THE HIGH ROAD… Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council candidate Michael LePage might have won the election if the ballot had not contained an error, according to an analysis by the Monterey County Democrats. As first reported on www.montereycountyweekly.com, the Dems questioned the election results – showing LePage lost by 22 votes – because the ballot instructed voters to “Vote for two” rather than “Vote for no more than two.” At least 25 people would have voted for only LePage, rather than LePage and one of the two incumbents, if they had known it was leg al, the Dems report. At LePage’s request and in consideration of the city’s potential liability, the party will not take the issue to court. But the Dems encourage the city to move its special April election to the fall, to “ensure that the county’s experienced, professional staff will run all aspects of the election.” [KA]

CITIZENS CALL REGGIE’S FOUL… The Seaside Project Area Committee, made up of local property owners and residents within the downtown redevelopment area, voted 7-1 on May 6 to recommend that the City Council not re-authorize the city’s power of eminent domain, which expired April 20. PAC Chair Lawrence Samuels will present to the City Council at the public hearing May 15; the hearing continues June 5. Without the PAC’s recommendation, the Council needs four out of five votes to approve reauthorization. The outcome could affect slugger-cum-developer Reggie Jackson’s plans to build a hotel on the corner of Canyon Del Rey and Del Monte Boulevard. [KA]

LITTLE GUYS WIN… Chalk this one up as a victory for folks who like democracy – and the Carmel Valley Forum in its legal battle against the Local Agency Formation Commission. “LAFCO abused its discretion when it decided that incorporation of the Town of Carmel Valley was (1) a project and (2) that an EIR was required,” concluded Monterey Superior Court Judge Lydia Villarreal in her May 7 decision. As reported in previous Weekly stories about the ongoing incorporation fight, CVF sued LAFCO in 2006, arguing that LAFCO illegally stopped the Carmel Valley incorporation process and blocked citizens’ right to vote. No word yet on when, or if, CV residents will get to vote on the matter. “Our commission will consider this litigation matter in closed session on May 19,” says LAFCO executive office Kate McKenna, “and there may be some direction that comes out of that meeting.” [JL]