Four months after his controversial firing, the California Coastal Commission’s former executive director, Charles Lester, traveled to West Marin to receive a local award. On Friday evening, members of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin wined and dined at the Dance Palace, where Mr. Lester gave a keynote speech and accepted the Peter Behr Memorial Steward of the Land Award at the group’s annual meeting.
“He was an internationalist and multiculturalist long before those became buzz words,” former E.A.C. executive director Catherine Caufield said of Mr. Lester in her introduction. “The story of Charles’s removal from the commission is a shameful one.”
Members praised Mr. Lester for his lifelong work protecting California’s coastline from overdevelopment and defended his tenure at the commission, from which he was dismissed in February after an 11-hour public hearing attended by droves of supporters.
A former political science professor, Mr. Lester was promoted to the commission’s top staff post in 2011 after serving in a variety of roles since 1997. The 7-5 vote to remove him, many commissioners said, stemmed from the feeling that he did not communicate well with them, from inconsistencies in staff findings and from a lack of staff diversity.
Commissioners also refuted claims that the ouster was a bid by commissioners to exert greater control over staff recommendations and to push through development projects on the coast. Though he did not address his firing directly, his speech called for increased public participation and confidence in staff scientific findings. He framed the commission’s adherence to the Coastal Act as an act of environmental justice meant to defend the public’s best interest in an era when rising seas and population growth threaten to decimate coastal communities.
“We must understand that the public’s interest” is paramount, he said. “Ultimately, the public process must speak truth to power.”
Named in honor of the late state senator and conservationist Peter Behr, the E.A.C. has given the award annually since 1986 to individuals for their outstanding contributions to environmental preservation and activism. Mr. Lester joins an awardee list that includes former Supervisor Gary Giacomini, United States Representative Jared Huffman and Turtle Island Restoration Network Executive Director Todd Steiner.
Alongside Mr. Lester, volunteer-appreciation awards were given to Inverness residents Carlos Porrata and Ed Nute for their dedication to the preservation and protection of West Marin’s wildlife, wild lands, watersheds and rural character through their community engagement.