The July 8 meeting of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board of Directors took an off road detour at the end of public commentary by former Oakdale Irrigation District Board Member Linda Santos when she queried MID Director Larry Byrd about water usage on property he farms on Stanislaus County’s east side.
Santos had been castigating Byrd for his role in terminating water attorney Ronda Lucas’s contract. Lucas became a controversial figure after winning a 2019 lawsuit based on alleged gender harassment from an MID Board member. She was rehired early in January of 2023, on a 4-1 vote. At the time, Director Byrd was one of her more ardent supporters.
“I’m the one that got her back,” he said after last Tuesday’s meeting…