Santa Maria mayoral candidate files small claims suit over a critic’s letter to the editor

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One of Santa Maria’s 2024 mayoral candidates is taking a critic to small claims court for a letter published in Noozhawk last October.

Diana Perez, who lost her bid for mayor to Alice Patino, filed the claim in January, alleging that Yvette Valadez-Andrade owes $12,500 for defaming “my campaign for mayor of Santa Maria 2024 on Noozhawk with false statements,” according to court documents. 

While Perez told the Sun that she wouldn’t elaborate on what exactly was defamatory, she said that Valadez-Andrade was the only person who said anything negative about her during the campaign. Many people weighed in on Perez’s candidacy on the Central Coast Chisme Facebook page, some of whom did make negative comments about her.

“I’m just not going to listen to social media,” Perez said. “She went to the newspapers.” 

In Valadez-Andrade’s letter, she writes that Perez doesn’t have the qualities necessary to be the mayor. 

“She’s been unprofessional, mistreated her employees by verbal scolding them, creating a toxic work environment, and has behaved unprofessionally,” Valadez-Andrade wrote. “It is my intention to bring the truth to light. Perez may be a Democrat, but she lacks the character to run Santa Maria. Vote Alice Patino!”

Valadez-Andrade didn’t respond to a voicemail message asking for comment. 

Perez said she chose to take the issue to small claims court because she didn’t want to make a bigger deal of the situation than was necessary. She added that the issue was larger than the letter, she had evidence to present to the court proving that, and that it was for a judge to decide. 

“People think that they can be brave behind the keyboard and say anything that they want,” Perez said. “How can someone who doesn’t know me decide they’re going to make statements about me?”

In the letter, Valadez-Andrade states that she worked with Perez at Allan Hancock College. Perez said they only spent three hours together in her 25 years at Hancock. 

How did Perez arrive at $12,500, the upper limit for filing in small claims court?

“It’s just a small little nugget of what the community invested who wanted to see a change,” she said. 

Her campaign raised $15,499 in 2024, according to final campaign finance filings with the city. Perez told the Sun that in total, she and her supporters—which include Santa Maria Firefighters Union Local 2020—raised a little more than $150,000. In court documents, she claims that “approximately $200,000 was spent on my campaign.” 

The case has a hearing scheduled for April 4 in front of Judge Jed Beebe.

This article appears in Mar 20-30, 2025.