www.montereycountynow.com OCTOBER 3-9, 2024 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 13 Pacific Grove is a beautiful place to live, but there are tensions that can make it challenging. Debates over the last several years have exposed fissures between those who want the small town to stay the same and those who want enough change to make P.G. more welcoming and livable, including for young families and workers. The P.G. City Council election on Nov. 5 could either mean change, or more of the same, depending on the candidates voters choose to become mayor and fill three council seats. How the town is governed could change significantly depending on how voters decide on Measure Z, which would shrink the council from seven members to five. The current council often splits 5-2, with the two incumbents in the council race, Luke Coletti and Chaps Poduri, on opposing sides. (Poduri and Councilmember Joe Amelio are the usual losing two.) Poduri was a yes on a skatepark and on a proposed roundabout at a five-way intersection on Sunset Drive, while Coletti was a no on both, although he said he was not against either concept in general. The two were also on opposing sides of the restaurant parklets debate, with Poduri supporting allowing parklets as they currently are and Coletti leading the way to replace them with sidewalk dining on the southwest corner of Lighthouse and Fountain avenues, resulting in a 4-2 vote in favor of sidewalks over parklets. (Councilmember Debby Beck recused herself.) Most of the other candidates on the ballot—Carmelita Garcia, Chilla Kartalov and Paul Walkingstick—have said they support sidewalk dining. Only Tina Rau objects to the piecemeal approach the council majority has taken, focusing on one corner instead of considering all parklet locations. (Rau ran for council in 2022, losing by a small margin.) All the council candidates either support a single retail cannabis store as approved by P.G. voters in 2022, or say they at least accept the voters’ decision. The three mayoral candidates—P.G. Mayor Pro Tempore Nick Smith, former councilmember Dan Miller and Dionne Ybarra—also support a cannabis store. Outgoing Mayor Bill Peake initially was set to run for a fourth time, then withdrew in July. Smith could have run for reelection as a councilmember, but instead chose to run for mayor. Both Miller and Ybarra have run unsuccessfully for mayor in the past, in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Smith and Ybarra take similar positions on a few issues, including supporting sidewalk dining and the roundabout. Miller also supports sidewalk dining but he is adamantly against the roundabout, having angrily argued against it at council meetings, including in July when the concept was passed 4-2 by the council. Miller contends it will cost upwards of $10 million and says there’s no need for it. (The city was initially awarded a $5 million grant by the Transportation Agency for Monterey County from voter-approved Measure X tax funds.) In the Grove Six candidates vie for three seats on the P.G. City Council while three battle to become mayor. By Pam Marino P.G. City Councilmember Luke Coletti, the highest vote-getter in 2020, is seeking a second term. His first term was marked by controversy among City Hall staff, with at least three complaints against him. NEWS The current council often splits 5-2. DANIEL DREIFUSS ’23 - ’24 Voted Best Restaurant in Monterey!
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