E.L. Balmer; Chaired Water District Board

E. L. (Les) Balmer, chairman of the Metropolitan Water District’s board of directors and a longtime political leader in the South Bay, died Tuesday.

A water district spokesman said Balmer was 72 and died of heart failure at a Marina del Rey hospital.

Balmer, a retired Chevron refinery superintendent, was appointed to the MWD in 1976 and became chairman of the agency--which provides about half the water used by the 14 million residents of the six Southern California counties--in 1987. He began his second two-year term as head of the district’s 51-member board in January.

A native of Gardena who was reared in El Segundo, Balmer went to work at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery as a helper in 1939. He retired in 1980.

From 1968 to 1980 he served on the El Segundo City Council. For eight of those years, he acted as the city’s mayor, an honorary position.

He often presided over council meetings with an unlit cigar in his mouth. He was alternately known for his sense of humor and his no-nonsense approach to city government.

“He was a real, straightforward guy and believed in doing it the democratic way,” said William Bue, who served on the council with Balmer for four years.

Balmer is survived by his wife, Liz, and two sons. A funeral service will be held today ( at 1 p.m. at the Douglass Family Mortuary in El Segundo.