Hews Media Group-Community News has learned that Central Basin Municipal Water District Director James Roybal was served yesterday with a notice of intention to circulate a recall petition.
Signed by 20 voters in Mr. Roybal’s district, among reasons voters listed for pursuing the recall was “his incompetence that caused irreparable harm and financial damage to the Central Basin.”
The document slammed Mr. Roybal for his assignment to LAUSD teacher jail, and for receiving compensation from the school district and Central Basin at the same time, a violation of LAUSD policy.
We were first to report both violations.
According to the document, “While working at L.A. Unified School District, Roybal concealed his teacher jail assignment, and was dishonestly paid by both Central Basin and LAUSD, leading to an investigation by the LAUSD and his eventual forced retirement.
“Roybal leaked a confidential settlement document to the media, resulting in a lawsuit and a $50,000 payment to the plaintiff.”
Mr. Roybal also “blatantly ignored Central Basin’s insurance carrier who threatened to cancel insurance for board dysfunction, with his inaction resulting in cancellation of Central Basin’s insurance in mid-2014.”
Lastly the recall document stated that Mr. Roybal “ignored lawyer’s advice by voting to waive attorney-client privilege in Qui Tam whistleblower lawsuit filed by Central Basin Director Leticia Vasquez. The suit cost Central Basin over $200,000 in legal fees, and potentially hundreds of thousands more in additional fees.”
It also outlined Mr. Roybal’s decision “to fire former General Manager Tony Perez for cause, once again against the Central Basin attorney’s advice, resulting in a $700,000 payment to the G.M. Central Basin and CB lost its insurance for a second time in 2015.”
Petition signers include voters from nearly all the cities in Mr. Roybal’s district, including two from Montebello, three from Bell Gardens, eight from Downey, and seven from Mr. Roybal’s home city of Pico Rivera.
Roberta Ruiz of Downey, one of the proponents signing the petition, said that “Roybal’s tenure has been dominated by acts of incompetence, dishonesty and cronyism. His double-dipping while in teacher jail should immediately disqualify him from elected office. How can we allow an official that can’t even be trusted to be in the same classroom as our children, to make decisions on a vital resource such as water? It’s time for a change at Central Basin, and it can’t happen soon enough.”
The embattled water agency has been under intense media and legislative scrutiny over the past three years, ever since Mr. Roybal (and Ms. Vasquez) first took office in January 2013.
Mr. Hews may be contacted at loscerritosnews.net
