Deb Dickerson has spent her life serving others. As a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer with nearly three decades of experience, a decorated tactical flight officer, a crisis responder, and a proud Simi Valley parent, she brings something rare to public life: a record that speaks for itself.
Deb grew up in Guttenberg, Iowa, a close-knit town of just 1,700 people where neighbors still know each other by name. It was there that she learned the values that have guided her ever since: hard work, accountability, and a genuine sense of responsibility to the people around you. A multi-sport athlete at Guttenberg High School, she competed in softball, basketball, golf, and track, and carried that same competitive spirit and team-first mindset into everything she pursued after graduation.
After studying at Kirkwood Community College, Deb moved to Los Angeles during the excitement of the 1984 Olympics. What started as a career in retail quickly gave way to a higher calling. In 1989, she joined the Los Angeles Police Department and never looked back.
Over the course of her distinguished LAPD career, Deb served in patrol across the Hollywood, Foothill, and Newton Divisions, as well as in Vice in the Hollenbeck Division. In the Planning and Research Division, she helped author the department’s operational manual and played a central role in the successful integration of MTA Police into LAPD operations. These were not glamorous assignments. They were the hard, essential work of building institutions that actually function, and Deb approached every piece of it with precision and care.
In 1996, Deb joined the elite Air Support Division, one of the most demanding assignments in law enforcement. She first served as a Tactical Flight Officer and later earned her command pilot certification, enhancing officer and public safety in one of the most challenging urban environments in the world. She also served on the department’s Peer Counseling Unit and the Crisis Response Team, and authored LAPD policies on handling domestic violence cases, work that protected some of the most vulnerable people in the city.
When the nation needed help most, Deb answered the call. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, she deployed to New York City as part of the LAPD’s Crisis Response Team, supporting members of the NYPD, Port Authority Police, and FDNY through their most devastating hours. For her service during that time, she was honored with the Ante Perkov Humanitarian Award, a recognition that reflects who she is not just as an officer, but as a human being.
Since retiring from LAPD in 2017, Deb has continued to fly, now part-time with Helinet Aviation in Van Nuys, piloting the news helicopter for ABC Los Angeles. She stays current, stays sharp, and stays connected to the community she has always served.
Deb has called Simi Valley home since 2003. She and her husband Manny, who also recently retired from LAPD, are raising their three children in Simi Valley, all of whom attend school in the Simi Valley Unified School District. This is not just where Deb lives. It is where she has built her life and where she is fully invested in the future.
Deb Dickerson is running for City Council because she believes Simi Valley deserves leadership that has been tested, not just talked about. She knows what it means to make hard decisions under pressure, to show up for people in their worst moments, and to build systems that protect and empower communities for the long term. She brings experience, integrity, and an unshakable commitment to the families of this city.
Simi Valley has given a great deal to Deb and her family. Now she is ready to give back.
Simi Valley is not just a place I live. It is the community where my husband Manny and I are raising our three children, where we cheer from the bleachers and the rink boards, where we walk the same streets and breathe the same air as every family in this city. When I talk about the future of this place, I mean our future together.
I am running for District 4 because I believe with everything in me that your voice belongs at the center of every decision this city makes. Not as an afterthought. Not once every four years at the ballot box. Every single day, in every meeting, in every vote that shapes the streets, the schools, the businesses, and the neighborhoods we all share. That is what “Your Voice, Our City” means to me, and that is the promise I am making to you. I am not a politician, and I have never pretended to be one.
I am a retired LAPD officer with nearly three decades of service, a tactical flight officer, a crisis responder, and most importantly, a Simi Valley parent who cares deeply about where this community is headed. I have spent my career making hard decisions under pressure, building institutions that actually work, and showing up for people in their most difficult moments. That experience does not belong in a corner office. It belongs in City Hall, working for you. Local government should never be a political game played by insiders. It should reflect the people who live here, work here, and love this place. It should listen to every perspective, weigh every concern, and make decisions grounded in what is genuinely right for this community, not what is convenient for any party or special interest. Public trust is not something you earn once and keep forever. You earn it every day through honesty, transparency, and a willingness to be held accountable. I am committed to earning yours.
Here are some of the issues I care most about:
Improving quality of life, not just maintaining it. Simi Valley deserves more than the bare minimum, and I intend to fight for it. That means investing in the places where our community comes alive: our hiking trails, our parks, our community centers, the gathering spots where neighbors become friends and kids grow up knowing they belong somewhere. It means championing cultural events and local festivals that celebrate who we are and draw us closer together. It means building pathways to affordable housing so that young families, teachers, firefighters, and the people who make this city run can actually afford to stay here and put down roots. I want every resident, from the youngest child to the oldest neighbor, to feel that Simi Valley is not just a place to sleep at night but a place that genuinely enriches their life every single day.
Protecting public safety, because nothing else matters if people do not feel safe in their own homes and neighborhoods. I spent nearly thirty years with the LAPD, but raised my family in Simi Valley, and I know firsthand that public safety is not simply about putting officers on patrol. It is about building the kind of sustained, adequately funded, community-rooted infrastructure that allows police, fire, and emergency responders to do their jobs with excellence and with the full support of the community they serve. That means fighting to ensure that our police and fire departments have the budgets, the staffing, and the resources they need, not in good years only, but consistently, year after year. It means building genuine partnerships with the Simi Valley Unified School District so that every student walks into school each morning knowing they are protected, valued, and free to focus on learning rather than fear. And it means using every tool available, from crisis response programs to community outreach, to prevent problems before they start. Safety is not a privilege. It is a fundamental promise this city owes every resident, and I will work every day to keep it.
Creating vibrant, connected neighborhoods where people can walk, bike, and move through their community safely and with dignity. Our streets should work for everyone, not just drivers. I want to see well-lit walkways, protected bike lanes, and smart infrastructure improvements that make getting around Simi Valley safer and more enjoyable for families, seniors, and people of all abilities. When our neighborhoods are designed with people in mind, businesses thrive, property values rise, and the sense of community that makes this city special only grows stronger.
Preserving local retail and Simi Valley’s unique sense of place is important to me. The businesses that line our main corridors, the restaurants where families celebrate milestones, the small shops where owners know your name, these are not just economic assets; they are the soul of our community. I will advocate fiercely for policies that protect local retailers from being squeezed out by oversaturation or unfair competition, and I will work to ensure that the character and charm that make Simi Valley distinct are not casualties of development done without care. Our city has a story worth telling and a future worth protecting.
Supporting local businesses, because when our businesses succeed, our whole community succeeds. The entrepreneurs and small business owners of Simi Valley take enormous risks to build something meaningful here, and they deserve a city government that makes that process easier, not harder. Our city has done a good job of streamlining and modernizing the permitting process so that businesses are not buried in red tape before they even open their doors, and I will work to ensure that does not change. I will advocate for expanded access to low-interest loans and targeted tax incentives that give small and medium-sized businesses the real financial footing they need to launch, grow, and weather the inevitable storms. And I will make sure that city policies continue to treat local business owners as the partners and community builders they truly are, not as obstacles to manage.
Reasonable, thoughtful growth that serves the people who already call Simi Valley home. Growth is not something to fear; it must be guided by wisdom and humility. I believe that every major land-use decision, every zoning change, every new development should be weighed carefully against its real impact on neighborhoods, traffic, schools, water, and the infrastructure that holds this city together. Decisions made in haste or under political pressure have a way of becoming regrets that outlast anyone’s term in office. I will insist on thorough environmental and community impact reviews, genuine public input before votes are cast, and long-range planning that looks decades ahead rather than just to the next election cycle. Simi Valley’s growth should reflect our values and strengthen the community we love, not strain it.
I will be honest with you. I never imagined the word “politician” would appear next to my name. But something happened over the years of raising my family in this community, of watching it grow and change, and investing in its future. I realized that standing on the sidelines while decisions are made without you is not an option I can accept. Stepping up is not just something I want to do. It is something I feel called to do. And if I am going to do it, I am going to do it differently. I am going to do it with your voice at the table every step of the way. That is the heart of this campaign. “Your Voice, Our City” is not a slogan. It is a commitment to a different kind of leadership, one that listens first and acts with the full weight of this community’s trust behind it. Together, we can build a Simi Valley that is stronger, safer, more connected, and more worthy of the people who live here.
I would be honored to sit down with you and talk through what matters most to you and your family. This campaign is a conversation, not a monologue, and every door I knock on and every hand I shake reminds me of exactly why I chose to do this. Your insights, your stories, and your ideas for what this city can become are not just welcome here. They are essential. Please reach out, come to an event, or simply stop me on the street. Simi Valley belongs to all of us, and together, we are going to make it even better.