Three candidates vie for two Monterey City Council seats
The race for Monterey city council is tightening with two incumbents and one very familiar name all in the race for two open seats.
Updated: 9:00 AM PDT Oct 25, 2016
Caitlin Conrad
The race for Monterey city council is tightening with two incumbents, and one very familiar name all in the race for two open seats. Running for the jobs are current councilors, Libby Downey, and Alan Haffa, and former Monterey Peninsula Unified School District assistant superintendent Dan Albert. Downey has held her seat for 12 years and she is asking for your vote once again this November. "I am here for the overall good of the city of Monterey and will never be in a block voting situation because I am an independent thinker, and I do what I think is best for all, even if it costs me politically," the councilor said in an interview in September. Downey said water is the biggest issue facing Monterey and it's one she has been working on as a chair for the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency since 2008. However, Downey said one of her biggest accomplishments is getting the council to sign-off on hiring an outside negotiator to work out leases on Fisherman's Wharf. Wharf leases have sparked controversy this year with an eviction notice sent out to one lessee and another business owner threatening to demolish a building if suitable terms for a new lease cannot be reached. "We are working hard to try to keep them there, to be fair to them, to be fair to us, leases come to an end and after 50 years, some of them are coming to an end, so they do need re-negotiating," Downey said. The councilor said she thinks the new real estate professional the city has brought on board, thanks in part to her urging, will help things go more smoothly in the future. Also running for re-election is councilor Alan Haffa. Some of the accomplishments Haffa is most proud of include: raising awareness about homelessness, increasing the number of police officers on Monterey's force, and the adoption of community policing in Monterey. In an interview this September Haffa said the current council has been doing a good job and expressed that he wants to keep things moving forward. "We've made a lot of progress with adopting specific plans and we are seeing those plans result in new development, with the downtown, on Alvarado specifically we are seeing revitalization there," he said about improvements in Monterey during his term. Haffa said the greatest challenge he'd like to address if re-elected is affordable housing. "I keep hearing from senior citizens, working people, who are being priced out of their apartments, and we are currently taking public comment on different ideas to try to increase our housing stock, and I look forward to making progress on that issue," Haffa said. Haffa is a Monterey Peninsula College professor and he said he understands the challenges facing his students and young people when it comes to finding housing in the city. The issue of affordable housing in Monterey is something that also concerns candidate Dan Albert. Before retiring from the district offices Albert was the principal at Monterey High School.He said it's hard for his former students who have graduated to find housing in Monterey because of the cost. "I think it is important that we continue to have mixed use in the business communities, the commercial communities, and look at areas of the city that we can use affordable housing," Albert said in an interview last month. Albert said incentives can be given to developers to promote more affordable housing projects in the future. Albert's name is likely a familiar one. His father is the former mayor of Monterey, Dan Albert Senior, who served for two decades. The candidate said after spending years as an educator he is ready for city council. "Now that I am retired it is time for me to serve the citizens of Monterey and the Community," he said. The city of Monterey is not broken up into districts and voters in Monterey will be able to vote for no more than two candidates.
MONTEREY, Calif. —
The race for Monterey city council is tightening with two incumbents, and one very familiar name all in the race for two open seats.
Running for the jobs are current councilors, Libby Downey, and Alan Haffa, and former Monterey Peninsula Unified School District assistant superintendent Dan Albert.
Downey has held her seat for 12 years and she is asking for your vote once again this November.
"I am here for the overall good of the city of Monterey and will never be in a block voting situation because I am an independent thinker, and I do what I think is best for all, even if it costs me politically," the councilor said in an interview in September.
Downey said water is the biggest issue facing Monterey and it's one she has been working on as a chair for the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency since 2008.
However, Downey said one of her biggest accomplishments is getting the council to sign-off on hiring an outside negotiator to work out leases on Fisherman's Wharf.
Wharf leases have sparked controversy this year with an eviction notice sent out to one lessee and another business owner threatening to demolish a building if suitable terms for a new lease cannot be reached.
"We are working hard to try to keep them there, to be fair to them, to be fair to us, leases come to an end and after 50 years, some of them are coming to an end, so they do need re-negotiating," Downey said.
The councilor said she thinks the new real estate professional the city has brought on board, thanks in part to her urging, will help things go more smoothly in the future.
Also running for re-election is councilor Alan Haffa.
Some of the accomplishments Haffa is most proud of include: raising awareness about homelessness, increasing the number of police officers on Monterey's force, and the adoption of community policing in Monterey.
In an interview this September Haffa said the current council has been doing a good job and expressed that he wants to keep things moving forward.
"We've made a lot of progress with adopting specific plans and we are seeing those plans result in new development, with the downtown, on Alvarado specifically we are seeing revitalization there," he said about improvements in Monterey during his term.
Haffa said the greatest challenge he'd like to address if re-elected is affordable housing.
"I keep hearing from senior citizens, working people, who are being priced out of their apartments, and we are currently taking public comment on different ideas to try to increase our housing stock, and I look forward to making progress on that issue," Haffa said.
Haffa is a Monterey Peninsula College professor and he said he understands the challenges facing his students and young people when it comes to finding housing in the city.
The issue of affordable housing in Monterey is something that also concerns candidate Dan Albert.
Before retiring from the district offices Albert was the principal at Monterey High School.He said it's hard for his former students who have graduated to find housing in Monterey because of the cost.
"I think it is important that we continue to have mixed use in the business communities, the commercial communities, and look at areas of the city that we can use affordable housing," Albert said in an interview last month.
Albert said incentives can be given to developers to promote more affordable housing projects in the future.
Albert's name is likely a familiar one. His father is the former mayor of Monterey, Dan Albert Senior, who served for two decades.
The candidate said after spending years as an educator he is ready for city council.
"Now that I am retired it is time for me to serve the citizens of Monterey and the Community," he said.
The city of Monterey is not broken up into districts and voters in Monterey will be able to vote for no more than two candidates.