Typically humdrum water board election sees an upset and a nail-biter

The Kern County Water Agency will have at least one new board member – with a distant possibility of two –  after this year’s election.

In a surprise upset, Spanish professor Mary Parada has apparently bested incumbent Tammy Johnson for the Division 4 seat. The tally so far shows Parada with 52.58% of votes to Johnson’s 47.42%.

And in an ongoing nailbiter, just 200 votes, or less than one percentage point, separate incumbent Laura Cattani and challenger Daneya Williams for the Division 2 seat. 

With only 7,130 unprocessed ballots left in Kern County, only a fraction of which are likely to be in the KCWA Division 2 race, the chances of Williams overtaking Cattani are slim, but not zilch.

The next batch of election results will be released on Tuesday, according to the Kern County Elections website.

Concerns over the Kern River, transparency and accountability moved both Parada and Williams to run for the water agency board.

Parada got involved in river issues through Bring Back the Kern, which is part of a coalition of public interest groups suing the City of Bakersfield over how it operates the river. 

A portion of that case involving whether the city must make sure enough water passes its weirs to keep fish alive, was recently heard by the State Supreme Court, which should issue a ruling in the next two months.

The Kern County Water Agency is heavily involved in that lawsuit as a “real party in interest” because it owns rights to high flow water on the Kern River.

Williams, a rafting guide and store manager in Kernville, felt the agency needed fresh perspectives on the river and other issues.

She said she was overwhelmed by how many people voted in the Division 2 race overall, more than 30,000, and was “super stoked and grateful” for the support she received from her immediate community.

“I think at the core, this shows that people wanted to vote and wanted their vote to count,” especially for their slice of Kern County.

The experience, she said, made her want to run again.

“I’m looking at 2028.”

Cattani praised Williams for her interest and her effort in the race.

“I would be disappointed if I didn’t win but also, new perspectives are always helpful,” Cattani said.

If Williams does squeak past her,Cattani advised that she, and Parada, ask lots of questions of the KCWA staff and other board members. 

“Put the time aside to learn because there are so many things the agency is involved in. I thought I had a handle on water but I’ve learned so much and feel like there’s so much still to learn.”

If she retains her seat, which she’s held since being appointed in 2021, Cattani said her focus will continue to be bringing water into Kern County. 

“Reliable supplies,” is the mission, she said.

To that end, she has been a strong supporter of the Delta Conveyance Project, a 36-foot diameter tunnel to run Sacramento River water 45 miles south beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the California Aqueduct.

Parada said that watching the ballots come in has been exciting and surprising.

“..and certainly surprising, and comes with the dose of nerves you’d expect. I’m grateful to the voters of Division 4 for their trust and support.”

She attributed her success to a desire for more “democratic water governance.”

“For too long, decisions affecting every household in Bakersfield have been made without real urban representation, multilingual outreach, or sincere efforts toward restoring flows to the Kern River,” she said.

People care about water and want to have a say, she added.

Johnson said she was disappointed with the results but wished Parada well.

“I hope she knows what she’s bitten off,” Johnson said, who previously explained that, even with all her years working for California Water Service, getting to know the inner workings of KCWA was a steep learning curve.

KCWA is one of the most powerful water boards in Kern and, as the second largest contractor for State Water Project water, it wields a lot of clout statewide as well.

It administers the state contract on behalf of 13 mostly agricultural water districts called member units, which pay the agency a fee for that service.

The agency also treats and provides wholesale supplies to urban water purveyors serving large sections of east Bakersfield. 

It is one of six entities that control the massive Kern Water Bank and runs its own Pioneer Groundwater Bank separately.

The agency also controls the movement of significant amounts of water into and out of the county through its Cross Valley Canal, which can move water east and west from the California Aqueduct, connecting to numerous other canals all the way to central Bakersfield.

KCWA manages $371 million in funds and employs 55 people.