PenLight ousts board member of 26 years amid lawsuits and alleged violations
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- PenLight board unanimously voted to remove member, alleging confidentiality violations.
- Board member filed lawsuits and maintains he did not disclose information wrongfully.
- The dispute centers on sharing information about a pending facilities plan for a new HQ.
The Peninsula Light Company Board of Directors voted March 19 to immediately remove one of their board members, L. Paul Alvestad, for alleged confidentiality violations, according to a press release.
The utility, also known as PenLight, is a private, not-for-profit member-owned cooperative that serves over 32,000 homes and businesses in the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula areas as well as Herron Island, Raft Island and Fox Island with water and electricity, according to its website. All ratepayers pay a membership fee of $100 and vote in elections for the nine positions on the Board of Directors.
Last May, Alvestad sued PenLight CEO Jafar Taghavi in Pierce County Superior Court to release internal plans regarding a future headquarters facility, The News Tribune reported. Alvestad told a reporter that he was concerned that PenLight ratepayers wouldn’t have an opportunity to vote on the facilities plan before it was finalized, saying that he expected the project to cost millions, without naming a dollar figure.
PenLight spokesperson Britni Wickens and two other board members answered questions about the pending facilities plan in phone and email exchanges with The News Tribune last June, confirming that plans were underway to renovate the aging headquarters, but saying that cost estimates are premature.
The press release sent late March 19 says the Board voted unanimously to remove Alvestad after an independent investigation by a third-party law firm alleged Alvestad had “improperly disclosed confidential information to the public on multiple occasions, in direct violation of long-established PenLight policy.”
“It also found that he engaged in other conduct that created a hostile environment for PenLight staff and fellow Board members,” the release continued.
Alvestad and his attorney were not allowed to participate in the deliberations, he told The News Tribune in a text message. Board president Debra Ross told The News Tribune in an email that Alvestad was at the meeting but did not participate in the vote.
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Alvestad was one of eight members serving on the board. His removal leaves the board at seven, Ross confirmed. Alvestad’s name had disappeared from the PenLight website as of Friday.
“A decision on how or when the two vacant Board seats will be filled has not been made at this time,” she wrote.
Alvestad defended his decisions in comments to The News Tribune Friday.
“I was dismissed because I advised the news and social media that there was a facilities plan, that it was expensive, that they should provide input to other board members and stay on top of the issue,” he wrote in an email. “That’s all.”
The release also alleged that the ongoing litigation has made it difficult for the Board to do its job.
“Even though PenLight provided Mr. Alvestad with all of the records that he demanded, he has still refused to dismiss his lawsuit,” the release said. “The lawsuit has driven up PenLight’s legal costs, made it difficult for Board members to communicate openly in meetings, and taken Board members’ time and attention that should be devoted to improving PenLight service.”
Alvestad filed a second lawsuit, this time against PenLight, earlier this month. The complaint filed in Pierce County Superior Court requests a temporary restraining order to prevent the board from meeting and removing Alvestad from his position. The court did not grant the order, Alvestad said in a phone call Friday.
He maintained that he hasn’t disclosed any information wrongfully, disputing the board’s allegation that he violated the confidentiality agreement he’s bound to as a board member.
“Breach of confidentiality is the only basis for board dismissal, and I’ll let the members make their own decision on whether the information I disclosed was something they wanted to know or whether it was confidential at all,” he wrote.
In his most recent legal complaint against PenLight, Alvestad wrote that he had shared his concerns about the facilities plan with The News Tribune and on social media but hadn’t shared certain information such as the project’s cost.
“Of note, there was no expression of cost of the proposal, what it entailed, how the decision was made, what the vote counts on the Board were, or that there was disharmony on the Board,” he wrote in the complaint. “All of these disclosures were made by other members of the Board. They were in far greater detail than that of the Plaintiff. Their comments were designed to discredit him to the members.”
The complaint also said that his “disclosures bothered the President, Immediate Past President and a couple of other members of the nine-member board. (The secretary was later forced to resign by his employer-leaving eight members at this time. Elections for three members and to fill the vacant seat will occur in May, 2026.)”
Board president Debra Ross said in the PenLight press release that the decision to remove Alvestad “was not made lightly.”
“The Board members recognize that Mr. Alvestad contributed in many important ways during his 26 years on the Board, and we appreciate his contributions and service,” she said in the release. “Unfortunately, Mr. Alvestad’s recent conduct does not reflect PenLight’s values. This action will not keep us from continuing our work in service to our 35,000 members.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that Alvestad was not involved in the vote and that the board has not decided how or when to fill the two vacant seats on the board.
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 11:59 AM.
