(Photo: The book cover of "The Carmel Campaign Scrapbook: Special Commemorative Souvenir Edition", published in 1986 by Joanne Mathewson from Carmel.)
When Clint Eastwood decided to run for mayor in 1986, the movie star campaigned by attending 55 teas and coffee klatches in Carmel homes to meet small groups of voters and convince them he was serious. He was elected that April with 75 percent of the vote in a very heavy turnout. During the two exciting years of Mayor Clint, tourism in the already crowded village increased by 10 to 15 percent, City Council meetings had to move to an auditorium to accommodate sight-seeers, gifts and invitations poured into City Hall, and the organizers of a visit by Pope John Paul II took special precautions to keep the mayor out of camera range so his presence wouldn't upstage the pontiff. The city also restructured the Planning Commission, expanded Harrison Memorial Library, sued the water district for a larger allocation, built more public toilets, repaired beach stairs, and legalized take-out ice cream cones.
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