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By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
June 23, 2026
At what point does a public-agency controversy grow significant enough to attract the attention of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division?
That question is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore at Central Basin Municipal Water District.
The litigation surrounding the removal of former General Manager Dr. Alejandro Rojas has already cost taxpayers approximately $465,000 in legal fees, according to district records reviewed by Los Cerritos Community News. Combined with related litigation expenses, the total legal bill now approaches $871,000 and continues to grow.
The controversy centers on actions taken by Directors Juan Garza, Nem Ochoa, Joanna Moreno, and then-Director Martha Camacho-Rodriguez in late 2024 related to the Rojas matter. Critics and multiple directors have stated that those actions violated the Brown Act, California law, district policies, and Central Basin’s own administrative code. Those allegations remain at the heart of ongoing litigation and continue to incur substantial legal costs for ratepayers.
Perhaps most troubling are the unanswered questions surrounding the retention of outside law firm Buchalter LLP. Multiple directors have stated publicly and privately that they did not vote to retain the firm. Director Leticia Vasquez Wilson was reportedly absent when the matter was considered.
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So that leads to these questions: Who authorized the retention? What vote occurred? Who signed the agreement? Under what authority was public money committed?
Those questions remain unanswered despite a Public Records Act request seeking the engagement agreement, vote records, and authorization documents, which, by law, were supposed to be answered by Friday. They were not.
The issue is no longer simply about legal fees. It is about accountability, transparency, and adherence to the laws and policies that govern public agencies.
Garza, Ochoa, and Moreno acted outside established procedures, and taxpayers have now spent nearly half a million dollars defending those actions in a single case. Why has there been no apparent review by the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division? Why has there been no public explanation regarding the retention of outside counsel? Why are basic records concerning the authorization of hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenditures still unavailable?
The District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division exists to investigate allegations involving misuse of public office, public corruption, and violations of laws governing public agencies. Looking at Central Basin, it is difficult to understand why the matter has not attracted greater scrutiny.
But after nearly $465,000 in litigation costs tied to the Rojas matter, nearly $871,000 in combined legal spending, repeated allegations of Brown Act violations, alleged violations of California law, alleged violations of Central Basin’s own administrative code, and ongoing questions about who authorized the expenditure of public funds for outside counsel, taxpayers are left wondering why the District Attorney’s Office has remained silent.
Taxpayers deserve more than silence. They deserve answers.
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