CRA's Residents Candidates Forum

Our 2026 Forum was held
Tuesday September 15th at Carmel Woman's Club

At our 2026 Forum, Paul Miller owner and editor of the Carmel Pine Cone, moderated our pannel of five Candidates running for City Council. HERE is the Youtube of our this Forum.

Post Forum Press Coverage

HERE is the 9/18/26 Carmel Pine Cone issue, highlights from the Candidates Forum, on page 9, title is " Forum reveals Boland Exisit, Explores Candidates Views."
HERE is the 9/17/26 Monterey Weekly article "In Carmel, two are vying for mayor and three council hopefuls are campaigning for two seats"

Summary of Forum Topics (created by automation with time stamps) for quick access to topics of interest.

This 19th biennial CRA Candidates Forum (0:06), was held on September 15, 2026, at the Carmel Woman's Club. Moderated by Paul Miller of the Carmel Pine Cone.

The Forum began with each of the five candidates introducing themselves. David Boland and Hans Buder for Mayor, and Alissandra Dramov, Stefan Karapetkov, and Bobby Richards for City Council (1:34).

Key Topics Discussed:

City Governance & Infrastructure: Candidates discussed:

The role of ad hoc committees (15:55),
Thoughts on managing the backlog of capital projects (27:49),
The necessity of tax measures (Measure M and Measure N) to fund deferred maintenance (21:58).

Housing:

Implementation of the state-certified housing element (53:18) and
building programs to meet future needs (58:05).

Tourism Management: How to balance the city's dependence on tourism revenue with the quality of life for residents (40:02).
City Administration: The search for a new City Administrator (1:12:43), focusing on leadership, experience, and the need to reduce bureaucracy (1:16:31).
Public Safety: Fire preparedness, wildfire mitigation, and ongoing challenges with PG&E power outages (1:18:52).

Closing Statements (1:25:12 - 1:30:15): Each candidate provided a one-minute final statement summarizing their platform and vision for the city.

Conclusion (1:30:15 - 1:31:33): Final remarks from the moderator and instructions regarding the upcoming ballot distribution and the Sunset Center drobox location.

Qualified Candidates for Mayor (Vote for only one)

David Boland, Banking Executive - Candidate Statement of Qualifications Contact Info: www.davidforcarmelmayor.com
Hans Buder, Carmel City Councilmember - Candidate Statement of Qualifications Contact Info: www.hansbuderforcarmel.com | [email protected] | P.O. Box 5301, Carmel, CA, 93921

Qualified Candidates for Councilmember (Vote for no more than two)

Alissandra Dramov, City Council Member - Candidate Statement of Qualifications Contact Info: www.renewcarmel.com
Bobby Richards, Driving Instructor - Candidate Statement of Qualifications Contact Info: www.bobbyrichardscarmel.com | [email protected] | P.O. Box 5402, Carmel, CA, 93921
Stefan Karapetkov, Planning Commissioner - Candidate Statement of Qualifications Contact Info: www.karapetkovforcarmel.com | [email protected]m

Other opt out candidates - covered in the press, leading to the deadline.

Jeff Baron - no longer running for City Council, although pulled papers, has subsequently withdrawn (see press article below)
Dale Byrne - current Mayor; not running for re-election for Mayor
David Parker Logan, was in prior election cycles, pulled papers for mayor run this July, but has decuded not to continue this year.

Candidates Forum Program Format

5:00pm - doors open, grab waters and prepackaged snack items
5:30pm - program begins - with Graeme and Paul Miller
* 2 minute self-introductions in alphabetical order of each of our 5 Candidates
* then each question round will be allowed 1 minute response per Candidate
* the first Candidate to answer the question will rotate to the next person in alphabetical order
* finally, each Candidate will be asked to provide a 1 minute closing statement.
* If time allows, 5 “Lighting Round” questions will be asked , requesting a simple Thumbs Up or Down by all simultaneously
7:00pm - program ends with closing comments, and inviting all to mingle with Candidates and fellow attendees
8:00pm - doors close

Press Coverage

HERE is the 8/26/26 Carmel Pine Cone issue page 12 for article "See what the Canidates have to say - Voter Forums Planned"
HERE is the Carmel Pine Cone issue 8/14/2026 page 30 "Buder faces challenger after all"
HERE is the Carmel Pine Cone issue 7/31/2026 page 7 article "Incumbents running out of time to reup, Four candidates now qualify for ballot"
HERE is the 7/24/26 Carmel Pine Cone cover article " Baron won’t seek another term; Bobby Richards to join race"
HERE is the 6/19/26 Carmel Pine Cone article page 14, "Buder kicks off Mayoral Race"
HERE is the 4/10/26 Carmel Pine Cone cover article "Suddenly, everybody’s talking about race for mayor, council. Mayor, two council seats in play"

HERE is a 5/1/26 update on #'s of registered Village voters as provide in Carmel Pine Cone - page 18 "State reports record voter registration in advance of June 2 primary" Quote "...people registered to vote as of the beginning of April, 2,432 live in Carmelby-the-Sea."

Below provides prior year's 2020, 2022 and 2024 Candidates Forum links plus

Note: As an Organization and Board, the Carmel Residents Association
does not endorse any individual political candidate.

CRA's 2024 Forum was held - September 17th
MORE details on this Candidates Forum can be found HERE.

December 9th at City Hall - Special New Village City Council - Swearing In Ceremonies!

This is where it becomes official for Dale Byrne as our new Mayor, and when Hans Buder & Bob Delves will join as new Council Members! Dale, Hans and Bob are joined by existing council members Jeff Baron and Alisandra Dramov. We welcome their new insights and contributions as we support them on their journey in the days ahead. Thanks again to all of those who ran for office and those who've served.
HERE is the official Agenda, and details
HERE is the YouTube Video of this Ceremony with comments from outgoing and incoming too!
HERE is the Carmel Pine Cone article fom their Dec 13th Issue - covering the swearing in.

Below is from the Monterey County Election results as of Dec 6 2024.

CRA's 2022 CANDIDATES Forum Was Held ....September 21st

Our Candidates Forum YouTube link is HERE
Our full event page with program and candidate details is HERE
The post-CRA Forum wrap-up Carmel Pine Cone Article as a PDF is HERE
The cover page election results in the Carmel Pine Cone Issue from November 11th 2022 is HERE

CRA’S 2020 CANDIDATES FORUM - Was Held Thursday October 1ST - Held Online only due to the Pandemic

Our full event page with CRA Fourm program and candidate details is available HERE.
The 2020 Forum YouTube VIDEO Link is available HERE.
The Carmel Pine Cone wrote a great follow-up article on our Forum and it is available HERE. See page 9.
The Carmel Pine Cone cover page election results are in this November 6th 2020 issue HERE.