An Australian man calling himself Sasha Jane Lowerson must be allowed to compete in a California surfing competition, which “cannot discriminate on the basis of gender.” As Sir Bedevere (Terry Jones) might say, who is this who is so wise in the ways of biological science and athletics? Why, it’s the California Coastal Commission (CCC), an unelected body that overrides the elected governments of cities and counties on the California coast. As Steve once noted, the commission combines Stalinist regulation with mafia-style corruption, a reference to coastal commissioner Mark Nathanson, packed off to prison for extorting bribes from Hollywood celebrities.
The CCC’s prime mover was Peter Douglas, a regulatory zealot of considerable ferocity. Douglas authored Proposition 20, the 1972 ballot initiative that created a temporary 15-member commission aimed at preventing disasters like the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. Douglas also wrote the California Coastal Act of 1976, signed by governor Jerry Brown, which made the Commission permanent. The next year, Douglas became deputy director and in 1985 executive director, a post he held until 2011.
While running roughshod over property rights, the CCC prevents Californians from tapping their greatest asset, the vast Pacific Ocean. In 2022 the Commission voted unanimously to reject the Poseidon Water desalination plant in Orange County. As the California Globe noted, the plant was “decades in the works during a time when California needs more freshwater to combat a drought in the state.” The plant would have provided 50 million gallons of freshwater a day but the Commission wasn’t having it.
“The ocean is under attack from climate change already,” proclaimed commissioner Dayna Bochco, a television producer and president of Steven Bochco Productions, producer of shows such as “Doogie Kamealoha M.D.,” “Doogie Howser M.D,” and “Cop Rock.” As the Commission explains, “Dayna Bochco is an attorney and sits on the Board of environmental groups such as Heal the Bay and Natural Resources Defense Council’s Southern California Leadership Council.” And like the other 11 commissioners, Bochco is an appointee, beyond the reach of the people.
In 2016, the CCC told the Titans of Mavericks that if they wanted a permit for their big-wave surfing event near Half Moon Bay, they would have to include women. Now they tell the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro that they must allow Sasha Jane Lowerson, who decided not to participate after all. It wasn’t revealed whether Sasha’s rudder remains intact, but the lessons for the people are perfectly clear.
As Milton Friedman noted government agencies are easy to start but practically impossible to dismantle, whatever the costs to taxpayers or damage to the rights and freedoms of the people.
In California the ruling-class rot runs deep. Do not let this happen to your state.
