Corruption-buster Debbie Peterson accused of bilking Grover Beach taxpayers. That’s rich | Opinion

A Grover Beach mayoral candidate and self-styled corruption-buster who was once named “Hero of the Taxpayer” has been accused of cheating the city by claiming low-income subsidies she may not deserve.

As reported by The Tribune’s Joan Lynch, Debbie Peterson is receiving discounted utility rates through the Grover Beach Customer Assistance Program, which helps low-income residents with water and sewer bills.

She also receives a break on her electricity bill through PG&E’s CARE program — which is financed directly by ratepayers.

To qualify for the subsidies, a household of one or two people can earn no more than $40,800 a year in gross income.

Some Grover Beach residents, including current Mayor Karen Bright, say Peterson earns more than that just from her vacation rentals. (They used the amounts she’s paid the city in transient occupancy tax to determine her rental earnings.)

On top of that, Peterson has other sources of income: She runs a successful real estate agency; she has written four books sold on Amazon; and in 2022, she was hired by “Psychology Today” to write a blog dealing with women, government and — ironically — corruption.

She owns two homes — the one in Grover Beach and one in Hawaii, which also doubles as a short-term rental.

Not exactly the profile of someone in need of a leg up.

And yet Peterson — who has not responded to the allegations or repeated Tribune requests for an interview — receives a break on water and sewer rates not just for herself, but also for her paying guests.

And she’s still not been satisfied.

A $1,149 water bill

When Peterson’s water bill was unexpectedly high for March and April — $1,149 — she asked the city to reduce it, even though it appeared the cause was “most likely guests on March 26th who allowed water to overflow overnight to the point that it dripped through a water fixture on the floor below and flooded a closet,” she wrote in a letter to the city, obtained by The Tribune through a Public Records Act request.

“Unfortunately .... I am unable to pursue the guests or Airbnb on this matter and cannot recover it through my insurance due to a high deductible,” she wrote.

Peterson went on to ask the city to “waive the costs over and above my regular water use.” (The city politely refused to offer her special treatment, though it did allow her to make payments over time.)

This was a problem created by Peterson’s guests. Yet she expected the city — and, by extension, its taxpayers — to pick up the tab?

As a former council member and the city’s first directly elected mayor — a position she held from 2012 to 2014 — she should know the city is not in a position to grant such favors.

Nor is it the type of behavior characteristic of a “taxpayer hero” — especially one who’s turned corruption-busting into a side hustle.

Here’s something she penned for “Psychology Today”:

“Psychologists provide observations on how corruption spreads. It starts when one person commits what may be a very small act that strays from best practice. In an organization, it may be as simple as stealing a pencil or taking a safety shortcut on a production line. If the act is not criticized, it becomes the standard for what is allowable.”

A once-promising career

At one point, Peterson had what appeared to be a promising career in local politics. The Tribune Editorial Board enthusiastically endorsed her in the past, including when she ran for mayor.

Lately, though, she’s been waging a type of war against the city of Grover Beach.

She led a campaign against a water rate increase, ultimately succeeding in getting the City Council to back down and reverse its decision. (That helped earn her the “hero” award from the Central Coast Taxpayers Association.)

Grover H20 — a group Peterson leads — still has a measure on the ballot to roll back water and sewer rates, jeopardizing some much-needed sewer repairs.

The same group has another measure on the ballot to recall Councilman Dan Rushing because he supported the water rate increase — even though he later voted to rescind it.

Grover H2O also collected enough signatures to force a vote on whether to elect — rather than appoint — a city clerk. That election will cost the city an estimated $300,000.

Now that same group is collecting signatures to force a vote on whether the city should elect its city attorney.

An elected city attorney? Only a handful of cities in California have elected attorneys and they are mostly large ones like Los Angeles, where the city attorney heads up a staff of 1,000 legal professionals.

How much will it cost Grover Beach to deal with that nonsense? (Note to Grover voters: We urge you not to sign the petition.)

Debbie Peterson is not some hero who has swooped in to save the city of Grover Beach from corrupt officials.

She is an entitled private citizen who appears to be carrying out some vendetta against a small city that’s doing the best that it can with limited resources.

She is acting in her own best interests, rather than doing what’s best for the citizens of Grover Beach. As mayor, she would be in a position to do even more damage.

What kind of hero does that?