To the editor: I would like to make a suggestion for hiring a new head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power: Look within (“Head of L.A.’s Department of Water and Power resigns,” March 4). Stop going outside to get the “most qualified” person to run the DWP.
I worked at the DWP for 34 years. When our general manager retired, a new one was picked from the opposite system. If the outgoing general manager was from the water system, then the new one was picked from the power system. This worked.
Each of these newly appointed general managers worked their way up from the beginning of their careers. They took pride and were committed to the running of the DWP with the knowledge of the workings of the department. They had vested interests in having the DWP continue its long history of supplying water and electricity to the people of Los Angeles. Sure, there were problems that came up (what large utility doesn’t have problems?), but past in-house general managers were honest, hard-working and proud of their employees.
Outsiders largely only want the prestige and the large salary that is offered to them. Here today, gone tomorrow. And most of these outsiders want to run the DWP like a business. This is not feasible. The DWP is governed by the city charter, policies and regulations that private businesses do not have to abide by.
So, if the city wants someone to suitably represent the DWP, it should look inward to its high-level employees. For many of them, the DWP is their home, where they plan on staying until they retire rather than seeking out greener pastures. It would be a disservice to them to think they are incapable of performing the duties required.
Yolanda H. Lickson, Cypress