The report, dated Sept. 10, 2025, said Callender pressured employees to message him on social media after work hours; sent invasive messages about their hygiene and questions about their sexual history; sent a photo of his clothed lap; and engaged in unwanted advances based on interviews with three accusers, as well as written and photographic evidence. Accusers in the report said Callender pressured them into certain roles, threatened to fire them and sat on the promotion panel for an employee he allegedly harassed. In one exchange, Callender texted a female employee, \u201cShowered yet? Just playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCallender\u2019s conduct is particularly troubling because in his position, he wields considerable power and influence within the organization,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n
Callender, who had been on leave since<\/a> December 2024, resigned Feb. 20<\/a>. The board of directors approved a separation agreement that retains him for a year as a special advisor. He\u2019ll continue to receive his CEO pay and benefits that total $716,000. That includes an annual pension contribution of $167,000.<\/p>\n Callender in the hot seat<\/p>\n Callender declined to comment. In a December letter to Valley Water through his attorney Lori Costanzo, he called the investigation a biased campaign to smear him through messages and conversations taken out of context. Valley Water made the letter public on Feb. 24, characterizing it as Callender\u2019s response to the report.<\/p>\n Callender\u2019s attorney said investigators cherry picked certain messages which, in full context, reflected professional dialogue.<\/p>\n \u201cStatements allegedly implying sexual thoughts or risk of being \u2018fired\u2019 are taken out of context,\u201d Costanzo wrote. \u201cThe investigation conducted by Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo exhibited a prosecutorial posture toward Mr. Callender, repeatedly accepting complainants\u2019 assertions without adequate scrutiny, and engaging in aggressive, repetitive, and disrespectful questioning inconsistent with neutral fact-finding.\u201d<\/p>\n Investigators said Callender gave untrustworthy explanations that \u201cdefied common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCallender frequently gave evasive, argumentative, and sarcastic answers,\u201d investigators wrote. \u201cCombined with explanations of certain incidents that defied reasonable interpretation and a refusal to acknowledge any inappropriateness of his behavior, we found his credibility suspect.\u201d<\/p>\n Sean Allen, president of the NAACP of San Jose\/Silicon Valley, has defended Callender over the course of the investigation, calling it biased. Allen, a former Santa Clara County correctional officer, has also been accused of sexual harassment. A county personnel board in 2024 unanimously sustained allegations<\/a> he made unwanted advances against a female colleague, though he is suing the county over those findings.<\/p>\n Allen said there\u2019s a pattern of accusing Black leaders of sexual harassment to discredit them.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, there is always a possibility that mistakes were made, but we want to make sure the process is fair and equitable,\u201d Allen told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Employees blindsided<\/p>\n The investigation\u2019s findings were published four days after Callender resigned and the board agreed to retain him as their special advisor. This sparked outrage and disbelief among the agency\u2019s 800-plus employees that the board opted to reward Callender\u2019s alleged conduct and lavish praise on him after their approval of his separation agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will be the only statement I will be making,\u201d Board Chair Tony Estremera said at the Feb. 20 meeting. \u201cAs CEO, Rick Callender led Valley Water through extraordinary operational and fiscal pressures, including the COVID 19 pandemic, inflationary constraints and complex regulatory demands of continuing to deliver measurable results to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Estremera later came under fire for his \u201ctone-deaf\u201d remarks after investigators\u2019 findings became public.<\/p>\n \u201cThe victims still have not heard a word of apology from the board of directors, who are responsible for hiring this man,\u201d Salam Baqleh, a representative for the agency\u2019s employee union, the Valley Water Employees Association,\u00a0told San Jose Spotlight.<\/p>\n Baqleh said employees remain fearful of retaliation and will attend the board\u2019s March 10 meeting\u00a0to protest.<\/p>\n \u201cConsidering the glowing statement (about Callender from the board), the pay and the special advisory role, our members are having difficulty understanding the board\u2019s motivations, and how they might serve the interests of rate payers,\u201d Baqleh said.<\/p>\n After the release of the probe\u2019s findings, Valley Water hosted an online Feb. 26 town hall with three board directors. Employees submitted written comments in real time, skewering Estremera and Directors Nai Hsueh and Shiloh Ballard for the \u201cdisgusting\u201d vote. Employees accused the board of prioritizing Callender over the integrity of the agency.<\/p>\n Employees also questioned why directors approved a separation agreement worth more than $1 million benefiting Callender while Valley Water works under a hiring freeze<\/a> and adopted a 9.9% rate increase<\/a> \u2014 $7.80 more a month for an average household \u2014 to boost funding for agency services last May.<\/p>\n They demanded the board vote again on Callender\u2019s separation agreement in light of the released findings.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is disgusting. The board should be ashamed,\u201d one employee wrote in remarks read aloud by the district\u2019s spokesperson, Matt Keller, during the town hall. \u201cWe knew this is what he was like \u2014 we were his coworkers, it was no secret. It\u2019s difficult to believe that you all did not know. \u2026 This is a slap in the face to both employees and taxpayers, especially those who came forward as victims of abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n At the town hall, Estremera indicated Callender was threatening legal action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to try our best to do what we could and make sure we minimized any potential litigation against the district,\u201d Estremera said at the town hall.<\/p>\n Estremera made another gesture to employees in an agency-wide email on Wednesday. He wrote the events of the last two weeks had been \u201cweighing\u201d on him.<\/p>\n \u201cOn behalf of the Board, I want to acknowledge the three complainants and what they\u2019ve been through. I\u2019m sorry that this happened to you under our watch,\u201d Estremera wrote. \u201cWe do not condone this behavior from ANY employee, regardless of title or rank.\u201d<\/p>\n Questionable ethics<\/p>\n Callender is barred from entering Valley Water\u2019s offices without Estremera\u2019s express permission. Director Rebecca Eisenberg, who was the lone vote against Callender\u2019s separation agreement, is doubtful. Estremera and other board members often sided with Callender during public clashes with Eisenberg over district spending and workplace investigations, leading to a March 2024 vote to censure Eisenberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now the only thing standing between Rick Callender\u2019s ability to come to the office and physically threaten his victims is the unreliable word of Chair Estremera, who has sided with Callender for more than 20 years each time a female staff member has asked for protection from Callender\u2019s serial predation,\u201d Eisenberg told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Callender became the first Black man<\/a> to lead Valley Water in May 2020. Three women directors voted against his appointment at the time, citing similar allegations of sexual harassment he faced in 2008.<\/p>\n Outside of Valley Water, Callender serves as president of the NAACP of California-Hawaii State Conferences. Following reports of Callender\u2019s troubles at Valley Water, a colleague who worked under Callender at the statewide NAACP filed a March 20, 2025 lawsuit<\/a> against him over alleged emotional abuse. The lawsuit claims Callender discreetly pushed the NAACP to ask for a public money sponsorship from Valley Water while he was in charge of both organizations.<\/p>\n Valley Water released a separate ethics report on Callender\u2019s dual roles, conducted by the same law firm that handled the misconduct report. Investigators sustained complaints about Callender\u2019s use of Valley Water property to host NAACP events, but did not sustain others. They also raised concerns about him deleting Meta Messenger conversations despite being public records.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_9962-1024x768.jpg\")
A representative for unionized Valley Water workers said they remain fearful of retaliation from former CEO Rick Callender. File photo.<\/p>\n![\"Keep](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769027829_854_interactive-184632509590.png\")
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