Mayoral candidate Dennis Donohue has great hopes for Salinas
Mayoral candidate Dennis Donohue has great hopes for Salinas
SALINAS, CA In Dennis Donohue's way of thinking, it defies logic that the top fresh produce city in the nation is not a player in biofuels and a whole array of emerging ag tech industries.
"Salinas is to fresh what Detroit is to cars," said Salinas native Mr. Donohue, president of Salinas-based European Vegetable Specialties Farms Inc. We are the center of the fresh world.
As mayor of Salinas, he would work to change that, he said. Mr. Donohue announced his candidacy for mayor Jan. 18. With the Nov. 7 election within sight, Mr. Donohue feels he has been able to draw community-wide support in this city of 150,000, where Latinos make up about 70 percent of the population.
Obviously theres strong ag business support for his candidacy, Mr. Donohue said.
Mr. Donohue won the 2005 Presidents Award from the California Library Association for his work on behalf of the Salinas Public Library. His effort was pivotal in the library crisis and last years successful passage of a tax measure that saved Salinas city services, including the entire library system. The library scenario was the catalyst for his decision to run for mayor, he said.
Salinas current mayor, Anna Caballero, recently won a Democratic race for state Assembly, so she will vacate the mayors office that she has held for eight years. To date, only Mr. Donohue and Salinas Councilwoman Maria Giuriato are in the running for mayor.
Mr. Donohue is a member of the board of directors of the Salinas- based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California. He is the newly installed chairman of the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce and has been active in the chamber for more than 20 years. He also is a former member of the Produce Marketing Associations foodservice board.
Mr. Donohue, 51, began in agribusiness in 1988. He worked for River Ranch, Fresh Express and Fresh Western before joining European Vegetable Specialties Farms in 1996. He became president of the company two years later and helped build EVS Farms into one of the larger growers of radicchio in the world. Earlier in his career, he spent four-plus years in high-tech in Silicon Valley with Atari and Microsoft in sales and account management positions. So while he may have his feet planted firmly in the soil, he has a predisposition to high-tech.
With an eye toward boosting Salinas economy, creating jobs and stemming the tide of businesses leaving the city, Mr. Donohue would like the city to develop opportunities in such areas as alternative energies, biofuels and packaging. The agricultural and plant base is a considerable lure for Silicon Valley venture capital money, he said. But he is quick to point out that he is not seeking to lure companies into moving from Silicon Valley and surrounding areas to Salinas. Rather, he wants to create an environment that nurtures new business within the city.
We have not been in the economic development game for many years, Mr. Donohue said. We need a land base to recruit industry. Ill go out and help recruit new business to the community.
One idea Mr. Donohue has been considering is to tie into the infrastructure and capitalize on Salinas fresh produce status by creating a world trade center in the city.
Mr. Donohue said that Mayor Caballero has been a fine mayor with a very real commitment to the city, adding that Salinas has been a victim of a difficult economy and state take-aways.
Mr. Donohue acknowledged that Salinas has real structural fiscal challenges but that the future breaks our way.
"Salinas is to fresh what Detroit is to cars," said Salinas native Mr. Donohue, president of Salinas-based European Vegetable Specialties Farms Inc. We are the center of the fresh world.
As mayor of Salinas, he would work to change that, he said. Mr. Donohue announced his candidacy for mayor Jan. 18. With the Nov. 7 election within sight, Mr. Donohue feels he has been able to draw community-wide support in this city of 150,000, where Latinos make up about 70 percent of the population.
Obviously theres strong ag business support for his candidacy, Mr. Donohue said.
Mr. Donohue won the 2005 Presidents Award from the California Library Association for his work on behalf of the Salinas Public Library. His effort was pivotal in the library crisis and last years successful passage of a tax measure that saved Salinas city services, including the entire library system. The library scenario was the catalyst for his decision to run for mayor, he said.
Salinas current mayor, Anna Caballero, recently won a Democratic race for state Assembly, so she will vacate the mayors office that she has held for eight years. To date, only Mr. Donohue and Salinas Councilwoman Maria Giuriato are in the running for mayor.
Mr. Donohue is a member of the board of directors of the Salinas- based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California. He is the newly installed chairman of the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce and has been active in the chamber for more than 20 years. He also is a former member of the Produce Marketing Associations foodservice board.
Mr. Donohue, 51, began in agribusiness in 1988. He worked for River Ranch, Fresh Express and Fresh Western before joining European Vegetable Specialties Farms in 1996. He became president of the company two years later and helped build EVS Farms into one of the larger growers of radicchio in the world. Earlier in his career, he spent four-plus years in high-tech in Silicon Valley with Atari and Microsoft in sales and account management positions. So while he may have his feet planted firmly in the soil, he has a predisposition to high-tech.
With an eye toward boosting Salinas economy, creating jobs and stemming the tide of businesses leaving the city, Mr. Donohue would like the city to develop opportunities in such areas as alternative energies, biofuels and packaging. The agricultural and plant base is a considerable lure for Silicon Valley venture capital money, he said. But he is quick to point out that he is not seeking to lure companies into moving from Silicon Valley and surrounding areas to Salinas. Rather, he wants to create an environment that nurtures new business within the city.
We have not been in the economic development game for many years, Mr. Donohue said. We need a land base to recruit industry. Ill go out and help recruit new business to the community.
One idea Mr. Donohue has been considering is to tie into the infrastructure and capitalize on Salinas fresh produce status by creating a world trade center in the city.
Mr. Donohue said that Mayor Caballero has been a fine mayor with a very real commitment to the city, adding that Salinas has been a victim of a difficult economy and state take-aways.
Mr. Donohue acknowledged that Salinas has real structural fiscal challenges but that the future breaks our way.
