Justin Cummings, the former mayor of Santa Cruz and a current county supervisor, has been elected chair of the powerful California Coastal Commission.
The independent state agency controls coastal construction by regulating land use along the state’s shoreline, with the exception of San Francisco Bay.
Cummings, who was appointed in 2023 to represent the Central Coast, an area from San Mateo County to Big Sur, was unanimously elected by fellow members of the commission.
He served on the Santa Cruz City Council and is the first Black to serve on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, representing the Third District, which includes much of the city and the University of California, Santa Cruz.