Gloria Gray To Be Sued While Seeking 2 Public Offices in Westside L.A. 

UPDATE - One of the best slogans in journalism is the tagline by the Washington Post that “democracy dies in darkness.” Reporting and legal action this week centering on Inglewood and Westside L.A. provide encouragement that democracy in California is very much alive and kicking. 

Gloria Gray, a fixture for two decades on utility rate-setting boards in the L.A. area, landed herself in hot water this election season by attempting to run simultaneously for two offices: Mayor of Inglewood, where she already serves as Councilmember, and for reelection as a director of the West Basin Water District. 

This attempt to straddle two elected roles raised hackles among constituents given large increases in water rates reported by local residents. As noted by Tyron Turner, who is challenging Gray for the 2nd District seat on the water district board that Gray has held for 20 years, “West Basin’s water rates have skyrocketed 284 percent since she took office.”

“Protecting drinking water isn’t a side gig,” Turner told the South Bay Black Journal. “It’s a full-time job that everyday working people depend on you to do. You can’t do it with one foot in City Hall and the other at the water board.”

Turner isn’t alone in demanding that Gray choose one elected role or the other, especially given the entangled interests of West Basin, which sets rates for water consumers, and Inglewood, whose council has to negotiate and agree to those terms.

In early September, another local news outlet raised concerns at the Inglewood Council meeting about the appearance of a conflict of interest by Gloria Gray in seeking and holding two offices.

“How many governmental hats can one elected official wear before the people have a legitimate right to question where her first loyalty lies?” asked Dr. Gloria Zuurveen, editor-in-chief of PACE News, based in West L.A. 

Dr. Zuurveen sought to put this question to Gray on the record at the Council meeting and get answers about her dual roles in decision-making involving water rates. Instead the news editor drew a defensive reaction and fierce pushback that questioned the newspaper’s own integrity. This did not silence the editor or the outlet. 

“The City of Inglewood has reported obtaining roughly 77 percent of its potable water supply through the West Basin Municipal Water District. … And Gloria Gray occupies elected governmental positions connected to both sides of that relationship,” wrote Dr. Zuurveen. “That fact alone does not prove she has acted improperly. But it does raise a serious question about divided governmental duties and loyalties that Inglewood residents deserve to have answered.”

On October 2, official ballots for the November 3 election began arriving in voters’ mailboxes across L.A. County. Some of those ballots showed Gloria Gray running for two distinct but overlapping roles in public office. Refusing to wait idly for answers not apparently forthcoming from Gray about that overlap, two other Westside residents decided to escalate the matter. 

This week, on October 7, they sparked an opinion by Attorney General Rob Bonta that a lawsuit seeking Gray’s disqualification from her role on the water district board can proceed. 

“In seeking permission, the applicants argue that Gray forfeited her West Basin office under state law, Government Code section 1099, when she became a member of the Inglewood City Council,” wrote the attorney general in the published opinion. The opinion cites the application to A.G. Bonta by Daniel Bookman and longtime environmental leader and respected water-policy advocate Conner Everts. 

“The City of Inglewood falls within West Basin’s service area. According to the applicants, section 1099 prohibits holding office on both the West Basin Board and the Inglewood City Council because their interrelated powers create the potential for divided loyalties,” Attorney General Bonta explained in the opinion issued October 7. 

“Holding two incompatible offices results in forfeiture of the first-held office to safeguard loyalty to the office most recently chosen. The proposed lawsuit meets all three of the Attorney General’s criteria to grant leave to sue: It is correctly brought … [and] it raises a substantial legal issue warranting judicial resolution, and such resolution would serve the public interest. Consequently, we grant leave to sue.”

The legal opinion does not automatically throw Gloria Gray off the ballot in either elected role she is seeking. But it does put her decisions to pursue both roles under scrutiny, including with local voters. It may bode well for legal action to disqualify and remove her from the water board even if voters reelect her to that position. 

The cleansing effect of sunlight on the actions of power-brokers, especially in government, does not materialize on its own. It takes informed, timely action in the public interest by ordinary Americans ourselves. In the case of would-be “double dipper” Gloria Gray and what the attorney general calls her “divided loyalties,” the courageous work of several California voters in Westside L.A. offers an inspiring example of how to make democracy work and even how to repair it when it appears to be broken. 

(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)