• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Trinitas Partners Hires OID Water Attorney: Conflict?

October 30, 2019 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

Tim O'Laughlin
Tim O’Laughlin

In a move very likely to revive local controversies and bitter memories, Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) water attorney Tim O’Laughlin has been hired by Trinitas Partners to manage its huge Hawaiian farming operation in Maui, where it’s known as “Mahi Pono.”

Now an entity with too many names and subsidiaries to list, Trinitas/Mahi Pono recently purchased 56,000 acres in Maui for $267 million from sugar cane growers Alexander & Baldwin. As was the case when Trinitas was annexed into the Oakdale Irrigation District in 2013, Mahi Pono’s arrival on Maui has been clouded by controversy.

The most pressing issue for many on Maui is that Mahi Pono’s purchase of Ag land  could also bring it almost total control over a huge share of the island’s fresh water. As is the case most everywhere in the arid west, fears that private control of public resources will result in lasting damage to the public trust are escalating as water becomes scarcer and more expensive almost daily.

Many local farmers and interested observers believe Trinitas was given a sweetheart deal when annexed because it was allowed twenty years to pay annexation fees at 3% interest, among other benefits.  Now, OID’s water attorney at the time of annexation has been hired to manage Trinitas’s operation in Maui. O’Laughlin’s official title is Chief Operating Officer.

The founder of the Paris and O’Laughlin law firm, which represents several San Joaquin Valley entities on water issues as well as OID, O’Laughlin has said that he will remain affiliated with the law firm after he moves to Maui full-time. Even in the labyrinthine and incestuous world of western water, O’Laughlin’s new position is bound to raise eyebrows and foster inquiries.

Fresh off two court losses to the Oakdale Groundwater Alliance, O’Laughlin’s frequent collisions with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and creative circumlocutions of the law to promote water sales were clearly no problem for Trinitas/Mahi Pono. Instead, the man many Valley locals refer to as a water broker has most likely been hired to smooth Mahi’s Pono’s rough path to control of water rights for its massive farm operation.

OID Board of Directors
OID Board of Directors

Given ongoing legal problems for OID’s programs to promote water sales outside the region and Trinita’s still-controversial place in the district’s hierarchy of water users, O’Laughlin’s new position is bound to raise questions about conflicts of interest. But as long as the OID Board of Directors continues to include three members who follow to the letter O’Laughlin’s directives on water, there’s likely to be little change in district water policy.

The chief issue for in-district farmers in Oakdale has been and remains the opportunity to receive irrigation water for prices below the cost of delivery. Whether the attorney who helps that happen has a conflict of interest is irrelevant to them and therefore irrelevant to the board members under their control, and the same metric applies to Trinitas/Mahi Pono. Tim O’Laughlin’s job is to keep the water coming, and thus far he’s been able to do that, hence the expansion of his influence and power.

 

 

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Oakdale Groundwater Association, Oakdale Irrigation District Fallowing Program, Oakdale Irrigation District water sales, Oakdale Irrigation water rates, Trinitas Partners Oakdale

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bruce Frohman says

    October 31, 2019 at 8:43 am

    The optics of the attorney’s behavior is not good, but no evidence of illegal activity has been presented. Many public officials leave office with gravy jobs after providing special assistance to private entities.
    Washington politicians leave office for high paying lobbying jobs. Regulators leave office for cushy jobs in the industry they regulated. The list is endless.
    The people of Maui have a lot to worry about. Their water bills are about to increase greatly unless the State Government intervenes.
    Shasta Dam will be raised 15 feet to provide water to Westlands Water District, probably thanks to some well placed campaign donations.
    Great private wealth has been built using public largesse.
    Voters do not seem to care, which is why deals keep happening at public expense.

    Reply
  2. Damon Woods says

    October 31, 2019 at 11:21 am

    It appears that the legal profession (is that an oxymoron ?) thinks it is ok to represent the private sector and the public sector on both sides of an issue. Maybe next up is to have a judge also be a defending attorney and the prosecuting attorney too? Why not also make him the jury too. Conflict of interest seems to not apply to this attorney, but then this attorney says that certain Board members of OID cannot be allowed to vote on stuff that they can benefit from… the old double standard again! Don’t do what I do, do what I say..

    Reply
    • Hugh Janeus says

      October 31, 2019 at 9:55 pm

      These are two totally different jobs in non-competitive geographies. This article implies that the attorney in question would sell out his attorney-client privilege for what I’m sure is a lower paying job. If this was the case, I doubt he would still be practicing law after so many years. Saying there’s a conflict of interest here would be like saying that if I worked for Trump in the Department of Health and Human Services, that I would have a conflict of interest if I moonlighted as a plumber and went to unplug Hillary Clinton’s toilet.

      Reply
      • Eric Caine says

        November 1, 2019 at 8:51 pm

        One of the most blatant and clearly false analogies ever. Really stunning.

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Enter Captcha Here : *

Reload Image

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

Here are the companies suspending political contributions following the Capitol riots
Here are the companies suspending political contributions following the Capitol riots
thehill.com
How the Capitol Riot Thrust Big American Companies Deeper Into Politics
How the Capitol Riot Thrust Big American Companies Deeper Into Politics
“Words alone are not enough.” Corporate moves to halt political funding and decry the forces behind the Jan. 6 riot have accelerated a broader movement in business to address social and political issues.
www.wsj.com
I've hesitated to call Donald Trump a fascist. Until now | Opinion
I’ve hesitated to call Donald Trump a fascist. Until now | Opinion
After last week the label seems not just acceptable, but necessary.
www.newsweek.com
The Cheney-McCarthy rift busts open
The Cheney-McCarthy rift busts open
The Republican leaders’ split on impeachment presages a bigger battle over Trump and the GOP.
www.politico.com
Beaten, sprayed with mace and hit with stun guns: police describe injuries to dozens of officers during assault on U.S. Capitol
Beaten, sprayed with mace and hit with stun guns: police describe injuries to dozens of officers during assault on U.S. Capitol
Authorities say many officers face long recovery following riot
www.washingtonpost.com
Trump Authoritarianism Denial Is Over Now
Trump Authoritarianism Denial Is Over Now
Just weeks, ago, conservatives insisted Trump would concede if he lost the election.
nymag.com
Fact check: Men who stormed Capitol identified by Reuters are not undercover Antifa as posts claim
Fact check: Men who stormed Capitol identified by Reuters are not undercover Antifa as posts claim
Social media users have been sharing content online that suggests those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 were Antifa, not Trump supporters. Many have been using compilations of pictures as purported evidence, but examination of these images shows they do not support…
www.reuters.com
Who Funded the Putsch of January 6, 2021?
Who Funded the Putsch of January 6, 2021?
We must investigate the riots and find out who was behind it, who organized and financed it.
billmoyers.com

Senior Trump Official: “We Were Wrong, He’s a Fascist”

“The legacy of the Trump administration is going to be that the president sparked an insurrection and people died.”
nymag.com
35 times Capitol Police arrested more demonstrators than the 14 insurgents arrested Wednesday
35 times Capitol Police arrested more demonstrators than the 14 insurgents arrested Wednesday
They have arrested more than 3,600 demonstrators since 2016.
www.motherjones.com
Perspective | The pro-Trump media world peddled the lies that fueled the Capitol mob. Fox News led the way.
Perspective | The pro-Trump media world peddled the lies that fueled the Capitol mob. Fox News led the way.
Even today, they are still at it.
www.washingtonpost.com
Joe Scarborough Drops F-Bomb on MSNBC, Calls for Arrest of Donald Trump After Capitol Raid
Joe Scarborough Drops F-Bomb on MSNBC, Calls for Arrest of Donald Trump After Capitol Raid
“If they are not arrested and brought to justice today, then we are no longer a nation of laws and we only tell people they can do this again,”
Morning Joe host says, referring to the…
www.rollingstone.com
Here's What Trump Said Right Before His Supporters Stormed The Capitol
Here’s What Trump Said Right Before His Supporters Stormed The Capitol
Just moments before hundreds of his supporters stormed the Capitol and interrupted a step in the peaceful transfer of power…
talkingpointsmemo.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design