First in a series
If officials are elected based on their breadth and depth of knowledge of the subject, Stephen Murray should roll to victory on Nov. 4 in his quest for the vacant seat on the West Basin Water District Board of Directors.
A businessman-environmentalist, he parries questions about the suddenly sexy subject of water and responds with the empathy, with the vast knowledge and sensitive understanding that a loving mother would about her first-born when trouble sneaks into his life.
The late Ed Little was appointed 26 years ago to the seat for which Mr. Murray is running. Thoroughly informed, impressively capable, he resembled a forever member of the West Basin board. Chances are few Culver City persons pondered Mr. Little or the state of water more than passingly until Mr. Little’s health forced him to abruptly retire five months ago, just as the present drought was accelerating.
Then in July, scandals began breaking out like chicken pox and measles intertwined.
Hoping to restore order and cleanse West Basin’s tarnished image, along comes Mr. Murray seeking one of the three Board seats up for voters’ decision.
A founding member of Frack Free Culver City and Baldwin Hills Oil Watch, “this is a great time to make a change in the board, and especially make a change from what they have been doing in the past,” he says.
Why change?
“Because there is a linear-ness to the way they do things. They are not responsive to the needs of the community.
“There is an inflexibility that should be replaced by more responsiveness to the community.”
From the other side of the table, says Mr. Murray, with one member having served for such a long period, “people are not aware of how to relate to this board.”
Perhaps the most frequently asked question on Mr. Murray’s campaign trail is:
What does the Water Board do?
“It’s the wholesale supplier of water to retail agencies. But people still ask, what does it do?’ It manages the water district, the organization, the activities that it does, and it coordinates, it acts as an interface between the retailers and the agency communities into the Metropolitan Water District and gives them a voice.”
(To be continued)
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