D.A. Wants Carson Mayor Removed from South Bay Water Board

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is suing to remove Carson Mayor Albert Robles from serving as a director on the Water Replenishment District of Southern California.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges that holding both offices simultaneously is a conflict of interest and violates state law. A woman who answered the phone at Carson City Hall on Monday said Robles had no comment on the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, filed Monday, the positions of Carson mayor and councilman and director of the WRD are “incompatible under Government Code section 1099 because the WRD and the City of Carson have overlapping territory, duties and responsibilities, and a clash of duties is likely to arise in the exercise of both offices simultaneously.”

Robles, 46, has served continuously on the WRD’s board since 1992. He was re-elected to that post in November 2012 and was sworn into office for another four-year term in January 2013. In March 2013, Robles was elected for the first time to the Carson City Council.

Two years later, he was appointed by the council to serve as mayor after the elected mayor resigned to become city clerk. The state Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion in December allowing the District Attorney’s office to sue in civil court to have Robles removed from his elected WRD office.

Robles was at the forefront of an unsuccessful effort to lure the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders to a planned stadium in Carson.

— City News Service