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THE EASTSIDER - As the long, hot summer kicks into high gear, there is no shortage of palace intrigue at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Recall that back on June 13, 2024, the MWD Board of Directors placed its embattled and controversial General Manager Adel Hagekhalil on administrative leave (with pay) for 90 days. This was prompted by multiple complaints against Hagekhalil, the most notable being a charge of discrimination and harassment from MWD Chief Financial Officer Katano Kasaine, the agency’s highest ranking black, female executive. Regular readers of this column will recall that I covered Kasaine’s complaint against Hagekhalil in depth shortly after he was placed on leave.
Since then, an interesting new narrative seems to have emerged, thanks to outside environmental groups as well as assorted LA politicos. These folks question whether the Board’s actions were truly motivated by legitimate concerns about Hagekhalil’s behavior, or whether it’s all just a smokescreen to get rid of him because of his progressive water policies.
ADEL AND THE PUSH FOR PURE WATER
Since taking the reins at the MWD three years ago, Hagekhalil has been a strong advocate for recycled water. That is to say, purifying and reusing wastewater which would otherwise run off into the ocean. Recycled water, dubbed “Pure Water” by MWD, is viewed as more environmentally friendly than the agency’s traditional, transported water sources, and certainly more so than the controversial Delta Conveyance Project long opposed by environmental groups, but supported by some at MWD. The Delta Conveyance Project, if built, would bring in water from a system of tunnels from Northern California’s Bay Delta region, but would endanger various animal species living in the Delta.
Pure Water proponents say that once fully operational, recycled water could provide up to 150 million gallons of purified water each day to the residents of Southern California. And they applaud Hagekhalil’s ongoing support of this initiative.
They also accuse so-called “water buffaloes,” a derisive term for both the MWD bureaucracy and several longtime Board members, of trying to thwart Hagekhalil. They view the employee complaints against Hagekhalil as just an excuse for the water buffaloes to get rid of him.
On June 24th, in these very CityWatch pages, former LA City Councilman and MWD Board Member Paul Koretz said of Kasaine’s complaint, that it felt like “politics more than anything truly substantive.” Of Kasaine herself, Koretz opined that it sounded like she had “management and policy disagreements” with Hagekhalil, rather than any legitimate concerns of discrimination or harassment.
It's an interesting take from Koretz and others, and so I turned to numerous sources both inside and outside of MWD to see what they thought of this new emerging narrative. By and large, they consider it a bunch of nonsense.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE WATER, IT’S ALL ABOUT ADEL
Two individuals within MWD who I spoke with said that overall the agency actually supports recycled water. In fact, one of them told me that Pure Water has been in the works at MWD, in one form or another, for the past 15 years, long before Hagekhalil was even hired. They both credit Hagekhalil with keeping momentum going, and hardly see it as part of some nefarious plot by the Board to get rid of the GM.
They told me that MWD staff working in water planning are very sympathetic to environmental concerns. And they don’t take kindly to outside interests claiming that the personnel investigations into Hagekhalil are somehow based on his water policies, rather than his own screw-ups and misdeeds.
This sentiment is reflected in written comments sent to the Board on June 28, 2024 by the union representing MWD’s managers, otherwise known as MAPA. The MAPA union encouraged the Board to:
“[I]nvestigate the allegations methodically, and not be swayed by the solicited support from outside the agency, which we believe was orchestrated to sow doubt across the various investigations.”
The MAPA union also appears to corroborate the charges against Hagekhalil, stating:
“MAPA is uniquely positioned to see the effects of events, like those alleged in [Kasaine’s] letter, including the deterioration of employee morale, allegations of favoritism and cronyism, nonconformity to recruitment policies, lack of support for management, fear of retaliation, controlled dissemination of information, and a decline in the cohesiveness of the organization as a whole.”
But MAPA has not been the only employee group making known its dissatisfaction with Hagekhalil. MWD’s Hispanic Employees Association had this to say to the Board on the day Hagekhalil was placed on leave:
“We feel compelled to comment to make you aware of the dire state of employee morale, which may be overlooked amid the public praise for General Manager Adel Hagekhalil’s character provided today by members of the public who lack insight into the reality and gravity of these allegations. We are not commenting to disparage Mr. Hagekhalil’s character—we are commenting to implore the Board to hold him accountable for his actions that go against his responsibility to cultivate and maintain a fair, equitable, and inclusive workplace where staff are trusted and valued.
It is important to address the reality that there are employees experiencing a toxic workplace culture of increasing cronyism, discrimination, and intimidation under Mr. Hagekhalil. Additionally, experienced staff are often left out of the loop in favor of newer personnel or costly consultants who have far less experience, leading to consequences on staff morale. Employees feel discouraged to file complaints with the union or EEO for fear of retaliation or impacts on their careers—the absence of public comments from these employees does not mean these issues do not exist.”
And most recently, the local NAACP chimed in. In a July 17th email to the Board, NAACP Southwest Area Director Darrell Goode expressed his organization’s willingness to work with MWD on water issues impacting the black community. But he said there must be an investigation into complaints of “discrimination, gender bias, and blatant intimidation under the leadership of the General Manager and Chair [Adan Ortega].”
Goode went on to voice the NAACP’s support for Kasaine, adding that his organization cannot support a General Manager like Hagekhalil who remains under investigation.
So add it all up, and it’s like one of my sources said: “If Adel wants to know why he’s on leave and under investigation, he need only look in the mirror.”
MORE THAN A LITTLE HYPOCRISY
Finally, a couple of sources I spoke to took particular umbrage at the apparent willingness of so many to dismiss or minimize the complaints filed against Hagekhalil, especially Kasaine’s. Said one:
“I’ll bet these outside groups and politicians were the first in line a few years ago to support Me Too, and to say that women are to be believed. And good on them if they did. But then how come Katano isn’t being believed? Why does benefit of the doubt go to their buddy Adel?”
Another individual at MWD told me they were particularly incensed at commentary by CityWatch contributor and former LA City Councilman Dennis Zine, who in his June 27th column defending Hagekhalil, suggested that there was too much focus on Hagekhalil’s “management style.”
Said this individual:
“This has EVERYTHING to do with Adel’s ‘management style,’ and it’s exactly like Katano said, it’s toxic, harassing and intimidating, and hundreds of employees here will back that up. But here she is, a woman executive of color raising a complaint, and all people like Mr. Zine want to do is act like Adel is somehow the victim. The good ole boys sure do look after the good ole boys.”
So there you have it. While the City of Los Angeles appears to rally around its favorite son Hagekhalil, he remains on leave. Meanwhile, the MWD Board has retained the firm of Grutman Law to investigate Kasaine’s complaint. Grutman Law’s investigation is being overseen by a select committee of the Board, led by Director Barry Pressman, who represents the City of Beverly Hills. Other Board members on this select committee include Director Nancy Sutley, a Garcetti-appointee from the City of Los Angeles, and Director Gail Goldberg, from the San Diego County Water Authority.
Sources say that all eyes are squarely on these Directors to ensure that a thorough investigation occurs, and that the matter is not simply swept aside like so many past complaints involving Hagekhalil.
We shall see, and as soon as there’s anything new to report, CityWatch will be there to cover it for you!
(Tony Butka is an Eastside community activist, who has served on a neighborhood council, has a background in government and is a contributor to CityWatch.)
