The CEO of a California water giant has got a half a million payout just days before the findings of a sexual harassment case against him.
Boss of Valley Water Rick Callender will get $512,886 after the board agreed he can serve for one year as a special advisor.
The vote came just days before he announced his resignation, which went into effect on March 1, 2026.
District 7 Director Rebecca Eisenberg, who was the sole vote against the agreement, told SFGate the agency’s decision to retain him violated the district’s own employment contract provisions.
“His contract clearly states that if he is found to have engaged in immoral or unethical conduct, he can be terminated for cause,” Eisenberg told the outlet. “For cause is only in extreme situations. This is an extreme situation.”
An investigation from the law firm Atkinson Andelson Loya Ruud & Romo and released on Feb. 20 revealed Callender violated the agency’s Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Policy.
The findings included text messages, photos and journal entries from three district employees in 2024, alleging Callender sent inappropriate text messages, made comments about the appearance of other coworkers and talked about his own sexual and romantic activities.
“Showered yet? Just playing,” Callender allegedly messaged a complainant following an office party, according to the investigation.
The longtime CEO allegedly told another employee that the dress “fit nicely,” and asked if they had ever “been with” an African-American man. He also sent a “photo of his clothed lap, centered on the crotch area,” according to the investigation.
Findings from the reports also claimed Callender directed staff to use District time to plan non-District events, with one employee alleging “30% to 40%” of their time was “for NAACP-related tasks, not District related tasks.”
The former water executive is in the middle of two lawsuits filed in March and June stemming from his tenure with the civil rights organization, according to SFGate, when he was accused of creating a “hostile work environment” and demonstrating a pattern of discriminatory conduct toward black female executive committee members, officers and staff.
NAACP advocates for sweeping criminal justice and police reform, including moving funds away from cops towards community initiatives.
Callender joined Valley Water — the primary water agency serving Santa Clara County’s 2 million residents — in 1995.
He became the agency’s first African-American CEO in 2020 thanks to a 4-3 vote, where all the male board members voted in favor, with the female board members dissenting, according to the San Jose Spotlight.
A lawyer representing Callender denied the allegations — citing his more than 30-year tenure working with Santa Clara County through the Santa Clara Valley Water District with integrity and transparency.
“The accusations advanced against Mr. Callender are devoid of factual or legal merit,” Lori Costanzo, an attorney for Callender said in a statement.
“In fact, the investigators base their findings on ‘opinion.’ They mischaracterize his work, impugn his integrity without basis, and appear calculated to damage his reputation and undermine public confidence in Valley Water’s leadership.”
Callendae faced similar allegations back in 2008, when a female employee sued the water agency and Callender for sexual harassment, the San Jose Spotlight reported.
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