Last month, Rudy Ortega Jr., tribal president of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, took the helm as one of five members of the Board of Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest municipal utility.
LA Mayor Karen Bass appointed Ortega to the board, which sets policy, oversees the budget, authorizes infrastructure projects, manages environmental and safety standards, and is involved in other key decisions and operations. The LA City Council confirmed Ortega in mid-February.
“I’m really excited that you’re now serving on this very important [board],” said LA City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez at a celebration event for Ortega. “The Department of Water and Power is very important … for the purposes of land stewardship. … Water is a powerful force for change, and you are going to be an important part of being a steward for that water.”
Rodriguez praised Ortega for his enduring commitment to land stewardship and conservation measures. Among his multiple achievements, he established the Tataviam Land Conservancy, served on the governing board of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), and is a member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) Board.
“We have to create pathways for our young people to understand that we are, in fact, the stewards of this land,” said Rodriguez. “Our community has always been at the forefront of these conversations around conservation. It’s just been monetized by other communities [that have] attempted to push us out.”
Ortega said a key reason he decided to take on the challenging role as a commissioner for LADWP was that water distribution decisions have significant historical consequences.
“The Department of Water and Power, the Metropolitan Water District and many other agencies that formed Los Angeles and brought water [here] impacted my tribal nation – the fact that we don’t have reservations here,” he said. “We should have reservations throughout the San Fernando Valley – about 14,000 acres of property should have been reservations, including here, in the city of San Fernando. … I understand the impact, the importance of … what water means, what power means, to the community. It was taken from my community, so now I’m stepping in.”
LADWP is part of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), which was established in 1928 to address water shortages in the region, in particular to help support the booming population in the LA area. The MWD built the 242-mile Colorado River Aqueduct between 1933 and 1941 to begin importing much-needed water from the Colorado River.
Over the course of his five-year term, Ortega said he wants to “bring the power to our communities” by working toward “justice and equality” for struggling communities.
Roberto Barragan, executive director of Initiating Change in Our Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation (ICON CDC), congratulated Ortega on his new appointment, noting that his leadership “continues a family legacy of advocacy and service that spans generations.”
“You represent something in this moment that is really powerful, at a time in this country when people are trying to erase all of that important history and the contributions that all our communities have made,” added Rodriguez. “I anticipate that you are going to be an incredible force for good for our community. Actually, I’m counting on it.”