Squidfry July 28, 2022: Same, Same

SAME, SAME… Squid is a big fan of elections, particularly because Squid finds them so novel: There is no democracy in the sea, only the food chain.

That said, Squid is keeping a close eye on who’s running for various local offices, including for Monterey City Council, which is having its first-ever district-based election this November.

Up for grabs are districts 1 (New Monterey) and 2 (it’s complicated), and there are candidates for both: Ed Smith pulled papers for a reelection bid in what is now District 2, and in District 1, political newcomer Kim Barber, who works for CSUMB, is planning to run. That would seem to ensure that every seat up this fall will be filled, right? Nope: Councilmember Dan Albert Jr. (who lives in District 3) announced he’s running for mayor, even though he’s got two years left in his term. He’ll be facing off against fellow councilmember Tyller Williamson, who chose to run for mayor rather than seek re-election in District 1.

But here’s the catch: Per Monterey’s charter, there’s no such thing as a “safe seat.” Which means: if you run for mayor you forfeit your seat on city council. So, win or lose, Albert’s seat will be open come November, and the council will appoint someone (from any district) to fill the seat.

Seems like a bit of a gamble – though Albert’s father, who he shares a name with, was a longtime mayor decades ago.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Maybe.

SHARK WEAK… It’s Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, to which Squid pays no attention. The media attention goes to the sharks’ heads, making them insufferable. On July 6, Discovery chose to advertise its upcoming programming by flying a large silver and blue blimp over the Monterey and Pacific Grove coastline several times. Squid thought this gauche, since two weeks earlier Steve Bruemmer was badly injured while swimming off of Lovers Point with the bite of a large great white.

Earlier that day, Bay Net volunteer and veteran Pacific Grove harbor seal docent Kim Akeman had counted 98 seals on the Hopkins Marine Station beach. When she returned later, there were zero. Perplexed, some passersby explained that they watched as the Shark Week blimp flew over, causing the frightened seals to flush into the bay. Akeman, who annually calls the Goodyear and MetLife blimp people ahead of major Pebble Beach golf tournaments to remind them not to fly over the seals because they are negatively impacted by noise (see story, p. 12), tried contacting the Discovery Channel, to no avail. So she contacted Karen Grimmer of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Grimmer called the blimp company about regulations regarding marine mammal disturbances, which informed Discovery. The blimp will not return.