New Grover Beach mayor is city’s youngest ever — and she’s ready to usher in a new generation
The newest elected mayor in Grover Beach also happens to be its youngest — but experience isn’t something she’s concerned about.
With her win in a three-way race between herself, City Councilmember Robert Robert and former Mayor Debbie Peterson in the 2024 mayoral election, Mayor Kassi Dee became the youngest mayor in the town’s 65-year history.
Dee, 30, grew up in Grover Beach and attended Arroyo Grande High School before attending Allan Hancock College. From there, she took over her grandmother Nan Fowler’s bookstore on West Grand Avenue, Nan’s Books and Crystals.
Following a contentious mayoral race, Dee said she can improve the city government’s relationship with residents and introduce the perspective of a younger generation of Grover Beach residents to the City Council.
“I hope that I can be that first domino drop to show other individuals that you don’t have to be a certain age to run for office and win,” Dee said. “You can have pink hair — what matters is your experience, your knowledge and your dedication to the job and to the community that you want to serve.”
‘Growing pains’ of Grover Beach to present challenges, mayor says
With just three City Council meetings under her belt as of the end of January, Dee said she’s still getting the hang of the flow of running a city day-to-day, but isn’t completely without experience in that respect.
While her age stands out among her peers across San Luis Obispo County’s elected officials, Dee said she’s taken leading her city seriously all her life. Most recently, that translated to serving as chair of the Parks, Recreation and Beautification Commission starting in 2021 and on the board of the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition in 2022.
She served on the South County Chambers of Commerce board in 2022 and 2023 and was Assemblymember Dawn Addis’ 2024 woman of the year.
Dee said that experience in business and local government gives her the right background to be an effective communicator to the public— and an advocate for local businesses.
With the redevelopment of Grover Beach’s downtown area along West Grand Avenue ongoing, Dee said one of her more significant challenges will be navigating the “growing pains” of a city torn between its roots as a small beach town and meeting the need to expand housing and business.
A major part of meeting those challenges will be revisiting the water and sewer rates that were at the core of the 2024 election, she said.
The passage of Measure G-24 by voters in November has constrained the city’s ability to carry out its Measure K-14 infrastructure projects, which go hand-in-hand with needed sewer system improvements, Dee said.
The previous effort to raise water and sewer rates in 2023 to pay for the Central Coast Blue water sustainability project proved unpopular enough to recall a sitting councilmember, so Dee said outreach and good communication with Grover Beach residents will be essential if the city wants to keep streets and other infrastructure in good shape.
While the Grand Avenue construction has proved challenging for business owners along that stretch, Dee said she’s hopeful the city can maintain its existing businesses while making room for expansion. It also plans to pursue a new grant to provide affected businesses with some financial aid.
“I hope that brings a lot of opportunity for new businesses,” Dee said. “As a business owner, I know how much it means to us when we get improvements to our buildings, so I’m hoping that that is something that intrigues businesses to come into Grover Beach and thrive here.”
What does the future hold?
Dee said government accessibility and transparency — an issue that frequently came up during the water and sewer rate raises — will be a priority for her term in office.
She plans to hold office hours on the third Saturday of each month at businesses around the community. The first of such office hours was held Jan. 18 at the new Dulce Cafe.
“I think that in the past couple of years, Grover Beach has gone through a lot,” Dee said. “And bringing back the trust and the unity is probably my biggest task at hand.”
