\u201cRick Callender is still on leave,\u201d Valley Water spokesperson Matt Keller told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cValley Water must handle all HR and personnel matters with appropriate confidentiality and is unable to comment further at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valley Water Board Director Richard Santos said portions of the investigation are ongoing. But he said he\u2019s seen partial findings resulting from the probe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not seen all of it. That\u2019s the issue. We\u2019ve been able to see some of it but evidently there is more,\u201d Santos told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
He declined to share what he\u2019s seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if all board members saw what I saw. I believe they had. We have to wait until we get all of the conclusions and then we go from there,\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n
Callender, who did not respond to requests for comment, stepped aside last December, four days after the labor union representing most of the agency\u2019s 850 employees publicly demanded an unnamed executive be placed on administrative leave over an employee\u2019s misconduct complaint<\/a>. The union cited fears of retaliation against the employee due to the unnamed leader\u2019s stature and power over the agency. The union threatened to keep speaking publicly about the misconduct complaint until the executive stepped aside.<\/p>\n Officials previously described Callender\u2019s absence as \u201cvoluntary.\u201d Officials have not disclosed the nature of the employee misconduct complaint. One of the agency\u2019s elected board directors, Rebecca Eisenberg, has said publicly the complaint is about \u201csexual harassment\u201d and that more employees have since filed complaints against Callender.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not believe that Valley Water has the right to exempt information about these allegations and the investigation from the public,\u201d Eisenberg told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThese allegations, as well as the sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation allegations, have been actively concealed by the District Counsel and the majority of the Board.\u201d<\/p>\n Leaders of the employee union, the Valley Water Employees Association, are growing impatient with the protracted secrecy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe investigation began almost a year ago and Employees Association is still waiting for the results,\u201d Salam Baqleh, one of the union leaders, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cOur members are frustrated about how long this is taking. We are hoping for a resolution soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Santos said it\u2019s not clear how much money has been spent on the probe thus far.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure we\u2019ll get eventually the total amount shared with the board,\u201d Santos said. \u201cWhen you have an investigation, it has to be thorough and you have to make sure it\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n The Valley Water CEO was originally supposed to return to work between late March and early April. But the board of directors voted in March to extend Callender\u2019s paid leave indefinitely.<\/p>\n Callender previously told this news outlet he planned to file his own claim<\/a> against the agency over workplace retaliation and discrimination. He did not respond to questions about the status of that complaint.<\/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 NAACP filed a March 20 lawsuit against him<\/a> over emotional<\/a> abuse.\u00a0Namely, the lawsuit included allegations Callender discreetly pushed the NAACP to ask for a public money sponsorship from Valley Water while he was in charge of both organizations. ![\"NewsMatch](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763767508_789_interactive-255337946814.png\")
<\/a>Callender became the first Black man<\/a> to lead the agency in May 2020. Three women directors voted against his appointment at the time, citing allegations of sexual harassment he faced in 2008.<\/p>\n