Newly elected Inglewood Councilwoman Gloria Gray was sworn into office in front of an over-capacity crowd in council chambers on April 7.
The following day she held a ‘Campaign Team Celebration’ in Los Angeles’ Whipp Social Club where she thanked her supporters for her win in the March 7 runoff against former Councilman George Dotson.
“For all of those who generously gave their time and resources, I treasure the effort they provided during my campaign and this is just a way to say thank you,” Gray stated.
Gray’s term in Inglewood began on April 10, however, she has retained her seats on the West Basin and Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) board.
She serves District II, which, according to West Basin’s website, covers the cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, and the unincorporated Los Angeles County areas of Ladera Heights, View Park-Windsor Hills, West Athens, and Westmont.
Gray’s photo on the MWD website indicates she’s one of its 38 board members representing West Basin.
Inglewood taxpayers pay for water from West Basin, which in turn purchases their water from MWD.
The council agendas posted to both of the water agencies for meetings held between April 10 – April 12 indicate Gray is scheduled to attend several meetings from her home in Inglewood. Per the Brown Act, the public is legally allowed to attend those meetings wherever the board members are.
Under Government Code Section 1099, a person may not simultaneously hold two offices if there is any significant clash of duties or loyalties between public offices. To find that two offices are incompatible, a conflict doesn’t need to actually occur; it is sufficient that a conflict may occur in the regular operation of the offices.
Where two offices held by one official are legally incompatible, adjudicated through a quo warranto action, as soon as the official assumes the second office, they must immediately vacate the first office.
“I confirmed she has not resigned from her seat,” said Rebecca Kimitch, Metropolitan Water District spokesperson.
West Basin did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Former Carson Mayor Albert Robles was removed from the board of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California in 2018 by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
The lawsuit alleged that holding the job of mayor and being director of the water agency at the same time was a conflict of interest and violated state law.
The positions are “incompatible under [the law] because the WRD and the City of Carson have overlapping territory, duties, and responsibilities, and a clash of duties is likely to arise in the exercise of both offices simultaneously,” according to the civil complaint.
The same conditions are present in Inglewood with Gray sitting on both the city council and West Basin.
In early 2018, Maywood City Councilman Sergio Calderon resigned his seat on the council to settle a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors also alleging he violated state law by holding two public offices at the same time. Calderon faced a similar lawsuit in 2008 but resigned from the city council before the matter went to trial.
In January of this year, the District Attorney’s office received approval from Attorney General Rob Bonta to sue La Puente Councilmember David Argudo for sitting on both the city council and the board of the La Puente Valley County Water District.
Argudo could “face a conflict between the interests of the Water District in ensuring adequate revenues and the interests of the City and its residents in minimizing water costs,” according to the opinion written by Deputy Attorney General Karim J. Kentfield. “A conflict could also arise if the City and the Water District negotiated a contract or acted in areas of overlapping authority.”
This is not the case for Gray considering the District Attorney’s office confirmed they would not seek permission to sue to remove her from either seat.
“The issue of whether the two seats are incompatible is one of civil law over which the Attorney General has authority,” wrote Bjorn Dodd, with the Public Integrity Unit. “Private parties, including a district attorney, must seek authority from the Attorney General to pursue a civil suit. Although our office has pursued such civil actions in the past, we are unable to do so at this time.”
Emilie St. John is a contributing writer for 2UrbanGirls.com and the Los Angeles Wave newspaper.