Bitterly divided board members blasted one another for “constant manipulations,” leaking information to the media, “deliberate and outrageous breaches of confidentiality” and other transgressions at a marathon seven-hour meeting of the mighty Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on Tuesday, June 8.
Despite the tension and rancor, Met’s 38-member board ultimately approved the employment contract of Adel Hagekhalil, making him the new general manager of America’s most massive drinking water agency. And despite the tension and rancor, Hagekhalil accepted.
“I’m a person who brings people together, defuses the tension in the room and puts people behind the goal,” he said during an extended question-and-answer session that some likened to an extra, last-minute job interview. “What we need to do now is come together. … We have to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us. We have huge challenges ahead of us.”
Hagekhalil will get a $400,000 annual salary and $700 monthly car allowance, among other perks, to ensure that water keeps gushing from the taps of 19 million people from Ventura County to the Mexican border — despite the twin demons of drought and climate change.
While the job itself is a challenge, Met’s organizational culture poses a challenge all its own.
Nearly half of the board — all representatives from the cities and special districts that buy imported water from Met — abstained from the vote altogether. But slightly more than half voted yes, eking out victory for Hagekhalil.
“What I’m going to do — is do the listening,” he said, vowing to meet with each board member to understand priorities and concerns. “This is who I am. This is what I do.”
Hagekhalil has worked for 32 years in water, environmental and infrastructure management as an executive with Los Angeles’ sanitation department and then with its street services department, where he’s credited with turning around a similarly troubled culture. A civil engineer and Fullerton resident, Hagekhalil replaces retiring GM Jeff Kightlinger, an attorney who has held the job since 2006.
Dozens of supporters lauded Hagekhalil as a visionary leader who can move Met “gracefully” into the 21st century, emphasizing environmentally friendly water recycling, capture and conservation programs over enormous infrastructure projects piping in fresh water from afar.
Issues
Skeptical board members insisted on asking Hagekhalil more questions before voting on his contract.
Several lawsuits charging harassment, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation have been filed against the Los Angeles departments Hagekhalil led over the past decade. None accuse him personally of any such behavior, but some paid out millions of dollars.
Some board members felt he had not been candid about disclosing those lawsuits during his interview, and felt surprised when the documents began circulating.
Hagekhalil countered that he signed paperwork allowing the board’s executive search firm to dig into all aspects of his life, and that he did, indeed, discuss the lawsuits with the board.
“In the interview I went into detail about how I learned from lawsuits and complaints,” he said, noting that one of the big lessons was how it’s important for outside firms to investigate complaints and take action to train staff. “I had no intention of misleading the board.”
Another issue for Municipal Water District of Orange County Directors Linda Ackerman and Larry Dick is Hagekhalil’s lack of experience in the drinking water world. Pacts divvying up Colorado River water will be renegotiated soon and major tactical decisions must be made on a Delta tunnel for the State Water Project. They worry his learning curve will be steep.
Dick, who was inclined to vote no, found Hagekhalil’s answers to the board’s last-minute questions “most persuasive” and urged him to apply his sharp intellect to learning about the river. Rather than voting no, Dick abstained, as did Ackerman.
The Met board had split pretty evenly between Hagekhalil and “water witch” Pat Mulroy, a legendary force in the water world. Mulroy delivered enough water to fuel the explosive growth of Sin City and environs when she headed the Las Vegas Valley Water District, then the Southern Nevada Water Authority, for 25 years.
Many saw it as a choice between old and new.
“As an immigrant, a person of color, it’s a proud day,” Hagekhalil said after the vote was counted. “That tells me the American dream is still alive. Thank you for putting the trust in me.”
