The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency appointed a new director for Division 3 on Tuesday, selecting Ken Petersen as the new representative for the district that includes much of the western and northwestern side of the Santa Clarita Valley.
Petersen replaces former board member B.J. Atkins, who resigned because he moved out of the Santa Clarita Valley. Petersen will fill the position for the remaining life of the term, which is set to end in January 2025. Phillip Denlea will serve as the alternate.
The position is subject to public election in November 2024, at which time the seat becomes a two-year seat until the 2026 election, when it will return to a four-year seat.
The vote for the position was 7-2, with Directors Lynne Plambeck and Beth Braunstein voting against. Director Kathye Armitage was the only board member to abstain from voting.
This is the second position this year that the SCV Water board has nominated someone for, after Director Maria Gutzeit was appointed to the board to carry out the remainder of former Director Dan Mortensen’s term, which expires in January.
Mortensen resigned from his position after being convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence earlier this year.
Only one of nine seats will have an appointed director (the Atkins seat) as of Jan. 1, 2023, and that seat will be up for election as scheduled in 2024.
