DWP to vote on deals with firms linked to official
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s appointees at the Department of Water and Power are slated to decide today whether to award or extend contracts to three companies that until recently were business clients of a high-level DWP executive.
Under the DWP proposal, up to $6.3 million would be awarded to businesses that were represented until Nov. 30 by Raman Raj, now the utility’s chief operating officer.
The contracts come up two weeks after the Los Angeles City Council rejected another $1.5-million contract with a former Raj client. At the time, council members said they were concerned about the “revolving door” between City Hall and the private sector and had been given no warning about Raj’s potential conflict.
Councilwoman Jan Perry, who heads the council’s Energy and Environment Committee, said she was still waiting for DWP officials to explain how they would insulate Raj from the work performed by his former clients, such as computer software maintenance and management of power outages.
“I will exercise my right to bring those three contracts for further review in my committee” if the DWP commission approves them, she said.
Raj, who began his $247,000-a-year city job Dec. 1, has promised to avoid any discussion of his former clients. “I will step out of the room” when they come up, he said.
The DWP commission has been asked to provide up to $1.1 million for meter-reading technology to Smartsynch, bringing that company’s total contract with the DWP to $8.4 million; give $1.7 million to Osmose Utilities Services for inspection and maintenance of power poles; and execute a $3.5-million computer software contract with Convergent Group. Convergent is a subsidiary of Denver-based Enspiria, one of Raj’s former clients. Raj also represented Smartsynch and Osmose.
DWP general manager H. David Nahai said neither he nor Raj is involved in contracting decisions at the utility. Asked whether there will be more votes on Raj clients in coming weeks, he said he did not know.
Raj first worked at the DWP from 1999 to 2001, overseeing labor relations. He was forced out at the end of his tenure, receiving a $145,000 separation package.
After he left, he became a consultant with the firm Resources Roundtable, meeting with such high-level DWP executives as former general manager Ron Deaton on behalf of his clients.
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