Six years ago, Luke Coletti came in first place in a six-way race to become a Pacific Grove councilmember. Nick Smith, then a P.G. City Council incumbent, came in second. By 2024 things had flipped: Smith won the mayoral seat against two candidates. Coletti, running to keep his council seat, lost, finishing fourth. This November the two men are facing off, with Smith running to defend the mayoral seat and Coletti challenging him.
Coletti’s drop in the polls in 2024 could be rooted in a few reasons: His questioning of city staff, praised by some residents, came with formal complaints filed against him, resulting in large legal bills; during the 2024 election Coletti championed a measure to shrink the council size from seven to five, which failed at the polls; he aligned himself with a controversial mayoral candidate, Dan Miller, who lost to Smith. (Miller is running for the Pacific Grove Unified School District.)
Over the past year-and-a-half, Coletti has gained traction in opposing a May 2025 vote by Smith and four other members of the P.G. City Council to increase councilmembers’ compensation for the first time in 26 years. Smith argued that a raise was needed to support a more diverse field of future candidates.
The decision proved unpopular among voters. Coletti and his group Transparent Pacific Grove prevailed in a referendum to have the vote overturned, insisting the pay raise should be up to voters. When the Council put Measure C on the June 2, 2026 ballot, the raises failed with just 44 percent of the vote.
That wave of anti-raise sentiment may be why Coletti appears to be gaining support. He also has fans who oppose a proposed roundabout at the five-way intersection at Sunset Drive/Congress Avenue, which Coletti opposed while on council and Smith supported, among other issues where the two candidates diverge.
Smith says over his two-year term he has worked on building consensus among councilmembers and points to work completed, like sidewalk repair and Safe Routes to School projects, a climate action plan, an amended housing element and the implementation of two-year general fund budgeting and capital improvement plans.
Both Coletti and Smith say they will manage the budget, protect the natural environment and preserve P.G.’s character. Both are in favor of pursuing opportunities for affordable housing and youth recreation.
Smith favors efforts to make downtown P.G. more of a lively destination. Coletti says he is generally in favor but criticizes Smith for “knee-jerk” support. “That’s not really the oversight function we’re meant to do,” Coletti says.
As to interacting with city staff, Smith says the council’s role is to set policy with questions directed through the city manager. Coletti points to an ordinance he brought to council in 2023 that lays out lines of authority, giving councilmembers an “inquiry right” with staff, which means the city manager does not act as a gatekeeper of information. The ordinance was opposed by an employee union.