DWP Chief Says He May Take Private Sector Job

The general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has notified the agency’s board members that he is in contention for a job with a private company.

David Wiggs Jr. took over the DWP in April 2001. If Wiggs quits, he will be the fourth general manager to resign from the post in less than a decade.

Board Vice Chairman Dominick Rubalcava said Wiggs has told board members that he is in discussions with a private firm to take over as head of the company. He said Wiggs indicated that he should know within a week or two whether he is leaving the DWP. “David has been a creature of the private sector,” Rubalcava said. “This [DWP post] is his first public sector job. It may be a natural evolution for him to return there.”

Wiggs was on vacation Wednesday and not available to comment, but a spokesman confirmed that Wiggs “is in discussion about another opportunity.”

The City Council recently approved a series of pay raises for Wiggs that would boost his salary to $312,000 by 2004, the highest salary of any general manager in Los Angeles city government. The mayor earns $181,318.