Departing Water Authority General Manager Stapleton tried and failed to untangle unsavory relationship between SDWA and Metropolitan Water District

“Forget it, Mo, it’s Chinatown.” In a climactic scene, a drunken and distraught Maureen Stapleton confronts her superior, Water Authority Board Member Tom Kennedy, and accuses him of sleeping with Metropolitan Water District staffer Meena Westford (background), who represents the District’s interests in San Diego. “This whole relationship [between the Authority and the District, or possibly just between Kennedy and Westford] is sick and degrading,” cried Stapleton, before being released by the Authority, which insisted it was doing her a favor. “It’s my water, too,” soothed Kennedy, as Westford looked on apprehensively.