Valley Water CEO Rick Callender is on “voluntary leave” after one of his employees filed a misconduct complaint against him, according to agency leaders.
The region’s largest water supplier is searching for an interim leader in Callender’s absence through April 1. Richard Santos, a Valley Water board member and one of Callender’s elected bosses, confirmed to San José Spotlight the agency is “independently investigating” an employee’s complaint against Callender. He said he doesn’t know when the complaint was filed or the nature of the allegations.
“I don’t know what it’s about. It was a complaint against our CEO,” Santos told San José Spotlight. “My understanding is that it was an employee that filed a complaint. So there’s an independent investigation. Until that’s finished, there’s nothing to say. Whatever findings come out, we have a committee and we go from there.”
Callender went on leave Dec. 14, days after a labor union representing most of the agency’s 850 employees publicly claimed a worker filed a complaint containing “severe” allegations against an unnamed “executive management” official. Before Callender stepped away, the union requested the unnamed executive be placed on leave to avoid possible contact with the accuser — and criticized the agency for not acting sooner.
“I have not heard of allegations this severe in all my time here,” Salam Baqleh, a representative with the Valley Water Employees Association and human resources manager, said during the water board’s Dec. 10 meeting. “The allegations, if proven, span many years and paint a picture, a pattern of behavior that is simply unacceptable in the workplace and anywhere.”
Callender denies taking leave because of the union’s allegations.
“I have not received any complaint or a report of a complaint. I would welcome the public hearing of any complaint,” Callender told San José Spotlight. “There are always complaints against executive leadership which require investigation.”
He declined to give the reason for taking his leave, but said he’s being retaliated against by “third party representatives” and one board director, Rebecca Eisenberg, who has publicly clashed with Callender and other Valley Water board members.
“I have contacted my attorney and they will be addressing with Valley Water the clear retaliatory efforts of Eisenberg and her third party union representatives in relation to her discriminatory behavior and my past complaints,” Callender said.
Eisenberg denies being involved in the union’s allegations.
“I stand with the union and its members in pursuing their civil and constitutional rights. Victims are not retaliating when they speak out against their abusers,” Eisenberg told San José Spotlight.
Callender said he hasn’t spoken to the union about its allegations toward the unnamed executive leader.
“I don’t know who they are referring to,” Callender said.
Valley Water spokesperson Matt Keller said Callender took a “voluntary leave” and is expected to return to work April 1. Chief Operating Officer Tina Yoke is serving as acting CEO until the Valley Water board of directors decides on an interim CEO.
“If the board takes any action to place an employee on administrative leave due to an investigation, it would be reported out in open session,” Keller said.
The Valley Water employee union refused to say if Callender is the unnamed executive described in public statements.
“We are hoping for a prompt, thorough and fair investigation into our members’ allegations,” Baqleh told San José Spotlight.
Union leaders took the public comment podium at water board meetings in November and early December, criticizing Valley Water officials for refusing to formally place the unnamed executive on administrative leave. They threatened to continue making public statements before Callender stepped away. Eisenberg echoed the union’s concerns in a Monday memo to colleagues.
“A full Board discussion needs to occur to discuss how to proceed regarding potential administrative leave pending the investigation and resolution of the matter,” Eisenberg wrote.
She declined to discuss Callender’s leave.
Callender, the longtime Silicon Valley leader and president of the NAACP’s California-Hawaii chapter, became the first Black man to lead the water agency in May 2020.
Callender has governed the agency under a divided and dysfunctional board. Most recently, the board won a lawsuit against one of its own directors, Eisenberg, after she took documents related to an investigation against her. She was accused of creating a hostile work environment, discrimination and making sexist remarks. Eisenberg leveled her own claims of discrimination and harassment against district leaders, and ruffled feathers almost immediately after unseating her embattled predecessor Gary Kremen, who was accused of bullying and threatening district workers.
The divide on the board often positioned the women directors against the men. Three women directors voted against Callender’s appointment five years ago, citing allegations of sexual harassment he faced in 2008. A Valley Water employee, Jessica Collins, sued the agency and Callender, accusing him of making unwanted advances. The case was dropped, but Collins claimed an investigation into her complaint recommended Callender be terminated, according to the lawsuit.
The contention over Callender’s hiring outraged the NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley chapter, which accused board members of racism and demanded an investigation into them.
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
Editor’s note: Valley Water has donated to San José Spotlight and Rick Callender previously served on San José Spotlight’s board of directors.
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