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Art Chacon, president of the Central Basin Municipal Water Board of Directors, was sworn-in Friday, December 10, 2020 to another term after winning re-election in November. The ceremony took place remotely from the Senator Archuleta’s District Office in Norwalk.
December 12, 2022
By Brian Hews
After beating his opponent by 30,000 votes, Commerce resident and president of the Central Basin Municipal Water Board of Directors Art Chacon was sworn in by State Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera) at a ceremony held at Archuleta’s District Office in Norwalk.
Chacon had one person run against him, rumored to be backed by Central Basin Director Leticia Vasquez, an extremely questionable candidate who had no business running for the Central Basin seat, former Commerce Councilman Leonard Mendoza.
Among other things, Mendoza filed a false ballot designation for the Central Basin seat, calling himself a “water advocate,” which he wasn’t.
Before that, during his losing run for councilman in Commerce, HMG-CN exclusively reported that Mendoza had ten people registered as voters at his 800-square-foot house.
The report caused the Registrar/Recorder to refer Mendoza to the D.A.
Increased profits and reserves have marked Chacon’s run as president while moral at the agency has greatly improved with the removal of several questionable employees who attempted to torpedo the organization so another agency could take it over.
In addition, with a management team led by Dr. Alex Rojas, who Chacon led the hiring of, Central Basin received an A3 rating by Moody’s to the District’s Standby Charge Refunding Revenue Bonds, saving the agency $3 million per year.
Lastly, during a time when many water agencies were raising rates, Chacon and the Board, with Leticia Vasquez voting no, decreased water rates by 14%.
“I am very proud of the collaboration and work the Central Basin Board and general manager have undertaken over the past year to make significant progress in improving our financial position,” Chacon told HMG-CN. “The improvements we made send a strong message of confidence that our District is financially stable and serious about our mission to deliver reliable and high-quality water and recycled water services to our communities through strategic and effective partnerships with our vendors and customers.”
