LOS ANGELES, June 13, 2003 -- Robert Apodaca, president of the Carson-based Central Basin Municipal Water District, has been appointed to represent Central Basin on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Apodaca, a Whittier resident and social services worker, will serve as one of two representatives of Central Basin on Metropolitan's 36-member board. He replaces Gary A. Morse, who has helped represent Central Basin at Metropolitan from 1993-1998, and from January 1999 to the present.
Apodaca was elected to the Central Basin board in November 1998 and re-elected in November 2002 to represent La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs and Whittier. He has served as president of the Central Basin board for three consecutive years.
Following graduation from Woodbury University, Apodaca managed a chain of family furniture stores before joining the administration of then-Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty as administrative coordinator. He subsequently held positions with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers as assistant administrator of minority training, and then as field director to then-Los Angeles City Councilman Art Snyder.
He also served as community relations and government liaison for the city of Los Angeles' Project Heavy, an anti-gangs program; was a partner with A&A Communications; manager of city and county government affairs for Gannett Outdoor Co.; and regional manager of public and community relations for the Coors Brewing Co.
Additionally, he worked with California Assemblymembers Martin Gallegos and Tom Calderon as field representatives focusing on economic development in the San Gabriel Valley and Southeast Los Angeles County.
At Central Basin, he serves on the joint administration and joint communications committees. He is a member of the Association of California Water Agencies, the San Gabriel Watermaster, the San Gabriel Valley Protective Association, and the Central Basin Water Association. He also is involved with the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Committee, Contract Cities, League of California Cities, Independent Cities, Whittier Chamber of Commerce and Whittier Uptown Association.
His community service also includes co-founding Nosotros, for which he serves on the board of trustees. The group has built a theater, where workshops are held to train young Latinos in fields related to the entertainment industry.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving 18 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other water-management programs.
