Inglewood councilmember is ‘likely’ holding incompatible offices, water board’s attorney says

An attorney for the West Basin Municipal Water District has determined board member Gloria Gray is likely holding two incompatible offices, in violation of state law, because the water district sells to the Inglewood, where she is now a City Council member.

Elected officials do not need an actual conflict of interest for the two roles to be deemed incompatible, only the “possibility of a clash of duties,” said attorney Joe Byrne, the district’s general counsel, during the water board meeting on Monday, April 24. Asked whether Gray’s two offices are incompatible, Byrne said her situation is similar to other cases in Southern California where district attorney’s offices have successfully removed elected officials from serving simultaneously on a water board and a city council.

“Based on the attorney general’s opinions and the precedent, it is substantially likely that it is,” Byrne said.

Byrne’s comment came during a discussion about Gray’s two offices, in which board members and members of the public voiced their concerns about potential conflicts.

Gray, however, said she does not intend to leave the water board unless her constituents decide she should no longer serve in both roles. The water board does not have the authority to remove her, she said.

“I appreciate the comments today, but, again, I was elected,” she said. “At the moment, I will continue to serve my constituents.”

Gray, a former Inglewood Unified School District board member, joined the West Basin Municipal Water District board in 2006. Her district represents Inglewood and the unincorporated communities of Lennox, south Ladera Heights, West Athens and Westmont. The majority of Inglewood’s water is pumped from city-owned wells and then blended with purchased water from West Basin, according to the city’s website.

Gray ran for the water board and for the Inglewood City Council seat simultaneously on the November ballot. She was unopposed in West Basin, but her race against Councilman George Dotson turned into a run-off that was not resolved until March. Both positions carry four year terms.

Inglewood councilmembers made an average of about $89,443 in total compensation, including health and retirement benefits, in 2021, according to the state controller’s public pay database. The average total for a West Basin board member is about $64,414, the data showed.

Incompatible offices can be challenged by anyone with permission from the California Attorney General’s Office.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed several “quo warranto” lawsuits over the past decade against individuals who simultaneously sat on water boards and city councils.

In 2018, the D.A.’s Office successfully removed then-Carson Mayor Albert Robles from the Water Replenishment District of Southern California board. That same year, Maywood Councilmember Sergio Calderon, who also served on WRD, stepped down from the council before an incompatible-office lawsuit against him went to trial.

Though the West Basin board did not take any action against Gray, three water board members called on her to “do the right thing.”

West Basin board member Desi Alvarez said Gray has done “an outstanding job” at the West Basin and Metropolitan water districts and that he has proudly supported her in all of her efforts, including her run for the Inglewood City Council. State law, however, indicates that an elected official holding incompatible offices is deemed to have forfeited their first office upon acceding to the second, he said.

“I think as general counsel has basically summarized, in all cases where you’ve got two offices where there is essentially overlapping jurisdictions, they have always been found to be incompatible,” Alvarez said. “I think that is something that is out there and needs to be considered. At this point, I think that Director Gray will look at the overall situation and I think ultimately will do the right thing.”

Board members Harold Williams and Scott Houston publicly agreed with Alvarez.

Houston, the board president, said West Basin is currently working on its budget for the year, which means setting water rates for its member agencies, including Inglewood. Because Gray serves on both governing boards, she is effectively on both sides of the rate negotiations.

“I think that would be one of the issues that I personally would have major issues with at this time,” Houston said.

Nearly everyone at the meeting spoke highly of Gray’s years of service, even when calling on her to resign.

Caty Wagner, senior water organizer at the Sierra Club of California, and other members of the environmental organization thanked Gray for her service, but stressed that she should not continue in both roles. Wagner described Gray as a “trailblazer” whose hard work has benefited Southern California.

Still, someone new, who can devote their full attention to the position, should fill that role now, Wagner said. “This isn’t fair to West Basin ratepayers, or the people of Inglewood,” she said.

The board received 12 letters expressing concerns about Gray’s two offices, eight of which asked for her resignation.

Not everyone opposed her continuing in the two roles, though. Two residents of Inglewood offered their support for Gray and urged the board not to take any action against her.

“If anything, let her serve out this term and let the voters make the decision,” said Mae Wood of Inglewood.