WRD Board of Directors Appoints Vera Robles DeWitt to Fill Board Vacancy 

STAFF REPORT

The Board of Directors of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) appointed former longtime Carson City Councilmember and Mayor, Vera Robles DeWitt this past Saturday to the vacant Division 5 board position left open by the resignation of Albert Robles.

Division Five includes the cities of Bellflower, Carson, Compton, Downey, La Habra Heights, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, and Whittier.

Ms. Dewitt becomes the sixth woman in the history of the District to serve. 

“My colleagues and I are delighted to have Ms. DeWitt join the WRD Board of Directors,” said Board President John Allen. “The residents will be well served by a person who brings many years of public policy experience to the District and we look forward to serving with her.” 

In response to her appointment, Ms. DeWitt told the board, “I’m very honored and grateful to the Board for selecting me to fill this critical position on WRD’s Board of Directors. I’m eager to work with the Board you to develop and implement new strategies that expand the supply of locally sustainable groundwater and to create resiliency against drought conditions which now face us.” 

In July, the board voted to save ratepayers $600,000 by appointing a board member to fill the vacant seat.

“The Board had a very tough decision to make with so many qualified candidates who applied to fill the vacancy, but at the end of the day, we feel we found the most qualified and experienced person to join the board,” added Board Treasurer Rob Katherman. 

The process for filling this vacancy is governed by Section 60144 of the California Water Code and Section 1780 of the California Government Code. Directors had the option of calling for a special election which would cost ratepayers a minimum of $600,000 or avoiding this costly expenditure by appointing a member to fill the term which expires in 2020.