwell was elected unanimously by the 12-member board. But sources confirm that up until the final moments before the vote, numerous combinations of candidates for leadership positions were being negotiated. The deal was being put together by both the governor’s office and the office of Assembly Speaker Fabian
Nuñez, both of whom were aligned in trying to stop Burke from becoming chair.
The original deal had Scott Peters taking over the chairmanship, with Caldwell taking the number two spot. Though Nuñez was trying to keep his distance from the power struggle, behind the scenes he was actively working on Peters’ behalf.
Moments before the Dec. 9 meeting began, other scenarios were still being worked on, until finally a deal was reached, settling on Caldwell as the new chair and Patrick Kruer as the commission vice-chair. Many suspect the hand of cabinet secretary Terry Tamminen in securing Caldwell’s ascendancy. Though Tamminen did not grant an interview for this story, sources say he was instrumental in helping block Burke’s candidacy.
Traditionally on the commission, the vice-chair has ascended to the chairmanship without much of a conflict. Burke was the commission’s second in command, and was thought by many to be in line for the top spot. But he had opponents, both in the environmental community and in the administration, and sources say Tamminen and others in the administration were adamant about keeping the top job away from Burke.
“That was my sense,” said the Sierra Club’s Mark Massara. “There’s no way Schwarzenegger waits a year to make that appointment, and then makes it three days before the meeting where the new chair is being selected. Plus, Secord only has a year left [to serve on the commission]. It just seemed that that appointment was designed to influence the election of the chair.”
Secord can only serve on the commission as long as he is an elected official, and his time on the Santa Barbara City Council expires next year. Similarly, Shallenberger’s term expires in May, and many people suspect she will not seek another appointment to the board. Sen. Perata will have the right to fill Shallenberger’s seat when her term expires. Schwarzenegger’s move to appoint Secord, with virtual marching orders on who to back for chair of the commission, actually served two purposes. The rallying of support around Caldwell ended hopes of Chair Mike Reilly, a Sonoma county supervisor, from being re-elected. Reilly had tangled in the past over development projects proposed by clients of Bob White, who is a top advisor to the governor. And, it meant blocking Burke who, despite a spotty attendance record at commission meetings, had been actively trying to put together votes for the top job, with the support of former Chair Sara Wan.
But Orr, the man who would have been commissioner, said Burke had other problems with members of the commission. “Bill is someone who I personally get along with, but I think he has some baggage with some of the commissioners,” Orr said. “It is true that the governor took him off the air resources board. I just think Bill may have overplayed his hand.”
While Orr said he was “quite pleased” with Caldwell’s election, he refused to say who he would have supported had he been able to cast a vote for chair. Other commissioners have suggested he would have backed Burke.
“I didn’t have to cast my vote, and there’s no reason to vote in the press,” Orr said.
“Honestly, I just don’t think Bill had the votes. But there might have been a different compromise if Mary wasn’t there.”
Burke refused to comment for this story. In the end, Caldwell’s unanimous election proved a publicly bloodless ending to a leadership fight in a commission that has been marked for years by titanic political battles. “After it was over, we hosted a reception for the commission at our place in San Francisco, and everybody was making nice,” Orr said. “Of course,” he quipped, “it was probably only skin-deep.”