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New CB President Phil Hawkins.
By Brian Hews
In a surprise move, the Central Basin Board of Directors snubbed one Director, Leticia Vasquez, and its current President, Bob Apodaca, and appointed Cerritos resident Phil Hawkins as President and newcomer Pedro Aceituno as Vice-President.
Both Hawkins and Aceituno were also appointed to the Metropolitan Water Board.
The snub of Vasquez and Apodaca is likely a result of the many legal battles and settlements that have embroiled the two, and have cost the Commerce water agency well over $1 million dollars.
Currently Vasquez is party-plaintiff to a whistleblower lawsuit suing the very agency she was elected to serve. The lawsuit has cost the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend.
Central Basin Water District Director Leticia Vasquez is a party plaintiff to a whistleblower lawsuit against the very district she was elected to represent.
OP/ED: Central Basin Division Four Director Leticia Vasquez’ Trail of Corruption
Apodaca was accused of sexually harassing a former employee of CB, with the agency eventually settling for over $650,000.
Both were extremely angry after the meeting.
Vasquez was seen with Whittier Daily News reporter Mike Sprague after the meeting having a “very animated conversation.”
Apodaca told the crowd that “I guess we are going back to the old ways at Central Basin.”
“An interesting comment,” said one observer, “given that Apodaca was instrumental in bringing the Calderons into CB and also hired the Calderons eventual puppet, former General Manager Art Aguilar, that is a bit calling the kettle black.”
New President Phil Hawkins told HMG-CN, “there is new leadership at Central Basin, and we are all very excited. We will turn it around and gain respectability back to Central Basin. We are definitely on the right track now. Rate payers and observers will see a better more transparent governance, all the while keeping our water quality high, and our rates low.”
You mean that fat slob is finally off the MWD Board?? No. I’m talking about Leticia Vasquez, not Bob Apodaca. What a disgrace those two have been and hopefully Central Basin has finally turned a corner. Thank God Roybal is gone…two to go. Hopefully that old bastard Apodaca will finally drop dead from obesity and Vasquez will go back to hooking, although I hear that wasn’t very profitable. Apparently blind “John’s” are rare in the ‘hood these days.
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Phil Hawkins, you live in & represent the city of Cerritos . 300 homes in Cerritos Island section, are affected with your non corrected water department boundaries. Why not correct this so we can vote on Water Department issues , we need to be connected with Orange County Water, we are not connected to Cerritos or your agencies water connection. We’ve contacted you many times over the past 40 years you continuously ignore us. Consequently, we live in Cerritos, but pay 2.5 x more for water, compared to Cerritos Residents.
Is this being a very good politician, representing only some of the people and not all of the people in your district?
Your agency donated horticulture to Cerritos El Rancho Verdes Park, which is in Cerritos, but everything east of the Los Coyotes Flood Control are serviced by OC Water Department. This said park has no ties to your water board agency, except by name only.
You have been a life long politician, why don’t you come forward and aid your district.
https://www.loscerritosnews.net/2017/01/23/central-basin-municipal-water-elects-phil-hawkins-president-pedro-aceituno-vice-president/