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By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
October 3, 2025
Rojas Timeline
2020 – Hiring at Central Basin
Alex Rojas is hired as General Manager of the Central Basin Municipal Water District.
On November 1, 2024, a four-member faction of the Central Basin board convened a special meeting, with three directors absent. Under district rules, only the board president can call such a meeting, and at the time, the president was Art Chacon, who did not. By going around him, the faction not only violated procedure but also shredded the district’s bylaws. At that meeting, they voted to terminate Rojas with only four votes, even though both his contract and the 2015 State Auditor’s report required six. Observers immediately called the action illegal.
Late 2024 – Flawed Audit Released
The board leans on a report by Carr, Riggs & Ingram (CRI) that accuses Rojas of financial misconduct. Later, CRI admits that some of its figures “could be incorrect,” undermining its credibility. Despite this, the report is used to publicly smear Rojas.
Early 2025 – Secret Attorney Hire
Without a formal board vote, the faction installs outside law firm Buchalter to represent Central Basin in litigation against Rojas. The move violates the Brown Act, which requires board approval for contracts with outside counsel.
March 2025 – Legal Setback for the Board
A judge rules against the board in a key procedural decision, signaling that the November 2024 vote to terminate Rojas will not hold up in court. The decision strengthens Rojas’s case for reinstatement.
Spring 2025 – Financial Decline
LCCN exclusively reports that Central Basin’s cash reserves dropped by nearly $5 million between February 2024 and May 2025, fueling questions about the board’s fiscal stewardship after Rojas’s removal.
Summer 2025 – Smear Campaign Escalates
Interim GM Elaine Jeng accuses Rojas of “destroying records,” a claim rooted in the discredited CRI audit. Around the same time, prosecutors announced bribery charges against Rojas tied to his time at Bassett Unified. The charges are unrelated to Central Basin, but the board’s allies amplify them as justification for his firing.
October 2025 – Settlement Talks Surface
With Rojas’s reinstatement hearing scheduled for October 15, reports emerge that the board is now seeking a quiet settlement. Observers note that if Rojas returns as GM, he may uncover evidence of financial irregularities and corruption within the district.
Media Bias: Whittier Daily News
Coverage from the Whittier Daily News has consistently amplified outside allegations against Rojas while ignoring the board’s misconduct. Headlines such as “Former Central Basin general manager took $41,000 in bribes, prosecutors allege” and “Case marks the second time former GM has been accused of taking bribes” highlight unrelated criminal allegations. THE WDN has NOT reported on the illegal four-vote firing, the violation of the State Water Code, Garza and La Luz Del Mundo, Elaine Jeng’s defamation, the no-vote hire of Buchalter, the board’s financial collapse, or the circumvention of President Art Chacon’s authority to call meetings. By amplifying only accusations against Rojas, the WDN has effectively echoed the board’s corrupt narrative while sidestepping the board’s governance failures.
Exclusive: Central Basin Board Wants to Settle With Former GM Alex Rojas Ahead of Court Showdown
By Brian Hews
Los Cerritos Community News has exclusively learned that the Central Basin Municipal Water District board is seeking a quiet multi-million dollar settlement, using taxpayer dollars, with former General Manager Dr. Alex Rojas just weeks before a critical October 15 court hearing on Rojas’ reinstatement as GM of Central Basin.
When Rojas took over the district in 2020, he inherited an agency already branded by the State Auditor as dysfunctional and plagued by insider dealing. Four years later, he became the target of a rogue four-member faction that ignored state mandates, shredded its own bylaws, and, now—facing a legal showdown it is unlikely to win—is scrambling to clean up the mess it created quietly.
On November 1, 2024, Directors Juan Garza, Nem Ochoa, Joanna Moreno, and former Director Martha Camacho Rodriguez convened a special meeting with three directors absent. Under district rules, only the board president, then Art Chacon, had authority to call such a meeting—yet he did not. By going around him, the faction not only violated the bylaws but also trampled the Brown Act.
At that meeting, they voted to fire Rojas with only four votes, despite his contract and the 2015 State Auditor’s report requiring a minimum of six votes. Observers immediately labeled the firing illegal. An article by LCCN asserted that at some point Garza, Camacho, Ochoa, and Moreno would settle with Rojas, similar to how other boards settled with Kevin Hunt and Tony Perez.
To justify their move, the board leaned on a pricey “audit” from Carr, Riggs & Ingram. The report accused Rojas of financial misconduct, but the report was questioned from the beginning with CRI later admitting some of its numbers “could be incorrect.”
That didn’t stop the board from using the flawed document as a weapon in the press with the Whittier Daily News somehow obtaining the report before its public release. Director Juan Garza, who frequently butted heads with Rojas, and who collected the most significant payouts of any board member after Rojas was sidelined—over $14,000 in five months, plus car and phone allowances—was one of the loudest voices demanding a criminal investigation. At the same time, Garza’s own heinous conflicts came to light, including his representation of La Luz Del Mundo, a child abuse/sex trafficking scandal-ridden church omitted from his financial filings.
The campaign escalated in summer 2025, when interim GM Elaine Jeng maliciously accused Rojas of “destroying records,” a claim rooted in the same discredited CRI audit. LCCN documented that the allegations had no basis in fact, portraying them as nothing more than an intentional smear designed to damage Rojas ahead of his reinstatement case.
Garza, Ochoa, and Moreno then secretly hired Los Angeles-based Buchalter law firm—without a board vote—to pursue countersuits against Rojas. GM Jeng authorized a under $25,000 payment to Buchalter. Buchalter was involved in the infamous slush fund case involving Central Basin. The move was another Brown Act violation. Under the law, hiring outside counsel requires approval in open session. None occurred. Courts have since signaled that both the firing and the law firm’s authorization are on shaky ground.
By March 2025, the board suffered a significant setback in court, strengthening Rojas’s case for reinstatement.
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Meanwhile, Central Basin’s finances collapsed. Between February 2024 and May 2025, the district’s cash reserves plunged by nearly $5 million.
Now, with October 15 court date approaching, the same board that defamed and maliciously smeared Rojas is quietly floating settlement terms. Their desperation is evident: if Rojas returns, he will have authority to scrutinize contracts, attorney arrangements, and finances—an outcome that could expose the corruption that has flourished since his illegal firing.
Media Bias
Coverage from the Whittier Daily News has consistently amplified outside allegations against Rojas while ignoring the board’s misconduct. Headlines such as “Former Central Basin general manager took $41,000 in bribes, prosecutors allege” and “Case marks the second time former GM has been accused of taking bribes” highlight unrelated criminal allegations. THE WDN has NOT reported on the illegal four-vote firing, the violation of the State Water Code, Garza and La Luz Del Mundo, Elaine Jeng’s defamation, the no-vote hire of Buchalter, the board’s financial collapse, or the circumvention of President Art Chacon’s authority to call meetings. By amplifying only accusations against Rojas, the WDN has effectively echoed the board’s corrupt narrative while sidestepping the board’s governance failures.
What began as a reckless four-vote ambush has turned into a legal and financial disaster for Central Basin. Courts have already flagged the illegality of the termination, the district’s cash is depleted, and the board’s hand-picked law firm may not even be legally authorized to act.
Adding to the chaos, two appointed directors, Golden State Water GM Nem Ochoa and City of Industry Engineer Joanna Moreno, remain on the board despite their terms expiring in November 2024, further undermining legitimacy. Their continued presence raises the question of whether actions taken by the board since their expiration could be legally challenged, leaving Central Basin on even shakier ground.
With October 15 approaching, the sudden interest in settlement is tantamount to an admission of guilt. The faction knows that if Rojas is reinstated, the real corruption will finally come to light.
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