If you answered no, then presumably you were not at the Half Moon Bay home of John and Jules Lynch on Saturday evening.
The Lynches hosted a fund-raiser for the League of Coastside Protection's election coffers. The League is a group of environmentally minded local residents with the admirable goal of supporting those who uphold the spirit and substance of the California Coastal Act.
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Attendees were asked to donate at least $20. "The November election will be crucial to the future of the San Mateo County coast," a flier for the event declared. "We need your help and support."
Regardless of how you feel about state appointees raising money for elected officials, it should be noted that there is likely nothing illegal about the gathering. The state's Political Reform Act, the document governing campaigning, is rather vague on the issue.
Section 84308 notes that state officers, including Coastal Commissioners, shall not "direct" anyone to contribute more than $250 to anyone with a matter currently pending before the state.
The Lynches were not asking for that much for their barbecue dinner and polite company, but they likely wouldn't turn away a donation like that either. And while the city of Half Moon Bay under Ferreira's leadership often has matters pending before the Coastal Commission, it isn't as if he stands to benefit financially from those negotiations.
What's more, everyone is doing it. Coastal Commissioners routinely conduct ex parte communications with developers, lawyers and other deep pockets. Furthermore it is not unusual for them to campaign for politicians.
None of which makes it right.
Recently, Roberts herself helped pen a report for the Committee for Green Foothills outlining ethical lapses at the Coastal Commission. As the legislative advocate for the committee, she zeroes in - entirely correctly, we might add - on rumors of an inappropriate dinner conversation between two Coastal Commissioners and a building applicant here on the Coastside.
As part of the fix, she notes the committee's support of Assembly Bill 771. That measure is aimed at curbing such shenanigans between Coastal Commissioners and people with issues pending before the powerful state board.
The bill's sponsor, the California Coastkeeper Alliance, notes that "current rules allow wide latitude for exclusive conversations with the commissioners and special interest groups ..." We agree and we would like to see the practice stopped.
Roberts makes the distinction between special interests - lobbyists and so forth - and the public interest in preserving the coast. The trouble is that determining what is really in the public interest depends on your point of view and we often count on the Coastal Commission to make just that determination.
Ferreira and other candidates for local office are not to be confused with applicants wishing to build mansions on the coast or a golf course for the privileged. The fault here is not his. He is simply raising money and awareness for his campaign.
But rules governing ethics cannot be situational. Coastal Commissioners should steer clear of local politics in every instance.
-Half Moon Bay Review
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