Iseman’s ‘green’ record in doubt

Chad Nelson

The article regarding Toni Iseman’s reappointment to the California

Coastal Commission missed a few key points regarding Ms. Iseman’s

voting record. First off, Ms. Iseman’s record in 2003, her first year

on the Coastal Commission, was a 58% and represented the best voting

record of a public official on the commission. Unfortunately, since

that time her conservation voting record has been in decline. It is

important that Ms. Iseman’s record in 2004 be evaluated in the

context of the other commissioners, which is what the Conservation

Vote Chart is intended to do.

Here is a list of the voting records for active commissioners in

2004:

* Sara Wan (Malibu), 78%

* Mary K. Shallenberger (Sacramento), 75%

* Meg Caldwell (Stanford), 73%

* William A. Burke (Los Angeles), 54%

* Mike Reilly (Santa Rosa), 43%

* Scott H. Peters (San Diego), 40%

* Toni Iseman (Laguna Beach), 34%

* Patrick Kruer (La Jolla, 33%

* Dave Potter (Monterey), 25%

* Steven Kram (San Francisco), 0%

* Dan Secord (Santa Barbara), 0% (short record)

* Bonnie Neely (Eureka), No record

In this list you’ll notice that Ms. Iseman’s score is seventh best

-- not where you would expect an ardent environmentalist to be. What

is disappointing to the coastal conservation community is that Ms.

Iseman’s drop from 58% in 2003 to 34% in 2004 represents the largest

drop (24%) for all commissioners.

The Surfrider Foundation’s goal as a co-author of the Conservation

Vote Chart is to hold all Coastal Commissioners accountable to their

voting record (good and bad) and to inform the public regarding these

votes.

We have not set any standard to earn our support; we are simply

reporting the results from our perspective as a coastal conservation

organization that supports clean water, open beach access, beach

preservation, and healthy coastal ecosystems. I encourage readers to

read the Conservation Vote Chart and make their own decision

regarding Iseman’s record. The report can be found at:

https://www.sierraclub.org/ ca/coasts.

* CHAD NELSEN is a spokesman for the Surfrider Foundation Laguna

Beach.