Our picks for who should lead Monterey County, California and the United States of America into the future.

Our endorsement process normally entails inviting candidates into our Seaside headquarters where we gather around a conference room table. This year, it involved a lot of hours on the screen with candidates – 47 in all – in Zoom interviews, and some interviews conducted via email questionnaire, resulting in 122 pages of written responses. We also consider past records.

Whether or not you agree with our suggestions, we hope – no, we insist – you vote.

The Weekly editorial board is Founder & CEO Bradley Zeve, Publisher Erik Cushman, Editor Sara Rubin and Managing Editor Mary Duan.

Monterey County

Wendy Root Askew | Monterey County Supervisor, District 4

Carmel

Dave Potter | Mayor

Karen Ferlito, Bobby Richards | City Council

Del Rey Oaks

Alison Kerr | Mayor

Gary Kreeger, Kim Shirley | City Council

Marina

Kathy Biala | District 2

Gail Morton | District 3

Measure Q | Yes

Measure Z | Yes

Monterey

Clyde Roberson | Mayor

Dan Albert, Alan Haffa | City Council

Measure Y | Yes

Pacific Grove

Chaps Poduri, Nick Smith | City Council

Measure L | Yes

Salinas

Kimbley Craig | Mayor

Scott Davis | District 1

Orlando Osornio | District 4

Anthony Rocha | District 6

Sand City

Kim Cruz, Greg Hawthorne | City Council

Measure U | No

Seaside

Jon Wizard | Mayor

Tinisha Dunn, Dave Pacheco | City Council

Special Districts

Monterey Peninsula Water Management District

Karen Paull | Division 4

Amy Anderson | Division 5

Marina Coast Water District

Tom Moore, Herbert Cortez

Monterey Peninsula Airport District

Mary Ann Leffel | District 3

School Boards

Hartnell College Board of Trustees

Manuel Osorio | Area 1

Schileen Potter | Area 2

Jeanne Hori-Garcia | Area 3

Grant Joel Hill | Area 4

Monterey Peninsula College Board of Trustees

Colleen Courtney | Area 3

Debbie Anthony | Area 4

Marlene Martin | Area 5

Measure V, MPC bond | Yes

Carmel Unified

Jill Lewis, Seaberry Nachbar, Anne Marie Rosen

Monterey Peninsula Unified

Jeff Uchida | Area 1

Debra Gramespacher | Area 2

Veronica Miramontes | Area 3

Pacific Grove Unified

Brian Swanson and Carolyn Swanson

Salinas Union High School District

Patty Padilla-Salsberg | Area 2

Sandra Ocampo | Area 6

Measure W | Yes

State of California

John Laid | State Senate, District 17

Mark Stone | Assembly, District 29

Robert Rivas | Assembly, District 30

Prop. 14 | Yes

Prop. 15 | split decision

Prop. 16 | Yes

Prop. 17 | Yes

Prop. 18 | Yes

Prop. 19 | Yes

Prop. 20 | No

Prop. 21 | split decision

Prop. 22 | Yes

Prop. 23 | No

Prop. 24 | No

Prop. 25 | Yes

Federal

Jimmy Panetta | Congress, District 20

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris | President and Vice President