BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
A member of Palo Alto’s Planning and Transportation Commission has been accused of using his city position to ask for special treatment after his daughter’s car was towed from a city parking garage, public records show.
Commissioner Forest Olaf Peterson allegedly identified himself as a planning commissioner repeatedly and requested a discount, a tow yard owner said in an email to City Manager Ed Shikada.
“When the requested discount was not granted, Mr. Peterson became rude and made statements suggesting that he could ‘change the rules’ in the future to benefit himself,” the tow yard owner said.
Peterson paid $494 at 4:56 p.m. on Jan. 6 to recover his daughter’s black 1994 Ford Mustang that was impounded by police two hours earlier from 350 Sherman Ave., according to a receipt. Peterson allegedly told the tow yard owner that he had friends within the Palo Alto Police Department who would agree with him about changing the rules.
“These remarks were troubling and gave the appearance of an abuse of position,” the tow yard owner said in his complaint to Shiasked Shikada to investigate Peterson.
“Public officials are expected to uphold high ethical standards and to avoid actions or statements that could reasonably be perceived as leveraging official authority for personal benefit,” the tow yard owner said.
The tow yard owner forwarded the city a negative online review that Peterson left for his business.
“Unprofessional and incoherent not just to others but to themselves as well,” Peterson wrote. “Shop looked like a mess. I doubt they are real mechanics.” In the review, Peterson said the tow yard owner raised the fee for recovering his daughter’s car.
Shikada told Peterson on March 9 that the city hired attorney Madeline Buitelaar of Oppenheimer Investigations Group to investigate the complaint.
Buitelaar’s contract was for up to $50,000, records show.
“You are alleged to have referenced your position as a member of the Planning and Transportation Commission to influence the outcome of a private commercial matter in your favor,” Shikada said in an email, which the Post obtained using the California Public Records Act.
Peterson’s side
Peterson, 49, gave his side of the story: A tow yard employee suggested Peterson wanted a discount, so Peterson corrected him and said that wouldn’t be allowed under the city’s ethics rules.
Peterson said he requested his daughter’s cash payment be returned so he could pay by credit card and have a record of the transaction.
“I was not negotiating the bill,” he said in an email to Buitelaar.
Peterson sent Buitelaar his call log showing eight calls to Palo Alto police that day, his location history, an ethics training certificate and a letter of support Peterson said his daughter and tow yard employees could speak to what happened, and encouraged Buitelaar to get security camera footage from the tow yard.
On the day of the tow, Commissioner Allen Akin said he discussed parking garage policies with Peter-son, including Peterson’s idea of allowing five-day permits for cars with pending DMV registration.
“Enforcement in the city garages seems to be un-even,” Akin said in an email to Peterson, recounting their conversation.
Burt invited him to explain
Councilman Pat Burt alluded to the investigation while interviewing Peterson for another term on March 23.
“Forest, is there anything that you would like to share with us about events that might inform our decision on reappointing you?” Burt asked.
Peterson said he tries to experience and understand any topic that comes before the commission.
“Some people, they don’t like it,” Peterson said.
“But at the end of the day, I’ve come back more informed, and I bring that information to the commission. And I think that is a way of bringing truth better than necessarily sitting in an ivory tower and not listening.”
Burt said he wanted Peterson to speak to any personal events that would inform council about his ethics as a commissioner.
Peterson said he’s held to high ethical standards as a Stanford researcher and a labor standards investigator.
“For 20 years, I have had no deficits to my behavior,” he said.
Confidential report
Shikada sent Buitelaar’s report to council on April 7. He said her investigation was limited to gathering facts and didn’t determine whether Peterson violated any laws or city policies. The report is confidential because of attorney-client privilege, city spokeswoman Meghan Horrigan-Taylor said in an email yesterday.
Mayor Vicki Veenker, Vice Mayor Greer Stone, Councilman George Lu and Councilwoman Lythcott-Haims voted to appoint Peterson to a four-year term on April 13.
Councilmen Pat Burt, Ed Lauing and Keith Reckdahl voted for tech executive Tom Siegel instead.
Mayor’s thoughts
In an interview yesterday, Veenker said she couldn’t talk about what the investigation found.
“Personally, after reviewing the report, I did not believe there was a sufficient basis to conclude there had been an abuse of position. So I voted for the incumbents,” she said.
Veenker said abuse of a public position is unacceptable, and that’s why the city went through a robust process with Peterson.
“It’s a reminder to all of us to do the best we can to avoid doing things that might give the misimpression of improper conduct,” Veenker said. “That’s hard, because people misunderstand each other all the time.
But as public officials, we have to be aware of that.”
Peterson declined a phone interview.
“The investigation is closed,” he said in an email.
“Its scope was limited to determining whether the alleged conduct occurred, and the report reached no conclusions of law or policy. On April 13, after receiving the investigator’s report, council reappointed me to the Planning and Transportation Commission. I consider the matter resolved.”
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