Riverside County Farmer Re-Elected to Lead Metropolitan Water District Board

Riverside County farmer Randy A. Record was reelected Tuesday as chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

The San Jacinto Valley native, who has represented Riverside County's Eastern Municipal Water District on Metropolitan's Board of Directors since January 2003, will begin his second two-year term as chairman of the 38-member governing board on Jan. 1.

"These have been incredibly challenging times for Californians and water agencies," Record said. "I'm grateful for the support of my board and proud of the leadership we have provided during my first term to ensure we prudently manage through the current drought, promote conservation, and stewardship, invest in infrastructure and look to the future."

During Record's first term, the MWD confronted unmatched drought conditions after the state recorded the hottest year on record in 2014 and the driest year ever recorded in 2013.

In response, for the fourth time in the district's history, Metropolitan restricted wholesale deliveries to its 26 member public agencies to help save water and stretch available supplies, while also establishing what it touts as the nation's largest turf removal and water conservation program.

"The bottom line is we are trying to carefully manage our way through this drought by taking the right steps at the right times," Record said.

He praised "the resiliency and water-saving resolve of the region's residents and businesses."

"They've once again stepped up to meet the conservation call and lower demands during this drought. That's been instrumental in allowing us to roll back mandatory water restrictions that were instituted last summer," Record said. "But they've also made permanent changes to the way they use water, demonstrating that using water wisely and efficiently is a way of life here in Southern California and not something that merely happens during dry times."

Headquartered adjacent to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, Metropolitan has an annual operating/capital budget of $1.65 billion, about 1,750 employees and more than 30 facilities throughout Southern California.

Elected to EMWD's board of directors in January 2001, representing the cities of Hemet and San Jacinto, Record served as Eastern's board president from 2003 to 2005. He is a member and founding chair of the Riverside County Water Task Force and has served on the Center for Water Education's board.

Record owns a wine grape vineyard in San Miguel with his wife and two daughters. He also is a partner with the McCleish Group, a land development company in San Jacinto, and a board member of the Bank of Hemet.

Record is the second member of his family to serve on Metropolitan's board. His late father, Clayton A. Record Jr., served as EMWD's representative to Metropolitan's board from June 1999 to January 2001.

Record is the 18th chairman in Metropolitan's 87-year history. The cooperative of 26 member public agencies provides about half the water used in the district's 5,200-square-mile service area in Southern California, which has a population of 19 million.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock.