PRESS RELEASE: Speaker Bass Appoints Two to Coastal Commission
Oceanside City Councilmember Esther Sanchez, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone, Tapped to Steward Coast
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass
08/21/2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 21, 2009
CONTACT: Shannon Murphy (916) 319-2408
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) today appointed Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone and Oceanside City Councilmember Esther Sanchez to California’s Coastal Commission.
“California’s coast is one of the state’s greatest environmental and economic treasures and its stewardship is one of our most important responsibilities,” Bass said. “I have appointed Oceanside City Councilmember Esther Sanchez and Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone to the Coastal Commission because, as elected leaders of their own costal communities, they have shown a deep appreciation of how maintaining the health, safety and beauty of the coast can be a catalyst for tourism, fishing, recreation and sustainable economic growth.”
Esther Sanchez has served as an Oceanside City Councilmember since 2000. She has served on the Multiple Habitat Conservation Plan Planning Group and supported various other regional environmental protection efforts. Sanchez has served as an attorney in both public and private practice.
“In ensuring development projects are consistent with the vision Californians have for their beloved coastline, the Coastal Commission should listen closely to, and be reflective of the communities it serves,” Sanchez said. “As a first generation Latina born and raised in Oceanside by working class parents, I will do my best to be a voice for all Californians in guiding responsible planning of our coast.”
Mark Stone has served as Santa Cruz County’s 5th District Supervisor since 2003, leading efforts to protect water quality and endangered species. Previously, he served on the Scotts Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2003 and has maintained a private law practice in Scotts Valley.
“The Coastal Act makes clear that appropriate ‘development’ can be permitted in the Coastal Zone, but only when that development is accomplished in a way that maintains long term protection for coastal resources,” Stone said. “We have learned, from more than 30 years experience with the Coastal Act, that following the resource protection and management policies spelled out in the Coastal Act not only protects the integrity of our natural environment, but helps ensure the economic health of coastal communities and the state as a whole.”
Website of Speaker Karen Bass
Website of California Coastal Commission
