Lee K. Harrington, one of California’s leading voices for economic development, died while surfing Friday near his Hollister Ranch home. He was 64.
According to Santa Barbara County fire officials, Harrington was surfing at St. Augustine Beach on the 14,400-acre ranch west of Gaviota when friends found him unconscious. Officials said Harrington’s companions carried him to shore and administered CPR. Emergency crews arrived at 11:15 a.m. and a CALSTAR medical evacuation helicopter landed on the beach to assist, but authorities said Harrington could not be revived.
In an e-mail to Noozhawk on Saturday, Harrington’s son, Ryan, said his father died doing what he loved.
“After catching two of the best waves of his life, dad passed away doing what he truly loved,” said Harrington, executive director of the Foundation for Girsh Park.
“The Harrington family is heartbroken and devastated over his passing. He was a man who truly accomplished everything that he set out to do. Lee will forever live on in our hearts and memories.”
Harrington was the former chief executive of the powerful Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., a position he held from 1995 until his retirement in 2006. Since then, he had served as executive director of the Southern California Leadership Council, a business-led public policy organization focused on business vitality, resources and transportation and co-chaired by former Gov. Gray Davis.
Harrington was also president of family-owned Harrington Resources LLC, a real-estate consulting firm with oil and gas drilling ventures in Oklahoma.
Brendan Huffman, executive director of the Chambers of Commerce Alliance of Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties, said Harrington was a leading voice for business and economic development.
“I will remember Lee as an effective business leader who was passionate about California’s role in the global economy,” Huffman told Noozhawk. “He will be missed.”
Huffman noted the recent death of Jack Kyser, the LAEDC’s former chief economist who died in December at age 76.
“L.A. recently lost Jack Kyser, so to lose another LAEDC colleague is a difficult blow,” he said.
Harrington was appointed to numerous committees and top task forces by a succession of governors, including Davis, Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian. He was a graduate of UCSB and the USC Gould School of Law and had been an officer in the Navy Supply Corps.
Authorities said the county Coroner’s Office will be investigating a cause of death.
Harrington is survived by his wife, Margaret, son Ryan and his parents, Barbara and Jack Harrington. Funeral arrangements are pending.
— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.