Update: Pacific Grove Candidate Forum
Updated: 2 days ago
On September 15, 2026, candidates for Pacific Grove City Council and mayor gathered at the Pacific Grove Performing Arts Center for a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce.
I participated as a candidate for Pacific Grove City Council District 3.
Below are my opening and closing statements, along with my responses to the questions raised during the forum and links to more detailed information about my positions on Pacific Grove issues.
Pacific Grove Issues Paper
You can also find my positions on Pacific Grove issues, along with more detailed information on the priorities shaping my campaign.
How we work together Get to know me and the experience I would bring to City Council:
Opening Statement: Pacific Grove Candidate Forum
First, I want to thank the League of Women Voters and the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce for putting this evening together.
It's a lot of effort to organize nights like this, and I appreciate everyone involved.
For those of you I haven't yet met, I'm Tara Leweling.
I first came to Pacific Grove in 1999, when I was assigned to the Naval Postgraduate School. I returned in 2004 to earn my PhD. It was here that I met my husband.
We came back here and got married, and after 22 years in the Air Force and senior roles in financial services for about a decade, I'm glad to call PG home.
That means that I've also experienced PG in many different ways.
As a renter, and a military officer who wanted to buy but couldn't, because I was priced out of the market.
As someone who returned to the city over and over again with a dream of making it my home.
And finally, now, as a homeowner, when I was finally in the circumstances to be able to allow it.
My husband likes to joke that my campaign is about being FOR sidewalks and AGAINST reducing protections of the bay. In many ways, that's true.
But the question that truly motivates me is this:
How do we ensure Pacific Grove is a vibrant community for people at every stage of life?
For me, that means protecting what makes PG extraordinary, while also ensuring people can build a life here. It means thinking creatively about housing and economic vitality.
It means investing in the infrastructure we all rely on, and it means caring for the coastline that makes this such a very special place.
Achieving all of this takes balance.
I know that well. I've served in senior executive roles and in governance roles in organizations ranging from $5 million nonprofits to billion-dollar companies.
That includes leading financial communications for a major insurer where we reported our financial performance quarterly to our shareholders.
What I hope you take away from tonight are three things:
that I listen carefully and make decisions grounded in facts,
that I dive deep to understand the problem we are trying to solve, and
that I value and seek out different perspectives.
As a member of the City Council, I'll work to build agreement, so that the paths forward that we choose stand the test of time.
Candidate Forum Questions and Answers
Eight questions were posed to each of the District 1 and 3 city council candidates by members of the public. My perspective is below. Click on the butterfly to expand.
Closing Statement
First, I want to reiterate my thanks to the League of Women Voters and the Chamber for organizing this forum tonight, and to everyone here who joined us.
We have great citizen participation in Pacific Grove, and tonight speaks volumes to how much every one of us cares about the city.
I'm a person who's experienced PG in many different ways. As a renter, as a homeowner, as a visitor who always wanted to come here.
And now I have the chance to be here, and I want to give back.
I'm also increasingly concerned that PG is a place where it's harder and harder for working professionals and families to settle here.
We have an 11-to-1 home price to income ratio.
That means the median prices for homes are 11 times the median income in our city.
If we don't address the housing affordability challenge, we'll be unable to attract and retain people across a range of ages and income levels to our city.
And that's an area I really want to focus on as we look forward.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here. If this is the kind of leadership you want for Pacific Grove, I'd be honored to have your vote.
Watch the Pacific Grove Candidate Forum - Districts 1 and 3
Watch the September 15, 2026 Pacific Grove Candidate Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce is below (Districts 1 and 3 only).
Disclaimer: Mention of external entities is for informational purposes only and does not imply endorsement.
