A Political Survivor Finds His Life’s Work

With beard and Birkenstocks, Peter Douglas hardly looks the consummate political player.

But here he is, a dozen years after taking command of one of the state’s most contentious agencies, still firmly ensconced in the downtown corner office as executive director of the California Coastal Commission.

He has survived criticism and coup attempts, notably a 1996 effort to dump him after Douglas and his staff angered allies of the governor on several issues.

When the commission met to decide Douglas’ fate, it was bombarded by angry supporters of the coastal guardian. At one juncture, Douglas rose at the front of the hall and, Moses-like, raised his arms for quiet. The crowd hushed instantly, allowing the meeting to proceed.

“He has a cult-like following,” said Arnold Steinberg, a conservative former commissioner. “His boosters feel anyone besides Peter would be a threat to the environment. But I think he’s been there too long.”

Douglas, 55, doesn’t have plans to go anywhere soon. The commission, he said, is his life’s work.

“I have the respect of my family, my children are proud of me,” he said. “I can go home at night content.”

A native of Germany, he immigrated with his family at age 7. Douglas forged a deep bond with the sea while attending a private school in Carmel, whiling away lonely hours watching the waves.

After law school at UCLA, he landed in Sacramento as a legislative consultant. In the early 1970s, he helped write the laws that govern coastal planning to this day. He came to the commission in 1977 as deputy director.

Now entering his third decade with the agency, Douglas is beloved by his staff. Although some environmentalists complain that he has grown soft, most see Douglas as an adept steward.

“Peter is a coastal visionary,” said Ann Notthoff, a Natural Resources Defense Council senior planner. “He deserves a large share of the credit for the good condition of the seafront today.”

Even some adversaries hold a grudging respect.

“He’s a terribly effective communicator,” Steinberg said. “On the surface he seems conciliatory, like you’re going to your clergyman or analyst. But he is a political animal. His policies are hard-nosed.”

Douglas counters that his staff’s decisions are always buttressed by the law. And he doesn’t mask his ire at Steinberg and others in the property rights movement, which has used the courts and public pressure to seize the upper hand in the battle over the coast.

“It’s unfortunate, especially when you consider we live on limited space and are a society with collective needs,” Douglas said. “The land was here long before we were.”