Three Pacifica council members nominated to Coastal Commission

Pacifica city council members Julie Lancelle, Sue Digre and Jim Vreeland (and two other candidates) have been nominated for the seat currently occupied by Dave Potter, a member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. Potter received a pro-conservation voting score of 24 percent in an annual ranking of the votes cast by coastal commissioners in 2008, reports Julia Scott in the County Times.

Julie Lancelle, Sue Digre and Jim Vreeland were all nominated in late May by both the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and the San Mateo Council of Cities. If appointed, the lucky candidate would serve a four-year term on the commission, replacing Dave Potter, a member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors who has served on the commission since 1997. He represents Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. ...

The fact that the seat is open at all is unusual. After being appointed in 1997 by then-Speaker Fabian Nuñez, Potter was reappointed twice without opposition. Potter is again running for reappointment, but a campaign by environmental groups across the state took issue with Potter’s environmental record and persuaded Bass to consider other candidates, according to Burlingame City Councilwoman Terry Nagel, chair of the San Mateo County City Selection Committee. Other people are simply pushing for more local representation.