Zur Schmiede Seeks Coastal Commission Post

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Rob Zur Schmiede
Rob Zur Schmiede

A little known entity last week nominated Laguna’s newest City Council member Robert Zur Schmiede to be considered for appointment to the California Coastal Commission as the representative to the south coast region, which includes Orange and Los Angeles counties.

A powerful body that often has the last word on development projects up and down the California coast – such as Mark Christy’s Ranch and Louis Longi’s artist’s work/live project, the Coastal Commission has 12 voting members and three non-voting members.

The way in which these members get appointed to the Commission is convoluted to the point of being mysterious and is subject to political influence.

The City Council endorsed Zur Schmiede’s nomination Tuesday and approved taking measures to support his candidacy. A locally elected representative from Laguna Beach last served on the Commission in 2005, a two-year stint by Council member and environmental crusader Toni Iseman, who was appointed by then Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), an outspoken environmental advocate.

Of the Commission’s 12 voting members, six are public members and six are local elected officials from specific coastal districts. The appointments are divided evenly between the governor, the Senate Rules Committee, and the Speaker of the Assembly, with each responsible for two public members and two elected officials.

According to state law, the Senate Rules Committee appoints the representative for the south coast region. When there is a vacancy, the Rules Committee requests the boards of supervisors and city selection committees for Orange County and Los Angeles County to nominate at least two supervisors and at least two city council members, respectively.

They have 45 days to submit their lists and then the Rules Committee has 30 days to vet the candidates. The senate committee must either make an appointment or let the local selection committees know that they have rejected the nominees and request a new list.

Zur Schmiede was one of four Orange County city council members nominated by the County of Orange City Selection Committee as preferred candidates for the Coastal Commission vacancy. The other candidates are Bao Nguyen of Garden Grove, Ed Selich of Newport Beach, and Dean Grose of Los Alamitos.

But Zur Schmiede will have to contend with at least six additional nominees by the time the remaining governing bodies submit their choices.

The vacancy came about because Long Beach City Council member Robert Garcia was elected mayor effective last July, which made him ineligible for the post.

An effort to pass a law to allow Garcia to retain his seat on the commission failed and it was officially vacated in September.

The Senate Rules Committee rejected an earlier list of nominees presented last summer and given an extended vetting period due to unusual circumstances. Last month, the committee called for a new list of candidates. Zur Schmiede benefited from that delay, having won his first term in office in November.

The deadline for the new nominations is Feb. 23, said Claire Conlon, a spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, (D-Los Angeles) chair of the Senate Rules Committee who was elected to the leadership post in October. After 30 days of vetting the candidates, they will hold a hearing to vote on them, Conlon said.

The mostly likely route for anyone wishing to make a case for a particular candidate would be to schedule an appointment with the senate leadership, said Conlon.

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