The board of directors of the Southern California Metropolitan Water Area is considering the seven -month survey results conducted by the general manager Adel Hagekhalil. The profound differences between leaders of the largest city water supply company in the state.
The board of directors held two closed -door meetings this week to review the results of the five investigations. These investigations have not been made public. The members of the board of directors then voted to decide to continue Haghalller's vacation until the next meeting was held on Wednesday.
Haghalller is take a vacation In June, in order to return to the allegations of Katano Kasaine, the chief financial officer of the institution, the latter accused him of having gender discrimination and claiming that he had harassment, derogation and exclusion of her, and created a hostile working environment. Haghaller denied these allegations and insisted that he had nothing wrong.
In the public part of the MWD meeting on Tuesday, Haga Haller told the board members that he was satisfied with the results of the investigation. He said that the investigation results proved that he was not guilty and he longed for and prepared to return to his job.
"Although I didn't engage in any improper behavior, I learned a lesson from this experience and learned how to do better. Of course, I will keep in mind any feedback." "I will be elegant and peaceful Huminating attitudes to deal with this situation. I look forward to participating in the treatment process.
When Kasaine was leaked to the media in June, some of the complaints on the board were leaked to the media, and some allegations against HAGEKHALIL were publicly spread.
Katain wrote in a letter on May 27 that she was "slandered, harassed, bullied, and was excluded from my core duties." She said that Hagahaller's "preference for male colleagues/employees surpassed me, which continued to sow the seeds of gender discrimination and degradation."
She also criticized Hagahaller to hire a trustworthy high -paying consultant team, saying that "the entire shadow leadership team has more power than those with official titles."
Haghaller denied these claims.
The members of the board of directors reviewed privately for several hours to discuss the results of the investigation and how to conduct. The agenda claims that they will consider "disciplinary punishment/dismissal/release" of a employee.
The members of the board of directors did not comment on their discussions at a time.
Subsequently, the board member Fred Jung said he hoped that the school district would solve the problem before the meeting next week.
"I think it is necessary to conduct some heavy negotiations," Jung said in an interview with the Times. "Otherwise, there is the risk of potential generous lawsuits."
"I think that for the best interests of the agency and their employees and the public, I think this has lasted enough for a long time. We now have a window that can bring some exports to all of this. "" ". He refused to discuss specific details or comment on the form of the resolution.
The metropolitan water area supply water to cities and institutions to supply water for 19 million people in Southern California. As the highest manager in the region, Haghalller played a core role in the process of working hard to achieve this goal. Reform the agency and change its water supply structure Help Southern California adapt to the worsening drought that has exacerbated due to climate change.
Kerry Garvis Writt, a lawyer of Haghalller, told the board of directors on Tuesday that the general manager has been treated unfairly since administrative leave. She said that he "suffered a huge and unparalleled reputation damage due to the behavior of the school district."
Garvis Writt warned the board of directors that "the board of directors will not be reviewed by any disadvantages of Mr. Haghalhaller's adopted by Mr. Hagahaller", and said that "strong evidence indicates racial and ethnic discrimination, this Of course it is illegal. "
Haghalller is the first Arab American in the region General managerEssence His lawyers and supporters said they were worried that the anti -Arab emotions of some board members may affect their investigation.
During Harghaller's vacation, board member John Morris (John Morris) Capsule by the MWD Commission He made a racist speech on another regional employee, calling him "camel jockey". Officials of the agency said the case had no direct relationship with Haghalller. But as part of condemnation, the board of directors banned Morris from participating in the review and voting of the Highaller investigation.
Some civil rights advocates also expressed concerns about discrimination in the investigation.
AMR Shabaik, the legal director of the United States-Islamic Relations Commission, urged the committee to restore Haghaller's position and said: "We want to solve and correct this discrimination and harassment."
Any decision made by the board may be questioned in court. MWD meeting Agenda He said that the committee also discussed the other two claims in private, which involved the "major risks" of the potential lawsuits of the school district.
One of the notes is October 18th letter Kasaine's representative lawyer Dawn Collins made this request to the board. She described Kasaine as "the reporter who was revealed" and said that she leaked her letter to convey a message to those who dare to challenge MWD's "highest -level immoral and illegal behavior model".
The letter issued by MWD has been partially modified. These include a copy of discrimination complaints submitted to the state in October in October. Casen described herself as a African -American woman and claimed that she continued to suffer "harassment, discrimination and revenge based on race, gender and nationality."
Katarin has not responded to the Times' request to comment on the incident.
Since Hagghaller's vacation, Deven Upadhyay has been the temporary general manager. As the investigation continues, the board of directors Two voting extend Haghaller's vacationThe last one was October.
Haghalller had previously focused on the sewer and street projects in Los Angeles. He was appointed general manager of MWD in 2021. Power struggle Between board members.
The school district consists of 38 members' board leaders. Each member of the board is appointed by one of the 26 member institutions of MWD, including cities and water supply vendors.
He said that he has been focusing on the reform of the agency for more than three years.
"As an outsider, I have brought new leaders, new ideas, and some new talents to employees. However, changes have never been easy. Unfortunately, some people regard changes as threats, and rights are right and right. These reforms put forward boring complaints and claims, "Hagahaller said at a meeting on Tuesday. "For me and my family and the others of the agency, this is a difficult period. It is time to turn this page and continue to move forward."
At the edge of Haghalller, MWD's leaders are participating in major work, such as formulating climate adaptation plans and formulating climate adaptation plans. Large water circulation facilitiesEssence MWD board also Voting last month It cost approximately $ 141 million for the planning of the state's proposed Sacramento-St. Huajinhe Delta Delta Water Tunnel.
MWD officials have been in the devastating fire in Southern California this month Cooperate with Los Angeles and other local institutions Arrange water supply where you need.
At the closed -door meeting on Tuesday, the members of the board of directors began to discuss the matter, they heard about 40 people who supported Haga Haller and several other people who opposed him.
Former Los Angeles City Councilor Paul Koretz praised Haghaghaller as a manager "almost perfect" and said that he believed that the board of directors had spent several months to complete the investigation. The internal water policy is closely related. The agency.
"I think that if this is a clear case and the allegations are obviously real, then you will make this decision in less than seven months," Koritz said.
"Obviously, this is a very split board," Koritz said. "Those who want the agency to be more aware of reform and sustainability may vote to support Adel to stay in office. I believe those who do not do so will vote to dismiss him. This should be for this agency. It is an incredible embarrassment. "
Barbara Barrilla, the leader of the non-profit organization "restoring the Delta", who advocates the protection of Kawaguchi, called Hagahaller, "the best leader in Southern California, and climatic adaptation ability," Obviously you need to be your primary task.
"Politics and power agenda need to be put on hold," Barrgen-Palira said. "He is a change and leader you need to continue."
The people who criticized Haghalla during the meeting include Rickita Hudson, the executive secretary of the board of directors. She said that she endured "hostile work environment" and the general manager's "style is also full of hostility." She did not provide details.
"How many statements need to be disclosed to make this community say that he is not the leader of the metropolis?" Hudson said. "He may be a better leader in Los Angeles, but not a metropolis."
Others said they supported Hagahaller and had wider concerns about the internal culture of the water area.
Caty Wagner, a water activity manager of Sierra Club, said she was most worried that a member of a board of directors was happy to speak loudly recently.
Wagner said: "The public's trust in the board has declined." "(MWD) needs to be carefully reset and some profound reflection."
Mark Gold, a member of the board of directors, said Haghall Haller is a "good decent person". While taking the lead in carrying out the water resources initiative, he has done exemplary work and achieved major achievements. This time, this time The problems revealed by the investigation process are essentially ingrained and beyond the scope of Haga Haller and need to be resolved.
"Ader's inherited toxic culture is simply shocking," Gold told the board members on Tuesday. "Our gender discrimination and racism have a long history and still exist. I have never seen a culture that has so many weakenings, allegations and controversy."
He suggested that MWD adopt a series of "correction measures", such as evaluating the organizational structure to adopt changes that can "reduce the risk of conflict."
He said that MWD should also formulate a planning plan for employee culture and change the procedures for resolving disputes.
"This is not just a person's problem," Gold said. "What has been exposed in the past seven months is that our organizational culture has a big problem. We have the responsibility to truly solve this problem for our customers and other people."