Candidate for
Board of Directors; Water Replenishment District of Southern California; Division 5

Keith McCarthy was born in Ohio in 1952, the third of eight children; and was raised in Michigan, where he attended University of Detroit Jesuit Academy and Wayne State University. After moving to California in 1976, he and Katrin married in 1982, and are raising six children. The McCarthy's have lived in Downey, California since 1983. McCarthy manages a local service company.

After serving as President of the Downey Chamber of Commerce in 1994-95, McCarthy was elected to the Downey City Council in 1996, and re-elected by Downey voters in 2000. He served as Mayor in 2000 and 2001.

In 1999, McCarthy met with several WRD Directors to discuss reform and improvements to WRD. When these recommendations were ignored, McCarthy and the City of Downey led a coalition of of local cities to sue the WRD. This series of actions achieved a one-time refund of $3.5 million to water pumpers. The pump tax was lowered by 30% overall.

A further result of these actions were critical reports from The Little Hoover Commission and the CAlifornia State Auditor: "Weak Policies and Poor Planning Have Led to Excessive Water Rates and Questionable Expenses".

"My goal is for the WRD to provide groundwater at the highest quality and in the most cost-effective fashion to our water users. The agency itself should be as transparent as the water it provides."