Business & Tech

Economic Board Member Resigns in Wake of Trash Dispute

Eldon Petersen shown on tape taking trash out of city-owned receptacle and putting it in store doorway.

Eldon Petersen, a member of the Benicia Economic Development Board, resigned that position after being videotaped Friday night taking garbage from a city-owned receptacle at the corner of H and First streets and putting it in the doorway of a business.

The video shows Petersen, owner of Petersen Service Co., going through the trash late at night. He then brought some of the refuse to the front door of the . The video also shows him taping some of the trash to the front door of the business.

Dan Graf, owner of the computer sales and service store, has an extensive array of infrared video cameras set up to deter break-ins.

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Graf has taped pictures from the video on the front window of Computer Doctor.

Petersen has apologized to him, Graf said. Petersen said that he had over-reacted because he was tired of businesses putting trash such as oil and paint in city-owned garbage receptacles. Graf acknowledged that he had thrown trash in the city-owned receptacles, but  said it was "torn-up cardboard." 

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"What was taped to my door was a piece of cardboard that had been reassembled and a shipping label that had my name on it," said Graf. "I couldn't even put the key in the lock until I removed that stuff from my door."

Petersen has not returned phone calls requesting comment.

 In a short letter addressed to City Manager Brad Kilger dated March 7, Petersen wrote: "Please accept this as my resignation as vice chair on the board of Economic Development. As of March 7th, 2011 I will no longer be available to this Board."

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson confirmed his action.

"I have accepted Eldon's resignation from the Economic Development Board," she said. "We thanked him for his service and all his contributions to the city."

Petersen's term on the Economic Development Board was up at the end of June. 

Update (5 p.m. Wednesday):  Petersen says he might have resigned early, before the end of his term on the Economic Development Board, regardless of the trash incident because of all the internal politics he's witnessed lately. "I wouldn’t have been able to stomach four more years of this," he said. "I have a lot of faults.  I can be impulsive, but I am very very sorry for what I did."

"I did something stupid and radical," said Petersen.

Benicia Patch will continue to follow this story and will have another update soon with more of Petersen's side of the story.


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