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November 1, 2024
By Brian Hews
In their special meeting today—illegally called—the Central Basin Board of Juan Garza, Martha Camacho Rodriguez, Nem Ochoa, and Joanna Moreno defied Government Code and Central Basin Administrative Code and removed Art Chacon as President of the Board.
The four also fired Dr. Alex Rojas, who is on paid administrative leave, violating a 2015 California State Audit mandate and Central Basin Administrative Code.
It was a particularly egregious vote, as both Garza and Camacho Rodriguez could be unseated by next Tuesday’s election, and Moreno will be termed out in February 2025.
Violated Government Code
The meeting was illegal because it violated Government Code 54956, which states, “A special meeting may be called at any time….by delivering written notice to each member of the legislative body and to each local newspaper of general circulation and radio or television station requesting notice in writing and posting a notice on the local agency’s Internet Web site, if the local agency has one. The notice shall be delivered personally or by any other means and shall be received at least 24 hours before the time of the meeting as specified in the notice.”
According to documents obtained by LCCN, the agenda was sent out at 2:30 p.m. yesterday for today’s 1:00 p.m. meeting, violating 54956. In addition, LCCN is the adjudicated newspaper for the City of Commerce and did not receive the notice via email as required by 54956.
LCCN has been raising this exact issue since October 2024, repeatedly informing Central Basin General Manager Elaine Jeng that required meeting notices were not being received.
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Email to GM Jeng and CB counsel Victor Ponto, informing them that LCCN was not getting meeting notices. Click to enlarge image.
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Despite multitle warnings, the problem persisted for months afterward.
Violated Central Basin Code
The calling of the special meeting also violated Central Basin’s Code under Article 3, section 3.3, Duties and Role of Board Officers.
“The President shall: (1) Preside over all meetings of the Board. (i) Have final approval on the contents of the agendas for all regular, special, and emergency meetings of the Board.” Chacon was not asked to approve the November 1 agenda.
Article 3 of CB’s Admin Code clearly states the president has final approval of all agendas, yet Ochoa, Moreno, Garza, and Camacho are ignoring the Code and holding the meeting.
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Amend the Code to Fit the Crime
An item on the agenda is further evidence that the four board members, along with attorney Victor Ponto, knew the meeting was illegal. In a blatant attempt to justify their move, the item seeks to amend Article 3, Section 3.3, Duties and Role of Board Officers.
Item 5B states, “Consideration to amend Central Basin Water District Article 3 related to the approval of the contents of the agenda for all regular, special, and emergency meetings of the board.”
But when an amendment is made, it does not apply retroactively. The action to remove Chacon was Item 5A.
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Illegally Fired Rojas
After the debacle between 2011 and 2014, a 2015 California State Audit mandated that if the board wanted to fire the Central Basin General Manager, it needed six votes.
At today’s meeting, only four Central Basin directors were present.
In addition, Rojas’s personal employment contract mandates a 7/8 vote of the board, which also equates to six votes under the current board configuration.
Yet Garza, Camacho, Ochoa, and Moreno moved to fire Rojas.
Perhaps the group justified the move because the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is investigating Central Basin and has ordered the agency to turn over recordings and meeting minutes from 2020 to March 31, 2024—the four-year period during Rojas’s tenure.
Yet no Central Basin board meeting videos exist during that time period.
Perhaps it is tied to the August 2022 indictments alleging money laundering, bribery, perjury, and embezzlement. Rojas has strongly denied the allegations. After 26 months, the case is still pending and has not progressed past the initial arraignment “because they have no proof,” Rojas said.
Or perhaps it relates to the financial examination by CRI, which alleged certain violations—all denied by Rojas—and found no money missing.
Regardless, through the entire process, the board has been advised by attorney Victor Ponto, who himself has a rule-violating track record—somehow ignored by those Central Basin board members who continue to seek his advice.
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Former Central Basin GM Tony Perez was illegally fired and won a $1 million settlement against the agency. Former GM Kevin Hunt recently secured a $200,000 wrongful termination settlement.
It is almost certain that if the board follows through with today’s actions, Rojas will sue Central Basin, Ponto, Ponto’s law firm Burke Williams Sorenson, and individual directors for wrongful termination.
But unlike in past years, there is now a mandate that if Central Basin board members individually cause lawsuits, they must pay for their own attorneys.
Questions posed to board members went unanswered at the time of publication.
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