ELECTIONS / WEST BASIN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT : Leadership, Funding for Recycling Plant Main Issues : Political newcomer Mike A. Gipson opposes the standby charge adopted by ‘the old homeboys’ clique.’ Incumbent Lawrence Gallagher defends the fee and says he represents ‘the new leadership.’

Saying it’s time to “break up the old homeboys’ clique” and get new leadership, a former water conservation analyst is running against incumbent Lawrence Gallagher for a seat on the West Basin Municipal Water District.

Hawthorne resident Mike A. Gipson, 26, now a business agent for the Los Angeles School Employees Union, is waging his first campaign for public office after working for two years as an aide to retiring state Sen. Bill Greene (D-Los Angeles).

“I see where the present incumbent is not giving the community what it needs in terms of leadership ability and informing it on water issues,” Gipson said. “We need new leadership across the board.”

Gipson said he opposes a standby charge approved by the board to help pay for a new water recycling plant in El Segundo. He also charged that Gallagher’s job as risk manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California presents a conflict of interest with his board membership.

The Metropolitan Water District sells water wholesale to the West Basin district, which then acts as a middleman by selling the water to cities and water companies. The West Basin district serves 800,000 residents in coastal and neighboring cities from Malibu to the South Bay, except for Los Angeles and Torrance, which buy their water elsewhere.

In response to Gipson’s charges, Gallagher said that he represents “the new leadership.”

Gallagher was elected four years ago to represent the 5th District, which encompasses Lawndale, Hawthorne, Gardena and unincorporated county areas north of Alondra Park. The board’s five members, who serve four-year terms, set prices and policy and evaluate water projects in the district. Gallagher currently serves as the board’s vice president.

He said the conflict-of-interest issue was settled during the last election, when his opponent asked the Metropolitan Water District’s legal counsel for an opinion on the matter. As risk manager, Gallagher oversees the district’s insurance needs and its insurance standards for subcontractors. Gallagher said the attorney found no conflict existed.

Gallagher also said that the standby charge imposed in 1991 by the board was not a tax, but a property parcel charge to help pay for the recycling plant, which he said will establish a reliable source of water in the area.

Gallagher said the plant is expected to cost about $200 million, and homeowners will pay for 7% of that. He said the federal government is expected to kick in $35 million for the project.

The recycling plant will take water from the Hyperion sewage treatment plant in Playa del Rey and treat it for use in industry and highway median strip watering. The standby charge imposed an annual rate of $10 per acre of property for residential and industrial customers, but this year the charge was increased to $24 per acre for residential customers and $120 for non-residential users.

Gipson said he would lobby to get funding for water projects instead of imposing charges, and he pledged to hold monthly meetings to gauge community reactions and feelings on various issues.

Gallagher, 53, is running primarily on the strengths of his accomplishments in office, citing his work in bringing the recycling plant and a new desalination facility in Torrance to fruition. He said the desalination plant, which is expected to produce about 1.5 million gallons of water a day, will be operational in the next few months, while final designs for the recycling plant are expected in the next two months.

He also said that in his next term he wants to develop a comprehensive water use plan that considers all water sources in addition to conservation measures.

“The dependability of the supply from Northern California, from the Colorado (River), is such that we can’t take it for granted anymore,” he said.

Water, whether from desalination, imported sources, recycling or from the ground, has to be conserved, he said.

“All of the elements have to be brought together and planned for as a total resource.”