Longtime Yorba Linda councilmember trades dais for water board

Gene Hernandez, a 12-year Yorba Linda City Councilmember, saw an opportunity to delve deeper into his “keen” interest in water, he said, and last week resigned from the dais.

The opportunity presented itself “out of the blue,” the former three-time mayor said on Monday, a day before his council colleagues are expected to discuss on Tuesday, Jan. 16, the new vacancy and how they will fill it.

Hernandez came onto the council in 2012 and would be termed out in November. He said his next step would have been to campaign for a spot on the Yorba Linda Water District’s board of directors.

“As luck would have it, a director submitted his resignation,” Hernandez said, adding he saw it as an opportunity to apply for the resulting appointment. “This was a very hurry-up and fill it within 30 days thing. It wasn’t my intention to resign before my term was up, but the opportunity presented itself, and I couldn’t pass it up.”

Hernandez was appointed to the water board on Jan. 4, and submitted his resignation on Jan. 11, the same day he attended his first water board meeting. He will hold the water board seat until November, at which time the seat will appear on the ballot.

“We thank Gene for his many years of service on the Yorba Linda City Council,” Mayor Tara Campbell said in a statement. “Having been elected to the Yorba Linda City Council three times, Gene’s leadership included serving as mayor in 2015, 2018 and 2023 and representing Yorba Linda on several local and regional agencies, including the Orange County Transportation Authority and Orange County Fire Authority.”

Hernandez served in law enforcement for 34 years, starting with the Fullerton Police Department and then the Orange Police Department, where he rose to the rank of a captain. He then served as chief of police in Chino before retiring.

But he said he has always been interested in water, becoming involved with the Rotary Club and going on missions to build wells in Africa, Mexico and India. He got involved with Water Education For Latino Leaders, recognizing, he said, that each area has different water concerns as he traveled up and down the California coast looking at issues.

“What was clear was that water is a scarce resource and will become the No. 1 issue,” he said. “We need to pay attention to how we get water and the degree of commitment we have made to it in our infrastructure.”

While on the council, Hernandez, once also chair of the OCFA board, was instrumental in helping get two reservoirs that give firefighters quicker access to water installed in the city. The reservoirs allow helicopters battling blazes to refill their tanks in minutes while fighting fires. Yorba Linda was among the first cities in the county with the tanks.

And he is proud of helping Yorba Linda develop from a rural community into a destination sought out by visitors, he said. “When I came on in 2012, the previous council was holding the line and wanted to put a bubble over Yorba Linda while the rest of the county was moving forward.”

He was part of the council that helped complete the Town Center, an area of vacant lots and dirt plots at Yorba Linda Boulevard between Imperial Highway and Lakeview Avenue, that had been idle for two decades. The area now, he said, has become vibrant with shops and restaurants. Nearby is the new Yorba Linda Public Library and adjacent cultural center and a four-level parking structure.

Hernandez has been a city resident for more than 37 years.

On Tuesday, the council will decide whether to appoint someone to fill the new vacancy until November or hold a special election. It could also choose to leave the seat vacant. It would have 60 days, or until March 11, to make an appointment.