Embattled manager of California water agency defends record, says complaints are unfounded

More than two months after he was placed on leave by the board of California’s largest urban water supplier, embattled General Manager Adel Hagekhalil defended his performance and insisted the accusations against him are unfounded.

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California met in closed session Tuesday to discuss the status of investigations into multiple complaints and voted to extend Hagekhalil’s leave of absence until Oct. 23 as the investigation continues. The leave had been scheduled to end in September.

“We understand the desire for an expedited investigation, but as difficult as this is, we believe due process is paramount above all considerations, for all parties involved,” said Adán Ortega Jr., chair of the MWD board. “We are committed to ensuring a thorough, fair and impartial investigation.”

Hagekhalil spoke to the board publicly for the first time since the agency’s leaders announced they were placing him on leave on June 13.

“I can assure you, the board and all the Metropolitan employees, that I have not committed any misconduct,” Hagekhalil said. “Everything I’ve done has always been for the best interests of Metropolitan.”

Some of the accusations surfaced in a letter to the board from Chief Financial Officer Katano Kasaine, who alleged Hagekhalil had harassed, demeaned and sidelined her and created a hostile work environment. Hagekhalil denied the accusations, saying he has always treated the staff with respect and professionalism.

“These complaints are nothing more than disagreements on management decisions,” Hagekhalil told board members. “Over 74 days ago, you unfairly placed me on leave, and as of today, I still have not been contacted about the investigation.”

Kerry Garvis Wright, a lawyer for Hagekhalil, said her client has been locked out of his email account and denied access to agency documents, “hampering his ability to prepare for his interviews in the investigations.”

“We have significant concerns about the investigative process, including but not limited to the lack of independence, lack of impartiality and the lack of confidentiality,” Wright said.

She urged the board to address the concerns promptly and reinstate Hagekhalil.

The sidelining of Hagekhalil has left in question the future leadership of the nation’s largest wholesale supplier of drinking water, which serves cities and agencies that supply 19 million people across Southern California.

In the more than three years that Hagekhalil has led the agency, he has sought to focus on adaptation to climate change, in part by reducing reliance on water supplies from distant sources and investing in local water supplies. His efforts to shift priorities at MWD have also included management changes that he and his supporters say have helped address problems of workplace harassment and retaliation.

“We have had many successes and accomplishments,” Hagekhalil said. “You tasked me to change this toxic culture and put the agency back on track. I’m proud to say we all did. We supported a culture of transparency and accountability.”

Hagekhalil said, however, that some within the agency have sought to undermine his reform efforts.

In a letter to the board, Hagekhalil said that “every action I took on your behalf and at your direction was faced with a frivolous complaint to undermine and stop the reform that you directed.”

He said when he was hired by MWD, he arrived “at a time of turmoil following harassment and retaliation complaints by employees, unhealthy workplace conditions” in desert outposts, and outdated human resources policies and hiring practices.

Hagekhalil noted that before he was hired, the Los Angeles Times had published an investigation about women’s complaints of harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and that some MWD board members had pushed for an independent investigation by Shaw Law Group, a Sacramento firm.

The full investigative report, which remains confidential, substantiated the women’s complaints, Hagekhalil said. A scathing state audit later determined that the district had failed to commit resources to properly investigate complaints of misconduct and had engaged in unfair hiring practices, among other problems.

“We wanted a healing and a reset to the organization. You charged me to do that,” Hagekhalil said. Those efforts, he said, included creating an independent office for discrimination complaints, creating an office of diversity, equity and inclusion, and reforming policies to address bullying and harassment, among other things.

But he said some within the agency “didn’t accept that and continued to try to undermine us by weaponizing the complaint process with bad faith claims.” He said that “a small number of people resisted change and accountability” and that “every action I took was faced with frivolous complaints.”

Hagekhalil said he has been subjected to other anonymous complaints that have been investigated and shown to be unfounded. In one case, he said, an anonymous complaint regarding the hiring of a chief of staff led to an investigation that ended on Aug. 15, when MWD’s ethics office notified him there was no violation and the matter was closed.

“I am very concerned about the fairness and objectivity of the investigation process. It is very clear that these are unfounded and frivolous allegations and complaints, leaks, lies being used to smear us with the goal to force the board’s hand,” Hagekhalil said in his letter, urging board members not to “fall for these tactics.”

About 20 people spoke in favor of Hagekhalil during the meeting, including employees, environmental advocates, residents and others.

Bruce Reznik, executive director of the group Los Angeles Waterkeeper, called for reinstating Hagekhalil while the investigations are completed “with as much transparency as is possible.”

“My experience with Adel has always been extremely positive,” Reznik said, calling him a “thoughtful, inclusive, transparent leader.”

Caty Wagner, water campaign manager for the Sierra Club, said that there appears to be a group at MWD “who want to take the district back in time,” and that Hagekhalil is being targeted for standing against them.

“I am shocked by what I heard from Adel’s lawyer this morning — that he has not yet been contacted by investigators and did not know what today’s meeting would be about,” Wagner said. “The public is watching and we are appalled.”

Others who voiced support included Marty Adams, the former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, who said Hagekhalil has “brought the water community together throughout the whole state.”

Some praised Hagekhalil’s efforts to have better communication with communities and tribes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where water is pumped to provide a portion of Southern California’s supplies.

“We need more California water leaders like Adel, not less,” Krystal Moreno of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians said.

Others were critical of Hagekhalil and said the investigations should get to the bottom of the complaints.

“I’m here today speaking for those who cannot speak because of fear of retaliation and harassment,” said Trish Gonzales, a retired employee who worked in the human resources department. She said some employees are “fearful for speaking up and have been harmed and traumatized by Adel and his people.”

Gonzales said the general manager has engaged in “unethical practices” and urged the board to “do the right thing.”

John Vrsalovich, president of the Management and Professionals Employees Assn., which represents some MWD employees, urged the board to “continue methodically investigating the allegations and not be swayed by the clearly solicited support coming from inside and outside the agency today and over the past few months, which we believe was orchestrated to sow doubt across the various investigations.”

Vrsalovich said the serious allegations “demand a thorough investigation to fairly resolve issues for all parties so the organization can move forward.”

The board has temporarily appointed Assistant General Manager Deven Upadhyay, who has been at the agency for 29 years, as the interim general manager.

Several union members and leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1902 said employees have continued to face unfair treatment, harassment and retaliation.

Gonzalo Pantoja, an electrician, said one manager recently “felt comfortable enough to shove an employee to the ground and, to this day, has received little to no discipline for his actions.”

Alan Shanahan, president of Local 1902, said that Hagekhalil brought positive efforts toward change, but that since his removal “we have seen a complete disconnect of HR and management from collaboration.”

Ellen Mackey, a senior ecologist and leader of the MWD women’s caucus, said the attitude of the manager who shoved the employee is “indicative of the abusive attitude towards employees that Adel sought to change.”

Mackey said she believes “some middle, upper and retired managers have colluded to oust Adel.”

“We’re still unsure of the number of sides involved in this ‘Game of Thrones’ farce,” she said. “The investigation should follow the lines of evidence wherever they go.”