Hollywood is so 2008. Broadway, move over. The Pacific Grove Council Chambers has been the hot venue for political drama this year.

At the Sept. 16 council meeting, two weeks after the abrupt resignation of former mayor Dan Cort, Mayor Pro Tempore Vicki Stilwell dropped another bomb: Her family is moving out of town, and she’s resigning in two days. That left the council with an acting mayor to appoint and two pending council positions to fill.

The selection of a councilmember as mayor split the dais in two, with Stilwell and Deborah Lindsay backing Bill Kampe, and Alan Cohen and Lisa Bennett supporting Carmelita Garcia. A slight majority of residents stumped for Kampe, the more liberal of the two, a former Hewlett-Packard employee and relative P.G. newcomer stumping on environmental values and business acumen. But support was also strong for Garcia, a P.G. High alum whose decades of work on volunteer commissions and boards has earned her solid street cred among the city’s more conservative old guard.

Despite a passive dismissal of Kampe by Cohen and Bennett and a carefully composed tongue-lashing of Garcia by Lindsay, deliberations didn’t budge anyone, and ultimately the council resorted to a coin toss. The quarter landed tails-up, making Garcia the new mayor.

Two weeks later, 15 candidates made their bids for the two vacant council positions, which the council planned to fill at a special meeting Sept. 30 (past the Weekly’s deadline).

The applicant pool was heavy on males and light on youth, a mix of longtime P.G. politicos and earnest newbies. November 2008 council candidates Richard Ahart, Ken Cuneo and Dan Miller threw in their hats, along with Darlene Billstrom, a veteran activist on the city’s zoning and historic preservation issues. Newer to P.G.’s political landscape are Michael Gordon, a four-year Pagrovian with three decades of business management experience, and 24-year-old Jonathan Wizard, a P.G. High graduate with firefighting training.

Cynthia Garfield says her professional experience implementing California’s Mental Health Services Act gives her both policy and real-world experience, while retired General Electric executive James Quinn touts his support among P.G. residents. David Haugen, dad of two P.G. Middle School students, says he’s charmed by the community his family joined two years ago; and retired PGPD cop Richard Carp says he’s worked with all of the city’s departments.

Former P.G. Councilman Robert Huitt offers to dive back into rough seas, while Ed Lake, a retired human resources manager, pitches his creative skills. Henry Leinen and Rudy Fischer note their histories of volunteer service and city involvement, while former Carmel Fitness Center owner George Sullivan flexes his business management prowess.

Each candidate had five minutes to speak, and one minute to answer each question from the council. “They’ll hear from all the candidates, and then have discussion and nominations,” said Acting City Manager Jim Becklenberg (on temporary duty until new CM Thomas Frutchey steps in Oct. 5).

Candidates needed four out of five votes in order to be seated – a mandate forcing a break in the 3-3 split over the mayor’s appointment (before Stilwell’s resignation). If the council can’t achieve a four-member consensus by Oct. 18, Mayor Garcia makes the appointments.

Read about the meeting’s outcome at www.montereycountyweekly.com/pgcouncil.