State Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has given County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey the green light to remove Albert Robles, mayor of Carson, as a member of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California board.
In an opinion written by Deputy Attorney General Lawrence M. Daniels,
Ms. Harris indicated Mr. Robles is violating Government Code §1099, the “incompatible offices” doctrine.
The opinion gives D.A. Lacey permission to seek a writ of “quo warranto,” allowing her to sue to remove Mr. Robles from his water board seat.
Ms. Lacey filed a lawsuit against Mr. Robles last year, contending that once Mr. Robles was elected to the Carson City Council in 2013, he ceased to serve legally on the board of the WRD.
The filing must be approved by the attorney general, which was granted yesterday.
Mr. Robles has been a member of the water board since 1992.
Similar Case
The decision should enable Ms. Lacey to sue Sergio Calderon for incompatible offices.
Mr. Calderon recently was elected to the Maywood City Council. Like Mr. Robles, Mr. Caderon serves on the water board.
Mr. Calderon’s water board district includes the city of Maywood.
This is the second time Mr. Calderon has flaunted the incompatible office law.
In 2009, while on the water board, Mr. Calderon was forced to resign from his Maywood Council seat. He quit shortly before a similar quo warranto action, brought on by former D.A. Steve Cooley, was to go to trial.
Government Code section 1099 describes the rule against holding incompatible offices:
“A public officer, including, but not limited to, an appointed or elected member of a governmental board, commission, committee, or other body, shall not simultaneously hold two public offices that are incompatible.”
Under section 1099 and common-law precedent, a person may not simultaneously hold two offices if there is a significant clash of duties or loyalties between the offices.
To find that two offices are incompatible, it is not necessary that a conflict has actually occurred. It is sufficient that a conflict may occur in the regular operation of the statutory plan.
It takes only one potential significant conflict of duties or loyalties to render offices legally incompatible.
Where two offices are legally incompatible, “a public officer shall be deemed to have forfeited the first office upon acceding to the second.”
In this case, Mr. Robles would have to resign from his water board seat, “forfeiting his first office.”
Ms. Harris cited the possibility of a conflict if the water board raises prices for pumping groundwater which in turn causes the price increase to be passed on to the city.
Sources are telling Hews Media Group-Community News that Mr. Robles, an attorney himself, will wait until the matter goes to trial then resign, as Mr. Calderon did in 2009.
In the interim, Mr. Robles will continue to receive big paychecks from the water board and Carson for his public service.
The opinion is No. 15-401 can be found by clicking here.
Mr. Hews may be contacted at loscerritosnews.com
