On Wednesday, December 7, our new council will be sworn in. Please come to City Hall at 6 pm for the event if you can make it. I believe we will have a terrific council and your presence can help reinforce the essential connection with our community.
Election Results
First, I wish to express my thanks to so many of our citizens who have supported me in this past election. Election results are now final and Monterey County Elections has published the official tallies.
I will be continuing as mayor and Robert Huitt also returns to the council. Cynthia Garfield and Nick Smith will be joining as the new members after their very active outreach to meet residents and learn the issues.
They join Ken Cuneo, Rudy Fischer, and Bill Peake as the incumbent members. So please welcome all to their roles.
Council Meeting and Oath of Office – December 7
The main business of our Council meeting for this week is to seat the new council. That means we declare the results of the election and administer the oath of office for the four newly elected members. There will be a short break so that friends and family members can congratulate and extend best wishes to all.
During the break, we will reset the seating arrangements on the dais…nothing radical! Then we move into the business portion of the Agenda.
Council Business
We will hold a second reading to simplify a local campaign disclosure ordinance. We retain the cap on contribution amounts. However, we eliminate local language that is almost entirely redundant with much more clearly defined and very similar state law. Also, federal law has changed regarding campaign financing, and we cannot impose some of the restrictions that we have had in the past.
We will also hold a second reading to clarify call-up procedures following HRC, ARB, and Planning Commission decisions. Our current code gives the right for call-up and review of certain decisions. The clarifications will be more specific in how a call-up is initiated and ensure that it is timely so that applicants can rely on decisions within reasonable periods.
We will discussion an approach for a council workshop to be held at some time in January. Finally, we will select a Mayor Pro Tempore and we will consider and approve nominations to new council liaison roles and regional board representation.
I hope to see you there!
As always, thank you so much for your support. And feel free to contact me on any issue that you have concerns about.
Best wishes,
Bill Kampe
