Carmel candidates out in full force ahead of Tuesday election

Election Day is just hours away in Carmel. On Tuesday,voters will pick a new mayor and two new council members.

On Monday, the candidates were out in full force, campaigning and trying to lure in voters who may be making up their minds at the last minute.

“Just post office, post office, post office, keep meeting the people,” mayoral candidate Steve Dallas said.

“It’s a chance to see them and give them last minute campaign material, and encourage them to vote tomorrow,” mayoral candidate Ken Talmage said.

Talmage has been on the Carmel City Council for ten years and has been Vice-Mayor four times.

“I think the water issue is the critical one, the cease-and-desist order,” Talmage said. “Also, we have gas pipeline safety issues in Carmel because of the gas line explosion and other incidents. We have to find a solution dealing with PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission.”

Steve Dallas, a Carmel native, wants to bring staffing levels back up and repair the city’s infrastructure, while repairing its damaged image.

“I want to bring the community back to the community, I want to bring the family back into the community, that’s the most important aspect,” Dallas said. “Honesty, transparency and open government. We need to tackle all three of those.”

As they vie for voters, so did the other five candidates running for two open council seats. The candidates are Jan Reimers, Bobby Richards, Jack Pappadeas, Richard Kreitman and Dave Mosley.

But here’s the wrinkle — if Dallas is elected, there will be a third open council seat.

“That open seat left by Council Member Dallas will be filled by the council in the future,” Carmel by the Sea City Clerk Ashlee Wright said. “So what they’ve done in the past, is they’ve accepted resumes and applications to fill that vacancy and made that appointment based on that process.”

This year’s election is also a bit different.

For the first time since 2008, the Monterey County Elections Office is handling it. A recent study found it was much more effective than hiring an outside firm.

“We contract with the polling places, we train the poll workers, we contract with the poll workers, we designed the ballot, the voter guide, that type of thing. We mailed all the vote-by-mail ballots as well,” said Claudio Valenzuela with the Registrar of Voters.

The turnout has been high so far. Of the more than 1,700 absentee ballots sent out, some 800 have been returned.

Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday. People can drop off their ballots at City Hall or at the Elections Office in Salinas. They can also vote in person at the Sunset Center.

First results should come down at 8 p.m.