May 17, 2025
By Brian Hews
Last week, Los Cerritos Community News published an exclusive story concerning a letter dated January 10, 2025, from the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) that confirmed what this newspaper has been reporting since 2024: that Whittier Union High School District (WUHSD) Trustee Gary Mendez is unlawfully holding two incompatible public offices.
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Mendez, currently serving on the WUHSD Board and the Central Basin Municipal Water District (CBMWD), is in clear violation of Government Code §1099. The letter from the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) concluded that Mendez’s roles are incompatible, as CBMWD supplies water to WUHSD through vendors—meaning decisions made at Central Basin directly affect the school district he’s sworn to serve.
Now, the legal pressure continues to mount on Mendez, as the WUHSD has filed a verified quo warranto complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking his removal from office for holding two incompatible public posts in violation of state law.
Sources told LCCN that the filing was difficult, as Mendez ran away from the process server several times before finally taking the subpoena.
According to court documents exclusively obtained by Los Cerritos Community News, the complaint, filed April 22, 2025, alleges that Mendez forfeited his position as WUHSD Trustee when he was sworn in as a Director—and now Vice President—of the CBMWD in December 2024.
The WUHSD’s legal action comes under California Government Code §1099, which prohibits any individual from holding two public offices simultaneously if those offices carry the potential for conflicting duties or divided loyalties. The law mandates that one forfeits the first office upon assuming the second.
According to the legal filing, “Defendant’s office as Trustee for the WUHSD Board is incompatible with his office as Director for the CBMWD Board based on the powers and jurisdiction of the offices, which create the possibility of a significant clash of duties or loyalties between the offices.”
The complaint continues: “Since Defendant was sworn into his second office as Director of the CBMWD Board on December 18, 2024, when he was already a Trustee of the WUHSD Board, Defendant has usurped, intruded into, and unlawfully held and exercised the office of Trustee for the WUHSD.”
The district points to the fact that WUHSD buys its water through vendors who source directly from Central Basin, making any rate increases or conservation mandates by CBMWD a direct financial concern to the school system. Both agencies also possess eminent domain powers over the same geographic areas, raising serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
“There is a clear possibility that the Defendant could have divided loyalties,” the complaint argues, especially when voting on CBMWD actions that impact school district operations.
The lawsuit seeks a judicial ruling declaring that Mendez is ineligible to continue holding his trustee seat and an order removing him from office. WUHSD also requests attorney’s fees and costs be reimbursed under Code of Civil Procedure §809.
Mendez was elected to the WUHSD Board in November 2022 and to the Central Basin Board in November 2024. His term as trustee would normally expire in 2026, but WUHSD contends he is now unlawfully holding that office.
The district’s Superintendent, Monica Oviedo, verified the complaint under penalty of perjury.
As LCCN previously reported, the quo warranto legal challenge follows a deeper investigation into Mendez’s conduct that revealed he continued to operate a defunct nonprofit—California Youth Martial Arts Academy and Education Foundation (CYM)—after both the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board suspended the organization in 2021. Despite the suspensions, Mendez solicited and received funding from government agencies under the guise of CYM’s revoked nonprofit status, an act that may carry civil and criminal liability under IRS codes.
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In a lengthy email, Mendez responded to the mounting evidence by announcing the abrupt shutdown of all CYM programs across Los Angeles County, blaming LCCN’s reporting for the decision.
If a public official knowingly misrepresents or continues operating under a revoked 501(c)(3), the consequences can include IRS fines, civil penalties, or criminal prosecution for fraud.
Contact Brian Hews at [email protected] or follow @cerritosnews.bsky.social
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