Dennis Donohue elected mayor of Salinas
Dennis Donohue elected mayor of Salinas
A real produce man will soon lead the community known as the Salad Bowl of the World.
By a wide margin, Dennis Donohue, president of European Vegetable Specialties Farms Inc. in Salinas, CA, has been elected mayor of that city of 150,000 people and will take office early next month.
In unofficial figures, Mr. Donohue received 73 percent of the vote Tuesday, Nov. 7, while his opponent, Maria Giuriato, a Salinas councilwoman, received 27 percent.
"I was really humbled and honored by such a big victory," Mr. Donohue told The Produce News the day after the election. "It really was very gratifying."
This is Mr. Donohue's first elective office. He succeeds Anna Caballero, who held the job for eight years and was elected to the state Assembly.
Asked if he would be able to handle the mayor's job as well as his responsibilities at EVS, Mr. Donohue replied with a chuckle, "I need my day job. I'll still be running European Vegetable Specialties."
But noting that he is also chairman of the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce, he added, "A lot of my volunteer activities will obviously change a bit, but my year as the chair of the chamber was ending, so those sorts of things were winding down anyway."
Concerning his priorities once he is sworn in Dec. 5 as mayor, Mr. Donohue said, "I talked pretty exclusively [during the campaign] with the community about the needs for job creation, improving the business climate, addressing people's continuing concerns about public safety and the gang problem."
He added, "I will also be working hard on the image of the community. For Salinas, image, public safety and economic opportunity all go hand in hand. They're just all interdependent if you're going to be effective. You can't be effective on one front unless you're effective on all fronts."
With regard specifically to the produce industry, Mr. Donohue stated, "I think the big thing that I communicated is my top-line economic vision -- the Salinas Valley meets Silicon Valley. There's traditional economic development, and then there's a broader concept of economic opportunity, which I talked about. The reality is that this is a valley that has a lot of prosperity."
He added, "My hope is that we can bring agriculture really into the 21st century and leverage our proximity to the Silicon Valley and have a second green gold rush and really leverage our agricultural heritage, our geography and our climate. At the heart of what I talked about the community was [that] our ag heritage will serve us well for the future."
By a wide margin, Dennis Donohue, president of European Vegetable Specialties Farms Inc. in Salinas, CA, has been elected mayor of that city of 150,000 people and will take office early next month.
In unofficial figures, Mr. Donohue received 73 percent of the vote Tuesday, Nov. 7, while his opponent, Maria Giuriato, a Salinas councilwoman, received 27 percent.
"I was really humbled and honored by such a big victory," Mr. Donohue told The Produce News the day after the election. "It really was very gratifying."
This is Mr. Donohue's first elective office. He succeeds Anna Caballero, who held the job for eight years and was elected to the state Assembly.
Asked if he would be able to handle the mayor's job as well as his responsibilities at EVS, Mr. Donohue replied with a chuckle, "I need my day job. I'll still be running European Vegetable Specialties."
But noting that he is also chairman of the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce, he added, "A lot of my volunteer activities will obviously change a bit, but my year as the chair of the chamber was ending, so those sorts of things were winding down anyway."
Concerning his priorities once he is sworn in Dec. 5 as mayor, Mr. Donohue said, "I talked pretty exclusively [during the campaign] with the community about the needs for job creation, improving the business climate, addressing people's continuing concerns about public safety and the gang problem."
He added, "I will also be working hard on the image of the community. For Salinas, image, public safety and economic opportunity all go hand in hand. They're just all interdependent if you're going to be effective. You can't be effective on one front unless you're effective on all fronts."
With regard specifically to the produce industry, Mr. Donohue stated, "I think the big thing that I communicated is my top-line economic vision -- the Salinas Valley meets Silicon Valley. There's traditional economic development, and then there's a broader concept of economic opportunity, which I talked about. The reality is that this is a valley that has a lot of prosperity."
He added, "My hope is that we can bring agriculture really into the 21st century and leverage our proximity to the Silicon Valley and have a second green gold rush and really leverage our agricultural heritage, our geography and our climate. At the heart of what I talked about the community was [that] our ag heritage will serve us well for the future."
