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Santa Barbara Councilwoman Harmon appointed to the Coastal Commission

May 5, 2021

Santa Barbara Councilwoman Meagan Harmon

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday the appointment of Santa Barbara Councilwoman Meagan Harmon to replace former Pismo Beach councilman Erik Howell on the California Coastal Commission. Harmon, 34, is a progressive Democrat who has served on the Santa Barbara City Council since Feb. 2019.

On the Coastal Commission, Harmon will represent the South Central Coast, which consists of SLO, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Elected officials in each of the three counties had requested that Newsom appoint Harmon to the commission.

In SLO County, Supervisor Bruce Gibson wanted to recommend Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams and Morro Bay Mayor John Headding as Coastal Commission candidates. Both Williams and Headding are strong supporters of marijuana businesses, and industry Gibson promotes.

Nevertheless, the SLO County board selected Harmon based on her views about the economic importance of off-road vehicle use at the Oceano Dunes.

Ex-councilman Howell was appointed to the Coastal Commission in 2014. In the 2020 election, Howell lost his seat on the Pismo Beach council and thus on the Coastal Commission, as well.

An attorney by profession, Harmon has been an associate at Hepner & Meyers LLP since 2020. Harmon worked at Griffith & Thornburgh LLP from 2019 to 2020 and Morrison & Foerster LLP from 2015 to 2019.

From 2014 to 2015, Harmon was a Visiting Fellow for the Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School. Between 2010 and 2011, she served as a program consultant at the German humanitarian aid organization Welthungerhilfe.

Additionally, Harmon serves as first Vice President for the Channel Cities Division and is a member of the Housing Community and Economic Development Policy Committee at the California League of Cities.

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Talk about stacking the deck.


6

Be glad he didn’t choose either of Gibson’s pothead friends.


8

Amen to that!


5

Newsome says that his pending impeachment is a partisan effort. How many Republicans has he appointed? That said, Ms Harmon comes from a place where the public is at critical mass therefore the environmental benchmark is pretty low, much lower than any real environmentalist could point the finger elsewhere. Sadly the coastal commission is just another player in the smoke filled card room.


17

Gee, I wonder how many Democrats Donald Trump appointed to anything? California leans heavily Democratic and easily has more progressives than conservatives among its voters.


The governor is within his prerogative to appoint officials who are in the mainstream of California politics. I’m sorry, Mr. Estrada, conservatism is no longer a strong element in the state. You can probably thank Mr. Bush (wars and financial collapse), Mr. Schwarzenegger (inept) and Mr. Trump (totally inept) for that.


-10

If you want to see progressive, drive by Camp Roberts and see the unspooled razor wire circling the giant tent (for our guests ?) or see the fenced White House to protect our capital from what? The progressives will not only fence you out and let them in, they expect your future to pay for the implosion they are orchestrating. Who ever came up with the word progressive? I’d say anarchists.


-3