One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Gov. Brown accused of behind-the-scenes manipulation in vote of water tunnel project
FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2016, file photo, water flows through an irrigation canal to crops near Lemoore, Calif.
(
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
)
Two nonprofit groups are accusing Gov. Jerry Brown of improperly working with Metropolitan Water District board directors behind the scenes to put pressure on a key vote for a massive water tunnel project.
The groups claim board members violated open meeting laws as they pressed for a yes on a massive project to move water from tunnels under the Sacramento Bay Delta. The accusations potentially call , call into question a recent vote moving the project forward.
That vote by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California authorized spending up to $11 billion to build two tunnels.
Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the governor, said late Monday that "it's clear these folks are grasping at straws."
Ferguson said Brown, who has long pushed for this project, urged all board members to support it in a letter sent to them the day before the vote.
The groups alleging violations, claim some of MWD's directors communicated privately among themselves about the Delta Tunnels vote before it was taken.
California law requires public boards to deliberate in public at official meetings. It bars them from convening small groups that can add up to a majority of the vote to decide in advance how to vote.
Sponsored message
And they also say Brown improperly acted as an intermediary when he made calls to some MWD directors on behalf of other directors.
Gov. Brown has long counted on the project to be a key part of his legacy. His office said the governor considers the project to be a critical step in modernizing the state's water system.
The two groups making the accusation are the nonprofit First Amendment Coalition and the environmental group Food and Water Watch. They wrote to MWD officials Monday.
Brett Barbre, who is named by the groups, is a board from Orange County. He said Monday there geographical component to the opposition.
"San Diego’s last ditch effort to stop the twin tunnels," he wrote in an email.
MWD officials said they would on comment on the threat litigation.
Read Brown's letter:
Page 1 of Brown Tunnel
Sponsored message
Contributed to DocumentCloud by Megan Garvey of Southern California Public Radio • View document or read text
UPDATES
8:30 p.m.: This story updated with clarification the accusations against Gov. Brown. It initially said that Brown was accused of open meetings law violations. That's a claim being made specifically against board members. In addition, comments from the governor's office and Barbre were added.
This article originally published at 5:50 p.m.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
