By a narrow vote on February 10, the 12-member appointed board of the California Coastal Commission fired Executive Director Charles Lester as hundreds of his supporters staged a vigorous but ultimately futile rally to save him. The hearing, held in Morro Bay, stretched nearly 12 hours, the vast majority of it filled with public testimony praising Lester’s leadership, accomplishments, and institutional memory of the state agency’s four-decade balancing act of protecting the Golden State’s 1,100-mile coast from intense development, keeping its beaches accessible to the public, and respecting the rights of private landholders.
Lester started at the Coastal Commission as an intern out of law school in 1989, moved up the ranks, and worked closely under its first executive director, Peter Douglas. By a unanimous appointment, Lester became executive director in 2011.
With his final remarks before adjournment, Lester thanked the commission “for the honor to have served” before addressing the crowd. “I worked hard, and I accomplished a lot,” he told his supporters, a vast cross section of Californians from Imperial Beach to Humboldt. “If there’s any silver lining … I’m so energized by the people who came together. Thank you.” Lester received a loud and sustained standing ovation.