SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The board of the agency that provides water to nearly half of Californians will consider firing its top leader at a special meeting Thursday morning over claims of retaliation, harassment and cultivating a toxic work environment, according to an agenda and three people with knowledge.
What happened: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California plans to consider whether to discipline or fire its general manager and CEO, Adel Hagekhalil, at a board meeting Thursday morning, according to an agenda released Tuesday.
Katano Kaisane, Metropolitan’s chief financial officer and assistant general manager, accused Hagekhalil last month of harassing her, retaliating against her for sharing her concerns about the budget process and creating a hostile work environment, in a letter obtained by POLITICO had obtained.
“During my nearly three decades of public service, I have encountered toxic work environments, but none as hostile and dysfunctional as Metropolitan,” she wrote in the May 27 letter to board chairman Adán Ortega.
Hagekhalil said in a text message that he was out of the country and was unaware of the full allegations against him.
“I have not been informed of the details, but I believe that claims and allegations should be fully investigated and not taken at face value,” he said.
Background: Hagekhalil, a civil engineer by training, rose to Metropolitan’s top position in 2021 after working in street maintenance and sanitation for the city of Los Angeles. His duties overseeing the state’s largest water wholesaler, with 1,900 employees, include increasing the system’s long-term resiliency with water recycling and storage, negotiating cuts in use of the dwindling Colorado River supplies and steering the agency through a conservation budget hole.
Hagekhalil was appointed by the board with a starting salary of $400,000. Metropolitan’s 38-member board is made up of representatives from its 26 member agencies, including municipal water utilities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County and Riverside County.
The board opted to call the special meeting after receiving Kaisane’s letter, according to two people familiar with board and staff discussions who were granted anonymity by POLITICO to preserve sensitive relationships.
More detail: In the letter, Kaisane called the working environment at Met “hostile” and “dysfunctional” and described a “shadow leadership team” of highly paid consultants and assistants mainly from the city of Los Angeles, Hagekhalil’s previous employer.
“Our Managing Director, Adel Hagekhalil, seems to view my role as just a title, believing that anyone within their trusted circle can fulfill my duties. He delegates my authority to his assistants, who then direct me as they see fit,” she wrote. . “Despite repeatedly pleading with Mr Hagekhalil to explain why I am being sidelined, bullied, harassed and disrespected by him and his trusted staff, he continues to dismiss my concerns.”
Kaisane did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Metropolitan spokesperson Rebecca Kimitch declined to comment on the matter, citing the board’s jurisdiction. She said Hagekhalil would travel to Singapore this week.
What’s next: The board will meet in closed session on Thursday at 10:30 am.
