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Grover Beach Mayor Debbie Peterson took another step away from the county Air Pollution Control District (APCD) on Jan. 21, as she resigned from her position as an alternate member of the board.
City Manager Bob Perrault said that Peterson indicated to the city in mid-January that she was resigning immediately from her position as an alternate to Grover Beach City Councilwoman Karen Bright.
During its Jan. 21 meeting, the Grover Beach City Council unanimously voted to reassign Peterson’s alternate position to Councilman Jeff Lee.
Peterson told New Times that she felt bequeathing the alternate position would be a “very good opportunity for another council member to understand the complicated APCD issues.”
Peterson had lobbied heavily to stay on the board during a Dec. 16 council meeting, in which all of her fellow council members nonetheless voted to replace her. Afterward, Peterson told New Times she was disappointed by her dismissal.
At a Dec. 31 special meeting called by Peterson to respond to a letter encouraging the council to reappoint her to the board, Peterson remained silent on that subject. However, 21 speakers at that meeting advocated for reappointing Peterson, many waving “Vote Debbie Back On APCD” signs.
Asked by New Times what had killed her desire to be in the APCD sphere in such a short time span, Peterson said that once she was given “time to reflect,” she changed her mind.
“After reflecting on the alternate position, I made the choice to resign, and I think that was the better option,” she said. “It’s a very intense position with a lot of required reading to stay informed, and I thought it was better to hand that off to someone else.”