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…
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