Panel Gives Cautious Backing to DWP Nominee

A Los Angeles City Council panel on Tuesday endorsed Mayor Tom Bradley’s appointment of environmental lawyer Mary Nichols to the Water and Power Commission, but cautioned her against attempting to radically alter the course of the giant city-owned utility.

If the full council approves the appointment next Tuesday, Nichols, 45, would become the third environmentalist on the five-member board. Nichols is a senior staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and served as manager of Bradley’s primary campaign in his unsuccessful 1986 gubernatorial bid.

Members of the the council’s Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee cautioned Nichols against trying to undertake a massive overhaul of the DWP. Nichols said she was considering a “shift” toward environmental priorities rather than a “major upheaval.”