Modesto Irrigation District (MID) union members were already steaming when they learned that Dominic Giorgi had sent out a mailer implying an MID employee received an astronomic pay raise because of her relationship with MID Director Robert Frobose. They were irate because their September 8 meeting to review candidates for the MID Board had been hijacked by their Executive Board.

That meeting on the second Tuesday of the month featured presentations by five of the seven candidates for the MID Board — John Boer, Mike Moradian, John Van Oostende, Bob Frobose and Dominic Giorgi. Janice Keating and Brad Johnson were absent. After the short presentations, candidates answered questions from audience members.

Shortly after the questions and answers, union members were stunned to learn that the union’s Executive Board had already endorsed three  candidates before the membership had a chance to vote. They were especially dismayed that the Executive Board had not only chosen to endorse Dominic Giorgi, they had also elected to donate to his campaign.

To many members, Giorgi’s presentation had seemed thin. His answers to questions were vague, especially when compared to those of his opponent, incumbent Board President Bob Frobose. Giorgi’s background as a part-time rodeo clown and employee of a local well driller seemed to offer little qualification for a position on the MID Board of Directors.

People were still simmering about the unauthorized endorsement when word got out about Dominic Giorgi’s mailer. In the mailer, Giorgi had written that an unnamed MID employee had received a 90% increase in salary while dating Frobose. The implication was that raise had been the result of the relationship.

Rage spread through the union members like a wind-blown summer fire.

Most everyone knew the woman Giorgi had smeared. They knew she had worked two jobs while supporting her son and ailing mother. She had taken night classes and attained a Master’s Degree so she could move up the pay scale and become a better provider. Her promotions had come before dating Frobose. There was never a 90% raise nor anything close to it.

Her pay raises and promotions had been approved by three supervisors. None of them consulted MID Directors about pay increases. Directors have no authority or influence on pay rates for individual members of MID’s IBEW union.

Bob Frobose’s relationship with Megan Thomas had been widely known within the union membership for almost two years. They had been seen together in public for that same time period.

Always a stickler for propriety and ethics, Frobose had very early on consulted MID General Counsel and Management about possible conflicts of interest stemming from the relationship. He was assured there were none. MID Directors have no influence over the salaries, work schedules, assignments, promotions or privileges of MID employees.

Dominic Giorgi’s campaign photographs picture a wholesome family man posing with his wife and two daughters. That image is undermined by his scurrilous slurs and damnable falsehoods about a hardworking and highly regarded MID employee, but those same slurs and falsehoods are fully in keeping with Giorgi’s reference to rodeo queens as “a bunch of whiny little bitches” in a Facebook post.

Giorgi’s weak presentation during the September 8 union meeting was no isolated incident. He’s among the least qualified candidates ever to run for local office. Most of his campaign funding has come from groundwater-dependent farmers far outside his district, including from MID Director Larry Byrd and Ty Angle, whose AB La Grange Ranch partnership is being investigated by the Stanislaus County District Attorney for alleged water theft.

Last Tuesday, Modesto Irrigation District union members took a stand for decency, duty and democracy. They demanded their Executive Board rescind the Giorgi endorsement and refund any contributions to Giorgi’s campaign. Board representatives said they would revoke the endorsement due to Giorgi’s weak presentation and responses last September 8.

Many members are also demanding an apology to a fellow worker they respect and admire for her dedication to work, family, and union solidarity. IBEW Executive Board Members owe MID union workers, farmers and ratepayers nothing less.