PG Progressives has endorsed Nick Smith, Cynthia Garfield, Lori McDonnell, Megan Whilden, and YES votes on Measures K, R, and E for the November 3, 2026 General Election.
These recommendations reflect the club's priorities of affordable housing, strong public schools and services, environmental protection, inclusion, civil rights, and accountable government.
All seven endorsements align with the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee's published list. Though our outcomes align, the two organizations ran separate endorsement processes.
Why the club made these endorsements
Nick Smith for Pacific Grove Mayor
The club's assessment emphasizes Smith's work on housing, infrastructure planning, regional water issues, and responsible city finances. During his tenure, Pacific Grove secured certification of its Housing Element and established a five-year capital-improvement plan. His service on the Monterey One Water board included support for the Pure Water Monterey expansion. His stated priorities include implementing the city's Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, maintaining streets and sidewalks, protecting the coastline, and sustaining essential services.
Luke Coletti, registered without a party preference, is ineligible for club endorsement. PG Progressives also opposes his candidacy outright. An outside investigator substantiated three allegations in a 2022 harassment complaint filed against Coletti by former City Manager Ben Harvey. The Monterey County Weekly later reported that at least three additional city staff members had filed similar complaints against Coletti, though the available reporting does not state that those additional complaints were substantiated. The Harvey investigation, the legal guidance it required, and his subsequent outside performance review cost the city roughly $96,000, part of a broader conflict that ultimately cost Pacific Grove more than $534,000. Read the Weekly's original cost reporting. By contrast, Nick Smith has proven himself the more responsible steward of Pacific Grove's tax dollars.
Cynthia Garfield for Pacific Grove City Council, District 1
Garfield received unanimous support among the 30 counted ballots.
Her platform centers on expanding housing choices through targeted density, streamlined permitting, legalizing safe unpermitted ADUs, smaller townhomes, and shared housing, alongside environmental protections, immigrant protections, accessible council compensation, regulated cannabis retail, and a formal process for reviewing complaints of council misconduct. She also emphasizes safer streets, improved sidewalks, park and shoreline care, efficient services, responsible infrastructure investment, and asking visitors to help fund the city's upkeep.
Kevin Hanley, the Republican candidate, is ineligible for club endorsement. In his campaign video, Hanley calls the coastal trail's erosion a council failure and pledges to "push for" the construction of new stone retaining walls to stop it. But the city's Local Coastal Plan generally prohibits retaining walls, permitting them only for public trails as a last resort under strict Coastal Commission guidelines, which is why the city has instead relocated trail and parking infrastructure away from the erosion zone near Point Piños. The Coastal Commission's own staff has said Pacific Grove "is not starting from scratch on these issues," citing its 2020 Shoreline Management Plan.
Hanley also says in the video that the council has "done really nothing" on wildfire risk at George Washington Park. Pacific Grove is in fact one of only 42 California cities on the 2026 Fire Risk Reduction Communities List. On August 27, the city announced council-directed maintenance at George Washington Park scheduled for September, including clearing footpaths, reducing organic debris, and addressing invasive plants, poison oak, and wildfire fuel loads. Read the city's announcement.
The club concludes Garfield's platform reflects a command of the facts and Coastal Commission rules that Hanley's campaign has yet to demonstrate, and offers the more detailed approach to environmental planning, infrastructure, inclusion, and accountable government.
Lori McDonnell for At-Large City Council
The club cites McDonnell's experience and her positions on affordable housing, environmental action, and city government reforms including a diversity, equity, and inclusion advisory committee, immigrant protections, disability access, and remote participation in public meetings. Her housing proposals include requiring affordable units in new development, pursuing a low-income housing project with funding partners, and working regionally to help residents remain housed. She also supports climate progress reporting, solar infrastructure, coastal adaptation, and the expansion of the city's tree canopy.
The endorsement wasn't unanimous. McDonnell opposed the council-compensation increase PG Progressives has defended, and members who abstained later told club leadership that they questioned whether she would stand up to Luke Coletti when necessary, citing what they viewed as her past reluctance to challenge his conduct. McDonnell earned the endorsement with 23 affirmative votes, and the club's support carries the expectation that she uphold its values in practice, including a willingness to confront bullying and harassment rather than remain silent in the face of them.
Megan Whilden for Monterey County Board of Education, Area 1
The club's assessment emphasizes Whilden's community leadership and commitments to inclusive public education, immigrant families, educator recruitment and retention, and adequate school funding. Her background includes nonprofit leadership, public service, coalition building, and community advocacy, and her priorities connect educational resources to the stability, belonging, and supported educators students need to succeed.
Local ballot measures
YES on Measure K. The club's support reflects its commitment to fully funded public education and to protecting the students who need the most support. Measure K is an $85 annual parcel tax for five years, raising roughly $800,000 a year for reading and math programs, services for students with disabilities, affordable before- and after-school care, and student mental-health counseling, exactly the kind of locally controlled, protected funding schools need when state and federal support falls short. Spending on administrator salaries, pensions, or benefits is prohibited, and expenditures must be publicly disclosed. Needs two-thirds voter approval. Read Monterey County's official measure information.
YES on Measure R. The club's support reflects its long-standing view that Pacific Grove's essential services, streets, storm drains, parks, and emergency response should be funded sustainably and equitably, including asking the millions of annual visitors who use those services to help pay for them. Measure R is a 0.375% sales tax for 10 years, raising about $1 million a year for the city's general fund. It requires independent audits and keeps every dollar under local control. Read Pacific Grove's official Measure R information.
YES on Measure E. Like Measure R, the club's support here reflects the view that visitors, not residents, should shoulder the cost of the county services their stays require. Measure E raises the lodging tax in unincorporated Monterey County from 10.5% to 12.5%, generating about $7.6 million a year for infrastructure, emergency services, healthcare, job development, and homelessness reduction. It's paid entirely by guests staying in unincorporated areas and doesn't apply to lodging taxes in incorporated cities like Pacific Grove. It stays in effect until voters choose to end it. Read Monterey County's official measure information.
Races with no endorsement
Not endorsing isn't a statement of opposition. Every contest needs at least 20 non-abstaining votes to produce one.
City Council, District 3. Tara Leweling declined endorsement consideration after reviewing Hatch Act guidance; her absence reflects that choice, not rejection. Susan Goldbeck received two votes, Andrew Kubica none, and 28 members abstained.
City Council, District 5. Chris Thomas received five votes and 25 members abstained. The club recognizes his financial-management experience and Library Advisory Board service. On governance, he supports an independently enforced code of conduct with public disclosure of complaint-related costs, and favors giving the City Manager a role in appointing the DEI Task Force. His positions remain unclear on affordable housing, immigrant protections, and surveillance technology.
PGUSD Trustee, Area 1. Stephen Bennett received all 19 non-abstaining votes cast, with 11 members abstaining, one vote short of the threshold. His responses support inclusive education, evidence-based review of challenged materials, protections for immigrant students and families, workforce-housing partnerships, and family-support programs. Chuck Brinker did not respond to the club's endorsement questionnaire.
Dan Miller, registered without a party preference, is ineligible for club endorsement. As with Coletti, PG Progressives opposes his candidacy outright. Miller's podcast has amplified content associating LGBTQ+ people with grooming and sexual exploitation, dismissing LGBTQ+ student participation and Pride representation, mocking gender identity, and criticizing DEI, raising serious concerns about the climate he'd help create for students, educators, and families on the school board. Our members aren't alone in that assessment: in its 2024 mayoral-race endorsement, the Monterey County Weekly editorial board called Miller's temperament "disqualifying" and his politics "retrograde." Read the Weekly's 2024 endorsement editorial.
Endorsement results
| Contest | Votes to endorse | Abstentions | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Grove Mayor | Nick Smith: 26 | 4 | Smith endorsed |
| City Council, District 1 | Cynthia Garfield: 30 | 0 | Garfield endorsed |
| At-Large City Council | Lori McDonnell: 23 | 7 | McDonnell endorsed |
| City Council, District 3 | Goldbeck: 2, Kubica: 0 |
28 | No endorsement |
| City Council, District 5 | Chris Thomas: 5 | 25 | No endorsement |
| PGUSD Trustee, Area 1 | Bennett: 19, Brinker: 0 |
11 | No endorsement |
| County Board of Education, Area 1 | Megan Whilden: 28 | 2 | Whilden endorsed |
| Measure K | YES: 27, NO: 0 | 3 | YES endorsed |
| Measure R | YES: 26, NO: 0 | 4 | YES endorsed |
| Measure E | YES: 26, NO: 0 | 4 | YES endorsed |
An abstention is not a vote against a candidate or measure. It means a member chose not to cast an endorsement vote in that contest.
How we voted
PG Progressives had 67 active, dues-paying members when voting took place. Thirty-four submitted ballots, representing 50.7% of the active membership; 30 were ultimately counted, representing 44.8%. Voting ran electronically August 31 through September 6, and members received a guide drawn from candidate submissions, official records, campaign materials, public meetings, and reporting, laying out each candidate's strengths, concerns, and open questions.
To vote, a member needed at least 30 days of membership, Democratic registration where eligible, and participation in at least one club activity in the preceding 12 months, the same eligibility standard set out in the club's bylaws. Post-vote eligibility review, conducted without access to selections, excluded four ballots: one for insufficient membership length and three for no participation in the preceding 12 months. This changed the preliminary outcome only in PGUSD Trustee, Area 1; every other result held.
Consistent with the club's bylaws, the electronic process required at least 20 eligible members participating overall, at least 20 non-abstaining votes in each contest, and two-thirds support among the non-abstaining votes.
What these results represent
PG Progressives is Pacific Grove's all-volunteer, member-led Democratic club, chartered by the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee. Our members include renters, homeowners, students, retirees, educators, workers, small-business owners, professionals, Democratic Party delegates, community volunteers, and local elected leaders, each with one vote, regardless of title or office. These results represent the participating membership of PG Progressives.
The general election is November 3, 2026. Litigation over new federal mail-ballot requirements remains ongoing. Returning your ballot early to an official drop box avoids the transit time of return mail. Check Monterey County Elections for current drop-box locations and hours.
