In what could be a big upset for the Pacific Grove City Council election, Tina Rau pulled ahead of incumbent Councilmember Luke Coletti in the latest round of vote counting. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, she was 41 votes behind Coletti who was in third place. As of an update by Monterey County Elections officials on Friday, Nov. 8, she was 130 votes ahead.
Not long after the new vote tallies were posted by the Monterey County Elections Office, Councilmember Debby Beck sent a two-sentence resignation email to Mayor Bill Peake and City Manager Matt Mogensen, sources familiar with P.G. City Hall say.
"Yes, she has resigned," Councilmember Joe Amelio confirms.
According to a source with firsthand knowledge, Beck said in her resignation she was going to travel and spend time with family. Her resignation is effective immediately. It's likely the council will wait until the new council is seated in December to make a decision on how to replace her with two years left in the term.
The vote count is not over so it's still too early to declare a winner. The top three vote-getters will take three at-large seats. Another report from the elections office is expected on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
It's possible Measure Z was the tipping point for voters. The measure that was meant to shrink the council from seven members to five failed with over 54 percent of voters voting no. Coletti initiated the measure and was a prominent supporter of its passage. Most of the other council candidates campaigned against it.
In addition, Coletti aligned himself during the campaign with mayoral candidate Dan Miller, who lost to Councilmember Nick Smith.
Rau's fourth place position on Tuesday was the second time she found herself within shouting distance of winning a seat on the council. In 2022, she finished fourth behind Beck in a race that was too close to call until a couple of weeks after the election. Both Rau and Beck picked up votes but in the end, Rau lost, 52 votes behind Beck.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.