Fish & Game President Richards, Former GOP Recall Candidate, Should Resign

Nearly all of the state's major newspapers -- including those in solid Republican pockets of the state -- weighed in their criticism of embattled Fish and Game President Dan Richards over the weekend. Most have called on the Legislature to remove Richards from office, a move that may come as early this week.

The Riverside Press Enterprise, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, San Bernadino Sun, East Bay Express, Sacramento News and Review, and Los Angeles Times were among the papers that have editorialized against Richards.

Wrote the Press Enterprise: "Dan Richards needs to step down as head of the state Fish and Game Commission. His actions have raised questions about his suitability for the panel, and created a needless political sideshow. Poor judgment compounded by arrogance is a bad mixture for anyone serving on a public panel."

The Chronicle noted in its "Dan Richards Needs to Go" editorial http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/01/EDJD1NEQU5.DTL#ixzz1oCTGDJAd: "Such in-your-face defiance of legislators who found his actions distasteful does not suggest a great deal of intelligence, or at least regard for his position, considering that Senate and Assembly members have the power to remove him with a simple majority vote. It also reflects a certain obliviousness to his role as an arbiter of competing interests - a concern that also arises in his sole dissenting vote against the Marine Life Protection Act and his unwillingness to expand protections for the endangered California condor. Richards is one of five members of an often-divided commission that oversees everything from hunting and fishing rules to which species merit protections.Richards has all but dared California legislators to fire him. They should seize the opportunity."

The other editorials echoed these criticisms.

The only question now: will the Legislature sit by idly while being given the middle finger by Richards? Or will it respond to the calls by these newspapers and the citizens to dump Richards before he renders his bad judgment on decisions that will affect all of the citizens of this state?