Tag Archives: Luke Coletti

Luke Colletti’s Initiative To Allow Voters Decision To Increase Council Pay

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Coletti’s move comes after the P.G. City Council in May 2025 gave itself the raise — after rejecting requests to allow voters to decide — and considered giving itself medical coverage, both of which drew significant opposition from residents.

Council members sought to increase their monthly stipends from $420 to $966 and from $700 to $610 for the mayor, which would have cost taxpayers about $50,000 annually, and more with benefits. Members Lori McDonnell and Paul Walkingstick voted against the pay hike, which was facing overwhelming opposition from the public. Mayor Nick Smith declined to comment on Coletti’s initiative.

Luke Colletti’s Initiative To Allow Voters Decision To Increase Council Pay

Council Spends $140,000 To Find More Money

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What kind of wild hiss quackery is this? Say no if you get polled.

City Hall

The Pacific Grove City Council has approved paying a consultant more than $140,000 of taxpayers’ money to come up with ways to collect more from taxpayers.

After councilmembers in May gave themselves a 130 percent pay hike to significant public criticism, the group Transparent Pacific Grove led a successful citizen referendum to challenge the raise — something noted by former city councilman and group leader Luke Coletti in a Nov. 29 letter to the city. “As you know, Pacific Grove voters recently rejected [the pay raise] through the referendum process, clearly expressing opposition to increasing council compensation,” Coletti wrote. “This makes the inclusion of council stipends within a taxpayer-funded consulting contract especially concerning.”

Council Spends $140,000 To Find More Money

Squids Got Ties To Ojai

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Squid

Another day, another Weakly hit piece on Luke Coletti for having held ex–City Manager Ben Harvey accountable. Here’s what Squid (Pam Marino) won’t mention: multiple Ojai employees—many of them women—have filed complaints against Harvey for workplace harassment and discrimination.

The record is damning:
Three complaints already filed
A fourth complaint pending
All involve harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and other unlawful conduct
Instead of attacking oversight, maybe ask why Ben Harvey keeps generating complaints from Ojai city staff.

See for yourself:

Complaint #1
Complaint #2
Complaint #3

Squids Got Ties To Ojai

Weak Peak Begs To Not Ink

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Don’t sign, he does not want the admit that there are as many people opposed to the sneaky way the raise was approved.

“We’re about 40% over the required 10% [of signatures],” said Coletti, who went on to say that the council went around state law to grant themselves the raise.

Addressing the rest of the Pacific Grove City Council during the meeting on June 18, Mayor Bill Peake urged for people’s support by not signing the petition.

“Don’t sign the petition… council has a lot of obligations and it’s not always easy,” he said. “So, show your support for council, don’t sign it.”

Weak Peak Begs To Not Ink

Not So Fast For That 130% City Council Pay Increase

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We have people acting as if serving on the council is some kind of full time career.

Pay Raise Signatures

P.G. City Council, led by Mayor Nick Smith, voted 5-2 in favor of an increase based on Senate Bill 329, passed in 2023, which amended state law on compensating councilmembers. The changes allow for a five-percent increase per year since the last increase, in P.G.’s case, 1998. It means councilmembers would see an increase from $420 to $966 per month. In the mayor’s case the increase is $700 to $1,610. In either case, it’s a 130-percent increase.

That pushback came two weeks later in the form of a referendum filed by former councilmember Luke Coletti, representing a group called Transparent Pacific Grove. Citing projected budget challenges in the coming years, Coletti called for the decision to go to the voters in an election or be rescinded by the council.

Opponents of the referendum have suggested that some volunteers were incorrectly telling people that the increase in compensation included health care and future raises. Former mayor Bill Peake brought up the question during a council meeting on June 18. Coletti clapped back, accusing Peake and others of spreading disinformation.

Not So Fast For That 130% City Council Pay Increase

All Those Opposed To The Self-Awarded Pay Hike, Sign The Referendum

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City Hall

A group of residents opposed to the Pacific Grove City Council’s decision last week to give itself an immediate 130 percent pay raise is hoping to overturn the idea by putting it to a vote of the people. The council on May 21 passed an ordinance to increase their monthly pay from $420 to $966, and from $700 to $1,610 for the mayor. Councilmembers Lori McDonnell and Paul Walkingstick voted against the pay hike.
In response, a group calling itself Transparent Pacific Grove filed referendum paperwork with the city clerk May 23. Former city councilman Luke Coletti filed the documents for the group.

All Those Opposed To The Self-Awarded Pay Hike, Sign The Referendum

2024 Elections

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Mayor –
Nick Smith (W) 2,344 votes.
Dan Miller 1,715 votes.

Council –
Luke Coletti 2,490 votes.
Chaps Poduri 2,519 votes.
Paul Walkingstick 1,707 votes.
Tina Rau 2,460 votes.
Carmelita Garcia 1,185 votes.
Chilla Kartalov 798 votes.

Measure B, another school bond wins
Measure Q, The anti-timeshare measure wins.
Measure Z, reduce the size of the city council fails.

School Board President winner is Mike Wachs, a come-here who lost a bid for Mayor in 2022.

2024 Elections

 

City Council Candidates Controverting Concerns

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Five of six candidates for Pacific Grove City Council debated the town’s most pressing topics Sept. 17 at Monarch Pines Resort. Those speaking included Luke Coletti, Paul Walkingstick, Tina Rau, Carmelita Garcia and Chaps Poduri. The only candidate absent was Chilla Kartalov. An incumbent member of the city council, Coletti told the audience he is running for reelection because “I want to continue to preserve the residential character of our community and the quality of life we share. “

City Council Candidates Controverting Concerns

The Weakly Gangs Up On Coletti

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Luke is doing the job no one else would do – hold others accountable.

Coast Weakly

That Coletti and Harvey were pitted against each other was unsurprising to anyone observing Pacific Grove city government. But there’s a pattern: At least three other similar claims of workplace harassment have been filed by city staff members against Coletti. Two remain under active investigation.

Beyond that, multiple staff members have departed from City Hall. Former housing manager Anastacia Wyatt left for the City of Monterey; former community development director Alyson Hunter left for Marina. In a resignation letter in 2022, Hunter cited “aggressive questioning” as a reason for her departure.

Tough questioning is one thing. Workplace bullying is another. And Coletti seems intent on continuing to cross that line.

The Weakly Gangs Up On Coletti

Ben Harvey Gets Butt-Hurt Over Demands That He Do His Job

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So the city’s distant city manager has a $40,000 investigation of Luke Coletti take place, only to have the complaints sustained.

And just who leaked the “documents provided to the Weekly via an anonymous source”? Either Ellis Investigations or Ben Harvey himself.

harvey-tshirt

In January, Harvey filed a harassment complaint with the city’s human resources director. The city entered into a contract with Ellis Investigations on Feb. 11 to investigate the complaint, not to exceed $40,000, according to documents provided to the Weekly via an anonymous source.

Harvey’s three allegations against Coletti were sustained, according to an email sent on Oct. 10 from Harvey to the special counsel

Ben Harvey Gets Butt-Hurt Over Demands That He Do His Job