California official punished for calling Arab-American colleague an offensive name

A board member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) has received an official reprimand after calling an Arab-American colleague a “camel jockey.”

The state-established agency is a cooperative that provides water to 19 million people in six provinces, with the cooperation of 26 individual cities.

John Morris, a board member representing the city of San Marino, made the comment during a visit to a facility in the California desert, the district noted — after the subject of the racial barb, Chief of Staff Mohsen Mortada, overheard and reported it.

He did not speak directly to Mortada when the comment was made. Mortada detailed the incident in a letter, which has not been released.

He did not name the board member at the time, but officials have since confirmed that the incident led to the reprimand. It came in the form of a censure, ending Morris’ funding for travel indefinitely after a 38-member vote.

Mortada, a U.S. citizen who emigrated from Syria in 1987, did not file a formal complaint after the incident in question but was later interviewed by an investigator, said Adán Ortega Jr., chairman of the MWD board.

“Metropolitan cannot and will not tolerate racist comments from its leaders,” the district chief told the LA Times on Thursday of the decision, which the longtime senior board member will not reject.

“While we cannot directly remove a director from our board, we have taken the steps we can to demonstrate that we absolutely will not tolerate this type of behavior,” he added.

Mortada, a U.S. citizen who emigrated from Syria in 1987, did not file a formal complaint after the incident in question but was later interviewed by an investigator, Adán Ortega Jr., chairman of the MWD board, said

Morris has been a board member since 1990 and has been involved in the state’s water industry for more than 60 years.

At a meeting Tuesday called to discuss the relatively unknown scandal, the district’s 37 other board members broadly agreed that Morris’ comments, made during their investigation, were unacceptable.

“It’s not OK,” said Gail Goldberg, vice chairman of the board, as Morris sat in his usual seat.

“We need to think about the integrity of the organization and what our values ​​are,” she added.

Morris, meanwhile, spoke briefly at points but never offered an apology — something that prompted some other members to express disdain.

The vote was now almost unanimous; the agency said it would now notify the city of San Marino of the decision.

Only Adry Kassakihain abstained, before stating that he was bothered by Morris’ lack of remorse.

“I don’t know if Mr. Morris said what he said as a punchline to a joke, or if it was something he said in a passing moment, but the term itself applied to any other minority group…which even in the most innocuous way, would not be tolerated,” he said.

At a meeting Tuesday to address the relatively unknown scandal, the district’s 37 other board members broadly agreed that Morris’ comments were unacceptable.

The board member representing Glendale added that it is unfortunate that people of Middle Eastern backgrounds, like Mortada, are “attacked and bullied,” especially in a professional setting.

After the vote, he added that there are “stronger actions.” [were still] essential to demonstrate that we as Metropolitan leadership unequivocally embody these principles of equality and justice.”

“We must address these types of cases directly, openly and decisively,” Kassakhian stated, because he and the rest of the board are still unable to take tougher legal action.

“MWD has done a lot of work to address these types of issues, and I think this incident shows how fragile the work is and how much more we can do.”

Ortega echoed those concerns before revealing that he used his power as the district’s boss to oust Morris as vice chairman of a key subcommittee.

He added that he will appoint him to other committees only if required by the agency’s pre-written rules.

‘Sir. Morris never issued an apology and he was given multiple opportunities,” Ortega said. “We must recognize that there were individuals here who were slighted and that they are owed an apology.”

Morris, meanwhile, has longstanding ties to his state’s water industry that extend beyond his 60 years of service, with his family working in California’s water industry for some 150 years, going back five generations.

Morris (pictured here several years ago) has longstanding ties to his state’s water industry that extend beyond his 60 years of service, with his family working in California’s water industry for some 150 years, going back five generations. He was not removed from his position

“At the time I was born, my grandfather was national president of the American Water Works Association,” he said in a 2011 interview.

“My first summer internship was as a worker at the Pasadena Water Department, which my grandfather founded.” Both his sons are also active in the water and wastewater consultancy industry.

As for future action, the San Marino City Council told the Times it will “consider and pursue the appropriate course of action” in the coming days.

The city manager’s office added that it “strongly condemns the use of racially motivated speech and bias against any individual, anywhere, at any time.”