MID brings back its ex-attorney 2-plus years after settling harassment, discrimination suit
The Modesto Irrigation District board voted 4-1 on Tuesday to bring back an attorney who had sued the agency over gender issues.
Ronda Lucas will assist General Counsel Wes Miliband under a contract yet to be negotiated. Director Janice Keating dissented after noting that the cost and other details were not available before the vote.
Miliband said Lucas would concentrate in part on the state’s push to boost reservoir releases to aid Tuolumne River fish. She also will handle issues related to how the board interacts with the staff.
Lucas headed MID’s legal team from January 2016 until her termination in November 2018. In a 2019 lawsuit, she alleged sexual harassment and discrimination.
Lucas settled the case the next year and received a $320,000 payment from the district, which did not admit liability.
Tuesday’s vote was the first involving legal staffing since the November election brought three new board members. Keating, John Boer and Robert Frobose joined Larry Byrd and Nick Blom. Stu Gilman lost his re-election bid. John Mensinger and Paul Campbell did not seek new terms.
Frobose said Lucas has the skills to protect MID’s water supplies and should not have been fired by the previous board.
“This is what was on my mind, the way Ronda Lucas was treated,” he said.
The contract drew criticism from Ripon-based attorney Stacy Henderson, whose clients include farmers in MID. She said the public needs to know the cost of the contract and whether Lucas might cause tension with the current staff.
“Explain that to your ratepayers, who had to fund her settlement and lawsuit,” Henderson said.
The Tuolumne flow issue has been going on for several years and also involves diversions by the Turlock Irrigation District and San Francisco. They reached a tentative compromise last year with the State Water Resources Control Board but still have to nail down the details.
“We’ve got to put our best offense in front of us,” Boer said of his vote for Lucas, “or we’re going to be playing defense the whole time.”
