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DWP News wrap-up: Deputy L.A. mayor tapped to lead DWP, but some on council blast Nahai deal

Posted by: Maven on October 7, 2009 at 6:48 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

“The panel that oversees the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power voted Tuesday to name Deputy Mayor S. David Freeman interim general manager, paying him $6,250 per week at the same time the agency retains its recently departed top executive as a consultant.

The commission, whose members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, voted 3 to 0 to hire Freeman starting Tuesday. Meanwhile, the agency will pay former General Manager H. David Nahai, who announced his resignation Friday, $6,282 per week.

Nahai’s three-month contract drew strong words from City Councilman Dennis Zine, who introduced a proposal calling for DWP officials to explain their actions to the council. Zine said it was “absolutely absurd” to pay two executive salaries in such difficult economic times. …”

More from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

From the Daily News:

” … “This is more than comical,” City Councilman Dennis Zine said. “Here we are putting city workers on furlough, talking about reducing cop hiring, asking people to conserve water, and then we’re talking about squandering thousands of dollars on this man.”

The Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners voted Tuesday to temporarily replace Nahai with Deputy Mayor David Freeman at Nahai’s annual salary of $325,000.

City Council members Tony Cardenas and Greig Smith also questioned the consultant contract, saying it was not necessary with an experienced hand like Freeman at the helm.

“There is no question (Nahai) is valuable, no question he is knowledgeable. But why do we need to pay him when we have someone who is capable?” said Cardenas, who serves on the council’s Energy and Environment Committee that oversees the DWP. …”

More from the Daily News by clicking here.

A Los Angeles Times editorial agrees:

” … But just because it’s common doesn’t make it right. The DWP’s stated justification for paying Nahai, who is leaving to join former President Clinton’s Climate Initiative, nearly $82,000 by Dec. 31 is that his institutional knowledge is needed during the transition to a new chief. Left unmentioned is that the department’s interim chief will be S. David Freeman, who was managing federal energy policy when Nahai was in grade school and ran the DWP from 1997 to 2001. The idea that Freeman needs advice from Nahai, who was criticized for his inexperience when he was appointed to head the DWP less than two years ago, is laughable.

Although Nahai clearly doesn’t deserve a handsome payout to just go away, we still think he handled himself well in a difficult and highly politicized job. His lukewarm support for Measure B, a flawed initiative on the March ballot, attracted the ire of its architect — Brian D’Arcy, the head of the DWP’s powerful electricians union. A key aim of Measure B was to ensure that large-scale solar energy projects in L.A. would be owned by the DWP and thus built and maintained by union members. The initiative, which was defeated in March, was also heavily backed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who receives generous contributions from D’Arcy’s union. …”

Read more of this editorial from the LA Times by clicking here.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting two more water main breaks …. click here.

October 7, 2009 · Filed Under Water Agency News

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