What Now?!
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Oakland, California 94610

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Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor, State Of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, California 95814 June 14, 2006

Subject: Alleged Managerial incompetence at the California Public Utilities Commission

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

Members of the Concerned Staff Committee of the CPUC are concerned that the Los Angeles Times May 31, 2006 report (attached) claiming that the Director of the Water Division, Kevin Coughlan blundered and violated the independence of the Commission by his acceptance of input lawyers employed by the Water Industry did not go deeply into the underlying forces involved in the malfeance of Kevin Coughlin.
The Concerned Staff Committee request that your office investigates why Kevin Coughlin who is perceived by many at the Commission as one of the few competent and honest senior managers at the commission would make such a “stupid mistake”.
It is the common view at the commission that many managers are not allowed to act according to their professional judgment and competence because they are pressured by the Executive Division and some commissioners to act in-appropriately.

The Concerned Staff Committee states that this is not a rare occurrence as Larson and Peevey portrayed the malfeance to the Los Angeles Times.

Both Peavey and Larson failed to exercise due diligence when they joined the Commission a few years ago.
Had they exercised due diligence they would have discovered that the commission was racked with a major scandal when the newspapers and TV media reported the staff attorney of Pacific Bell (became SBC now at &T) spent the whole night at the executive office at the CPUC writing the Telco Decision for the Commissioners to approve. It was a big scandal and you know none of those involved were demoted or fired what actually happened was all of those involved were later promoted.
The concerned staff committee believed that an independent investigation is needed here to establish whether the Director of the Water Division, Kevin Coughlan is really that incompetent or he was pressured into doing something that undermined his own professional competence.

Sincerely,
Yaya Fanusie, Publisher of What Now?!
Susan Kennedy, Chief of Staff
Phil Annelids