Veteran politician Cynthia McClain-Hill announced Tuesday that she will resign as chairwoman of the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners following ethics complaints involving her and growing tensions over the utility’s leadership.
McClain-Hill made the announcement at Tuesday’s board meeting, saying it had been a “great honor, privilege and pleasure to serve” the public and that she would be leaving the board.
The Times reported Friday on criticism directed at McClain-Hill and then-DWP committee chair Mel Levine over a private phone call the pair had in 2019 with two cybersecurity executives to explain the utility’s plans. public to award your company a new contract.
The city’s ethics law prohibits commissioners from privately reviewing contracts with vendors. Both Levine and McClain-Hill said the decision was correct.
McClain-Hill, who previously served on the city’s police commission and has served on a number of state and city commissions, was also the subject of a lawsuit in October by four former and current DWP employees alleging retaliation. She has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the lawsuit.
Cynthia McClain-Hill listens to public comments after announcing she will step down as president of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
She was appointed to the volunteer board by former Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2018 and has been its chair since 2020. She leaves DWP, the country’s largest municipal water and power utility, at a critical time as it strives to meet their environmental objectives. goals.
Additionally, the company’s top executive, CEO Martin Adams, will retire in March.
McClain-Hill was a forceful leader at the utility, challenging DWP policies and supporting worker protections. She worked on a variety of environmental and women’s issues and led efforts to make the utility’s workforce more diverse.
At the same time, he clashed with Adams, and that strained relationship helped fuel divisions among the staff.
It remains to be seen whether Mayor Karen Bass will choose a manager favored by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, which represents thousands of DWP workers.
Dozens of IBEW members attended Tuesday’s meeting to support McClain-Hill and held white signs thanking her. “President Cynthia McClain-Hill makes changes for the working class,” one message read. She received a standing ovation.
The next DWP CEO will play a key role in determining whether Los Angeles will achieve 100% climate-friendly energy by 2035, the ambitious goal set by Garcetti and supported by Bass. City officials have big hurdles to overcome, such as making sure they can keep the lights on without burning natural gas, a fossil fuel, at four local power plants.
Environmentalists want to make sure Adams’ replacement commits to removing fossil fuels from the power grid by 2035. IBEW members work at local gas plants and have fought to keep them open.
The next general manager will also be forced to deal with growing water shortages, as global warming leads to lower water supplies overall and worsens California’s historic swings between droughts and floods.
Bass’ office declined to respond to questions from the Times when a message circulated over the weekend among top IBEW executives urging its members to come out and support McClain-Hill at her final board meeting on Tuesday.
Bass, who has the power to appoint and remove commissioners, also did not respond to other questions about McClain-Hill, including whether the mayor still supported the commissioner.
In the lawsuit directed at McClain-Hill, an employee alleged that DWP staff and a DWP contractor worked together to intentionally mislabel a bill sent to the utility so McClain-Hill could receive free food and drinks at a April conference in Beverly Hills hosted by the contractor. .
Internal emails between DWP staff discussing the bill and the conference were raised in a separate State Bar complaint filed last month by former DWP lawyer and consultant Paul Paradis, prompting further questions. The complaint from Paradis, who became an FBI informant after admitting his role in a bribery scheme, also details how McClain-Hill received a $700-a-night hotel room while attending a conference in Dubai.
McClain-Hill told The Times that her handling of the bill and her acceptance of the hotel room were correct. Accenture, the contractor that organized the Beverly Hills conference, declined to comment.
A DWP spokesperson told The Times that DWP staff asked Accenture to calculate the costs of the conference as a DWP-related business expense. The DWP declined to answer further questions about the bill.
Times staff writer Sammy Roth contributed to this report.
