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By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
February 25, 2026
Here they go again.
The Central Basin Municipal Water District has fired another general manager — this time Elaine Jeng — continuing a stunning pattern that has now chewed through five GMs in just a few years.
But to understand this latest implosion, you have to rewind.
The board majority first illegally pushed out Dr. Alex Rojas in early 2024, placing him on paid administrative leave. The move blatantly violated his employment contract, the California Water Code and Cenral Basin Administrative Code. At the time, Central Basin had over $14.2 million in reserves and had steadily grown cash from $7.4 million in 2020 to over $17 million in 2023, during Rojas’ tenure, even while paying down debt and improving its credit rating.
After firing Rojas, the board installed outside attorney Victor Ponto — who had no operational water experience — and shortly thereafter rushed to hire Elaine Jeng.
The hiring process for Jeng was questionable at best. The position was advertised for just one week. Interviews were conducted in closed session, reportedly limited to twenty minutes per candidate. She was awarded a $265,000 salary, generous leave benefits, and a $400 monthly car allowance. The salary was listed as “unbudgeted” and funded from surplus reserves — meaning ratepayers were effectively paying two GMs at once.
Jeng came from Palos Verdes Estates, where she had served as city manager for only eight months. A prior city press release noted she previously served in Rolling Hills and holds an engineering degree from UCLA.
Then came the chaos.
Here’s a tighter, sharper version that flows better and lands harder:
During Jeng’s tenure, two long-time Central Basin employees were abruptly fired on the very day nomination papers were due for two appointed board seats currently occupied by Nem Ochoa and Joanna Moreno — both of whom remain on the board despite serious legal questions surrounding their status. The timing of the firings effectively placed control of the nomination process directly under Jeng’s authority.
.That was in 2024, when Ochoa and Moreno should have left the board. Instead, they remain seated because Jeng, attorney Victor Ponto, and the board majority have refused to allow the legally required replacement process to move forward. The same maneuver was repeated in November 2025, when the majority again blocked the appointment process, effectively preserving their own control of the board.
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In the meantime, cash reserves, once climbing, plunged. By May 2025, district cash had dropped to roughly $9.5 million — nearly a $5 million decline since Rojas was placed on leave.
Monthly financial reports that had been regularly presented during Rojas’ tenure disappeared for six months, only to reappear in a bundled approval vote.
Board meetings devolved into public infighting. Agenda disputes erupted. Director Art Chacon accused Jeng of refusing to post agendas as submitted and of adding unauthorized items. Special meetings were canceled. Legal fees to Ponto’s firm soared past $700,000. Outside contracts ballooned.
Now, the same board culture that removed Rojas and installed Jeng has fired Jeng.
The pattern is undeniable: remove, install, implode, repeat.
Five general managers. Plummeting reserves. Escalating legal bills. Board factions openly battling. Nomination disputes. Administrative code fights.
And through it all, ratepayers in Southeast Los Angeles County are left funding the dysfunction.
Central Basin’s mission is simple: deliver reliable, affordable water.
Instead, it has become a case study in governance instability.
The question is no longer why a general manager was fired.
The question is: who’s next?
Newly appointed Board President Gary Mendez confirmed Jeng’s dismissal in a written statement, saying, “Her services are no longer needed. We thank her for her service to the District. Central Basin is taking a new direction, with a renewed vision to strengthen the District as a democratic public institution responsible for providing quality, accessible, and affordable water to the communities we serve. We are unified in this purpose.”
The statement marks yet another “new direction” for a district that has cycled through multiple general managers in recent years, each departure accompanied by similar assurances of unity and reform.
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