Wayne helped set standard for ocean water quality

Howard Wayne had a license plate that read “AB 411.”

That probably meant nothing to the uninitiated, but those who knew the former Assembly member certainly got it.

In 1997, Wayne’s Assembly Bill 411 to require and standardize ocean waterquality testing in California was approved by the Legislature and signed by thenGov. Pete Wilson.

The landmark achievement was all the more remarkable because it was Wayne’s first year as a legislator. It’s not every day a freshman lawmaker gets a bill with statewide impact passed — one that continues to resonate today.

“He was very proud of that,” Mary Lundberg, Wayne’s wife, said this week.

Wayne’s life and times have come into sharp focus following his death on Nov. 2, his 75th birthday. His sudden passing, resulting from a pneumonic infection of his lung, has shocked and saddened San Diego’s political world.

Though term limits restricted his legislative tenure to only six years, Wayne was a well-known figure in policy and political circles before, during and after his time in Sacramento. He was a deputy state attorney general, active with the San Diego County Democratic Party, ran for City Council, served on the county grand jury and engaged in community and neighborhood issues.

He will be remembered for many things, perhaps none more than moving to protect the coastal water quality. Ironically, that initially wasn’t on Wayne’s radar, even though other environmental matters were.

His growing concern about polluted runoff into the ocean underscored his approach as an elected representative.

He listened to voters and constituents — after all, he ran in and served the 78th Assembly District, which included much of the coastline. Also, he knew what he didn’t know — and would seek out people who had knowledge in areas he didn’t.