Grover Beach planning commissioner launches mayor run to ‘course-correct’ city
Grover Beach planning commissioner David Swift announced he’s running for mayor in 2026 to “course-correct” the city.
The Cal Poly graduate and retired mechanical engineer kicked off his campaign at The Station Grill in Grover Beach on Friday, according to a campaign news release.
Swift moved to Grover Beach in 2020 and has served on the city’s Planning Commission since 2023. After Dan Rushing’s recall in 2024, Swift applied to fill the open 2nd District City Council seat, but Jules Tuggle was ultimately appointed.
Swift said he understands the city’s issues after attending most city meetings since 2021, according to the release.
“The cultural problem at the city ... is that the people have lost their voice. The first thought and the actions of city officials should be the best interests of their citizens and businesses, and that is generally not the case,” he said in the release. “Every neighborhood problem points back to that culture of dismissiveness.”
Swift is the second candidate to enter the mayor race, after incumbent Kassi Dee launched her re-election bid in January. She was first elected in 2024 as the youngest mayor in Grover Beach’s history at just 30 years old.
Swift promotes responsible growth, government accountability in Grover Beach
Swift decided to enter the mayor race after a group of concerned community members urged him to run to change the city’s culture.
“There’s a missing piece in the city culture, both in the staff and in the elected officials that I don’t think they pay enough attention to the needs and concerns of the common citizen in Grover Beach,” Swift told The Tribune. “The average person has kind of lost their voice.”
He said his time on the city’s Planning Commission has been an educational experience that’s exposed him to how laws and development code are written, performed and executed.
If elected mayor, Swift said he would use his “engineering mind” to listen and understand the issues that are affecting residents, and then he would quickly generate requirements to plan and enact solutions. He called it a “course-correct” from the current way issues are handled at the city level
He’s running on a platform focused on responsible growth, economic vitality, government accountability, public safety and infrastructure, according to his campaign website.
Swift told The Tribune that the city has to stay in a constant state of redevelopment to remain economically viable.
“Blighted areas should be refreshed. Housing stock should be turned over. Streets should be improved,” he said. “I think that constant state of refreshing and developing is necessary to keep the town vital.”
He said growth in Grover Beach is more driven by state law than a local need for it. However, he pledged to find compromises that fit the community and appease state requirements.
“Economic development, meeting state law, serving the needs of the businesses and residents of Grover Beach is sort of that three-legged stool that you have to balance all those legs all the time,” Swift said.
