Oral Histories

Interview of Alfred H. Driscoll

Employee of the Office of the City Attorney for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Subtitle:
Water for Los Angeles: Alfred H. Driscoll
Series:
Water for Los Angeles
Topic:
Urban Planning and Land Use
Water Resources
Biographical Note:
Employee of the Office of the City Attorney for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Interviewer:
Basiago, Andrew D.
Interviewee:
Driscoll, Alfred H.
Persons Present:
Driscoll and Basiago.
Place Conducted:
Driscoll's home in Laguna Hills, California.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Andrew D. Basiago, UCLA Oral History Program; B.A., History, UCLA. Basiago prepared for the interview by consulting sources in the DWP's municipal reference department and in the Water Resources Center Archives at UCLA. He looked at in-house material, including DWP memoranda and the employee magazine Intake. In addition, he also read several academic histories and reviewed the Los Angeles Times dating from 1913 to the present.
Processing of Interview:
George A. Hodak, editorial assistant, edited the interview. He checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings, edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling, and verified proper names. Words and phrases inserted by the editor have been bracketed.In the spring of 1987 the edited transcript was sent to Driscoll, who reviewed and approved it. He returned the manuscript in the summer of 1987. Robert V. Phillipsassisted in the verification of unanswered gueries.Richard Candida Smith, principal editor, prepared the table of contents and index. Bryce Little, editor, prepared the biographical summary.
Length:
6 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Series Statement:
This series made possible by a grant from the Division of Water, Los Angeles City Department of Water and Power, complements the earlier University of California series “Oral History of California Water Resources Development."
Abstract:
Family background; education; Stephen B. Robinson; the Los Angeles Gas and Electric case; Natural Soda Products Company v. City of Los Angeles; water rights and water management; the Los Angeles City Department of Water and Power (DWP) and the Owens Valley; Owens Valley assessment cases; the Phillips formula; revenue-bond financing; DWP revenues and city government; the "$30 Every Thursday" campaign; employee contributions to revenue-bond campaigns; high DWP employee morale; promotions to top leadership positions; relations of the Office of the City Attorney for Water and Power to the city attorney; involvement in natural gas supply hearings; civil service issues; the Frank Shaw administration; loyalty oath requirement; Alan Cranston and the California State Board of Equalization; water rights and taxation; the north-south rivalry; Arizona v. California; the Buy American lawsuit; Mono County suit to tax DWP power plants; water and the growth of Los Angeles; dispute with Los Angeles Dodgers; lobbying efforts in Sacramento; the California Municipal Utilities Association; relationship between power and water systems; bond ratings; natural resources; Bolsa Island; quality of Japanese exports; the Baldwin Hills Dam failure; water and agriculture; Los Angeles pueblo rights to the Los Angeles River; the Central Valley and Feather River projects; City of Pasadena v. City of Alhambra.