Special Districts – ANTELOPE VALLEY – East Kern Water Agency

Note: this post will be periodically updated! (10/07/2026)

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS:

East Kern Water Agency, Division 1 (Vote for 1)

(sjvwater.org) The Kern County Water Agency is a very powerful board with its hands on just about every aspect of water in the county, including the Kern River, which is what has apparently attracted challengers for two of the four board seats that are up this year. This agency is a wholesale water supplier: it imports and manages water that local retailers and districts then deliver to customers. Its board sets wholesale rates and long-term supply strategy — decisions that flow through to local water bills and drought planning.

BEST PICK Drew Mercy – Incumbent – Director Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, Div. 1

  • Party: VERY Republican (https://www.avgop.com/members)
  • Experience:
    • Background: Drew is also a local elected official, having served as a Director and Vice President of the Quartz Hill Water District from 2021-2023 and currently representing Division 1 on the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency Board of Directors.
    • He is a past president of the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, Antelope Valley Jaycees and a past Honorary Commander at Edwards Air Force Base.   Currently he serves as Chairman of the City of Lancaster Criminal Justice Commission, Director and Immediate Past President of the Antelope Valley Fair Association Board, Director of the Antelope Valley Boosters, and Vice President of the Special Districts’ Association of North Los Angeles County. 
  • Links: https://www.instagram.com/p/DD2wGGHPTgw/
  • Candidate statement: “Drew Mercy helped cut the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency property tax rate for the first time in 20 years while protecting water quality and investing in reliable water supplies.

    Before joining the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency Board, Drew Mercy served as a Quartz Hill Water District Director, helping keep rates low through drought while maintaining high water-quality standards.

    As Division 1 Director, Drew Mercy has supported groundwater banking, responsible infrastructure investment, and long-range drought planning. In 2025, the Agency banked more than 54.000 acre-feet of water and now has approximately 155,000 acre-feet of State Water Project water stored for future recovery. As Chairman of the Eastside Water Bank Committee, he is working to expand the region’s ability to capture water during wet years and recover it during drought.

    Drew Mercy understands reliable, affordable water is essential to families, agriculture, businesses, and local jobs. He will continue demanding fiscal accountability, transparent decision-making, and careful planning that protects ratepayers.

    Drew Mercy volunteers as Chairman of the Lancaster Criminal Justice Commission and a Director of AV Boosters, supporting local law enforcement and first responders. He also serves as a Director of the Antelope Valley Fair Association supporting youth agriculture and enrichment programs.
    • For Clean, Affordable Water Rates
    • Vote Drew Mercy for Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency

Drew likes cats, bird feeders, his mom, making bread, and one of the truly toxic members of the administration’s DOJ.

(https://theatln.tc/wIv4ufju) “On Dhillon’s watch, [the DOJ’s} commitment to civil rights has been turned upside down. Consistent with Trump’s stated belief that ‘white people were very badly treated,’ the new Civil Rights Division seems primarily concerned with correcting the perceived wrongs of past civil-rights enforcement. Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has worked to transform the Department of Justice into his personal law firm, a machine for manifesting his will and producing the policy outcomes his MAGA base dreams of—and Dhillon has devoted herself to reshaping the Civil Rights Division in this image. Her ambition may soon propel her up the ranks of a Justice Department thrown into chaos by Trump’s recent firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Dhillon’s name has circulated as a potential candidate for associate attorney general—the department’s third in command—or even for the top job itself … ” (https://www.reddit.com/r/law/comments/1skh2g3/harmeet_dhillon_is_not_wasting_any_time/)

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11

Lynn Robert Barnes – No Ballot Designation

  • Age: 76
  • Occupation: Retired Farmer
  • Candidate statement: (apps.lavote.gov) “I am Lynn Barnes and I am running for District 1 board of directors of Antelope Valley East Kern water agency. My family Homesteaded in the Neenach area of the west end of the Antelope Valley in the late 1880’s. I was born in Lancaster and raised here. The Barnes family has been farming and raising cattle since then. My father Bill Barnes, farmed over 70 years here. I have much knowledge of this district regarding farming, irrigation and the issues that AVEK deals with. I feel that because of my background and my family’s history in this district I would make the ideal candidate for the position on the AVEK board of Directors. I would do my best to support all the agencies policies and procedures while also representing all the citizens of District 1.”