Mayor Pro Tem Robert Robert, Former Mayor Debbie Peterson, and Kassi Dee are the Grover Beach Mayoral Candidates running for a two-year term, which ends in November 2026.
The candidates each talked about their qualifications for the position.
“I think that I can be a really strong, positive presence in our local government,” said Kassi Dee, Grover Beach mayoral candidate. “Out in the community, I will be accessible, I will be visible, I will be there to listen to the voices of Grover Beach.”
“I've been on [city council] since 2020 and I've been a community servant for quite sometime before that,” said Robert Robert, Grover Beach mayor pro tem. “I enjoyed doing community service work. I enjoy interacting with the people. I think I have the qualifications and the experience to move the city forward.”
“I have a track record for repairing the streets," said Debbie Peterson, the former mayor of Grover Beach. "For bringing gray water ordinances to town, bringing the bond that the citizens voted in to repair our streets and I know we're very proud of that, of what we've done as a community,”
We also asked about each of their visions for the future of Grover Beach.
“Everybody is ready for the next generation to come in and be in our local government.,” said Dee. “I think the biggest thing that we need right now is our community back together. I think right now the tension is really high.”
“Some of the visions I have for Grover Beach is I'd like to make it more of a destination town than just a stop and pass through town and we're doing that with all these things we have on Grand Avenue,” said Robert. “We're very interested in supporting our businesses. I'd like to keep going forward with that.”
“My vision for the people of Grover Beach is that they are able to participate and grow in their city hall and it's a warm welcoming place where they feel involved and where they can be a part of where her community goes over the next few years,” said Peterson.
Win or lose, we asked the candidates about their plans after the election.
“Win or lose? It's been a wonderful campaign, like I said,” Dee said. “I've been so grateful for all the support. It was a dream of mine to run and be elected as mayor of Grover Beach one day, so if I don't make it this time, I will run again. I will run for council. Maybe that was my seat, but I'm feeling really positive about the outcome.”
“Well, I am on the city council, as I mentioned before,” said Robert. “I am mayor pro tem and I'm in the middle of my term right now, so I'll still be sitting on council and making decisions with the council if I were not to win as mayor. But I'm looking forward to being the mayor of Grover Beach, so I'm going to keep that and foremost.”
“Well, you know, there's a wonderful opportunity to really start working on your vision and start working on how things will move forward and the committees that people will be involved in,” said Peterson. “Between being elected and being sworn in, it is a great time to prepare and be ready to really get started.”
