In today's newscast:
Monterey mayor's race
A barista at East Village Cafe in downtown Monterey greets incumbent mayor Tyller Williamson as he enters. The popular official served on the City Council before becoming mayor in 2022.
His time coincides with the city’s growing budget deficit, now nearly $12 million. Williamson says when the city was flush with money, ideas for spending it were abundant.
"We really didn't make sure that we set enough funding aside," said Williamson.
Since 2020, he says Monterey has built up reserves. But, there have also been cuts. Williamson said no one's to blame for the deficit, but his challenger Vince Malfitano disagrees.
Malfitano's website says Monterey’s debt is "the result of failures in leadership.”
Malfitano didn’t respond to KAZU’s calls, emails, or texts for comment. But a supporter, longtime Monterey resident and restaurateur Glenn Hammer, did.
"I think it's ridiculous that we are in financial stress," said Hammer, who added he met Malfitano when the candidate knocked on his door and after another meeting decided to endorse him.
Public records show Malfitano carries some legal baggage. In addition to old allegations of sexual misconduct and improper business practices, Monterey County Now reports he recently settled a restraining order request out-of-court.
Carmel-by-the-Sea gets addresses ahead of election
Carmel-by-the Sea rolled out street addresses for the first time in a century this fall. With them came notices for every voter to update their registration, weeks before an election.
Carrie Hennessey got a postcard in October telling her to re-register to vote.
"Which I did," said Hennessey, "and then I had to send in a signature card, so I was concerned I wasn't gonna get it in in time to get my vote in."
Hennessey did get her ballot, and returned it. But even with her new address she says, "we're still not getting mail service at our house."
She dropped her ballot off at the post office, where all Carmel residents still get their mail delivered to PO boxes. It’s just their physical addresses that changed—from geographic descriptions or house names Carmel used before September to a house number.
But Monterey County registrar Gina Martinez says updating home addresses is a big deal, "given this climate, when we have a federal government that's attacking registrars in the state of California for not following voter list maintenance."
California state law allows voters to update their registration up to election day.