Alvarez upsets fellow Manhattan Beach resident Kwan in West Basin District 3 race, Katherman reelected to Replenishment District 1 seat
West Basin Municipal Water District 3 results. Source: LAVote.net
One incumbent coasted to easy victory Tuesday while another is poised to be unseated in board elections for two separate water districts serving the beach cities.
Robert Katherman handily retained his place on the board of directors of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. And Desi Alvarez currently sits on a comfortable lead over incumbent Carol Kwan in the contest for a position on the board of the West Basin Municipal Water District, pending counting of a limited number of provisional ballots.
Manhattan Beach resident Alvarez expressed cautious optimism in the West Basin vote the morning after polls closed, saying he wants to refrain from commenting until provisional ballots are counted. He did say, “I worked really hard for this.”
If his lead holds up, it will mark the end of a 24-year stretch on the board for Carol Kwan. With 59,265 votes counted as Easy Reader went to press, Alvarez was sitting on a 46.7 percent lead over Kwan’s 38.2 percent. Doug Solomon, also of Manhattan Beach, checked in with 15.2 percent.
Alvarez ran on his opposition to the proposed desalting plant off the coast of El Segundo, a project that is mired in controversy. He also campaigned on a promise of “greater transparency” for agency business.
The district provides drinking water for 17 cities and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, and is a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). According to the district, it serves approximately 900,000 people.
Its water sources include imports from the Colorado River and the State Water Project; recycled local supplies; desalted underground, and conserved water.
Water Replenishment District 2. Source: LAVote.net
Katherman retains Replenishment seat
Katherman swamped the field, besting three challengers by running up a 54.2 percent advantage over his closest vote-getter, George Uraguchi, who tallied 20.5 percent. Joe Macias received 16.7 percent, and G. Rick Marshall followed with 8.6 percent. Nearly 200,000 votes were cast in this election, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder/Clerk.
The incumbent, a resident of Rancho Palos Verdes, is a proponent of desalting as a supplemental source of water for Southern California, and said he will focus on greater reclamation and reuse of brackish water.
Katherman, in an email to Easy Reader, noted that “South Bay voters recognized (our) record of keeping our groundwater clean and affordable.” He cited the need to “protect our groundwater from climate change that has reduced our imported water supply.”
The district is the biggest groundwater agency in the state. It encompasses 43 cities, including a portion of Los Angeles County, focusing on managing and protecting groundwater resources for an estimated four million residents. The district manages both the Central and West Coast groundwater basins, injecting water for replenishment and sea water barriers. ER