Justin Cummings picked to lead powerful California Coastal Commission as chair

Through a unanimous vote of fellow commissioners Wednesday, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings has been chosen to lead the powerful California Coastal Commission as chair. 

One of the most influential arms of state government, the 12-member Coastal Commission oversees land use and development along California’s 1,100 miles of coastline. Given its purview over the highly desirable and environmentally valuable coastal resources, the commission has been called the most powerful land-use authority in the United States.

Cummings will now have responsibility over setting the Coastal Commission’s agenda and leading its monthly three-day meetings that deal with everything from approving major housing developments and setting policy on short-term rentals, to hearing appeals on local policies such as Santa Cruz’s oversized vehicle and camping ordinances. 

Cummings told Lookout that in conversations, outgoing chair Caryl Hart had raised the succession question and that he expressed interest. He foresees a heavy workload as he will be setting the agenda and meeting with officials in Sacramento about the state’s coastal goals and policies.

“It also provides me a good opportunity to bring the issues that are important to our region [on the Central Coast] to state leaders,” Cummings said. He also expects to lead the conversation at the state level around protecting the Coastal Commission’s authority over housing development in the coastal zone, something that has been under pressure as legislators attempt to tear down discretionary hurdles to building new housing.

A former Santa Cruz mayor, Cummings rises to the high-profile position after only 20 months on the commission. His standard seat, reserved for a local elected official from Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Mateo counties, is appointed by the state’s Assembly speaker. 

Cummings earned the nod in March 2023 from outgoing speaker Anthony Rendon. Although his term as chair lasts for one year, Cummings’ term on the commission expires on May 20, 2025, unless he is reappointed by now-Speaker Robert Rivas.

Rivas, whose assembly district stretches from the southern reaches of the Salinas Valley into Watsonville and Aptos, has not said publicly whether he plans to reappoint Cummings to the seat. Cummings told Lookout he and Rivas are scheduled to meet Jan. 29 to discuss his Coastal Commission seat “and other issues.”

Cummings’ initial appointment to the Coastal Commission almost never was. 

When Santa Cruz County submitted a list of nominees to Rendon in January 2023, Cummings was left out. The nominations were secretly voted on by the county’s City Selection Committee, a group of mayors from the county’s four incorporated cities who are mandated by the state to vote on appointments to regional boards and nominate candidates for the Coastal Commission. 

However, a Lookout investigation found that the mayors voted on the nominations in private without public knowledge, participation or input, an illegal practice that had been ongoing for decades.

The county then invalidated the list of nominations, which initially included District 2 Supervisor Zach Friend, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and Capitola City Councilmember Yvette Brooks. After a public revote by the City Selection Committee, and a separate nominations vote by the board of supervisors just days before the deadline, Santa Cruz County submitted Brooks, Cummings and District 1 Supervisor Manu Koenig as its Coastal Commission nominations.

Former Central Coast state senator Bill Monning said Cummings’ ascent was “huge” for Santa Cruz and the Central Coast. 

“Chairing an organization of that size and import is a huge responsibility and he is now a voice that his colleagues will listen to, and will have to listen to,” said Monning.

He added that Cummings would bring a Santa Cruz County and Central Coast familiarity that would benefit the region: “When you’re in a chair position, you command the respect of your colleagues, manage agendas, broker deals and come with creative solutions to break logjams. It’s less ideological in terms of direction, and more a representation of the trust people have in him to be a fair manager.” 

Joshua Smith, a spokesperson for the Coastal Commission, said as chair, Cummings would also be responsible for representing the commission at public events, as well as on the State Coastal Conservancy and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. 

Cummings, a Chicago native, earned his doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology in 2013 from UC Santa Cruz. In 2018, he won election to the Santa Cruz City Council, and became the city’s first Black man to serve as mayor in 2020. In 2022, he became the first Black person elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, where he has spent the past two years. 

In a press release, Hart called it “an honor” to hand the gavel to Cummings, who will take over after the commission’s Friday meeting. 

“He’s an accomplished scientist with a deep commitment to the natural world, affordable housing and social equity issues,” Hart said in a statement. “He’s the right person for the job in this moment.”

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