Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter is ready for Round Three, announcing this morning that he intends to run for a third two-year term in the November 8 election.
“My announcement comes earlier than usual because it seems these campaigns have become longer and longer. I want to make sure that my supporters are certain of the future as I make the rounds of meetings and events. Actually, for me, it is business as usual, working with the community to make it safer and more prosperous,” Gunter said. “We’ve come a long way at City Hall, but there’s still work to be done.”
Here are some accomplishments of the past four years:
· Passage of Measure G two years ago gave the City additional revenue to beef up public safety (authorizing the hiring of 40 more police officers, and a disaster was averted in oldtown as fire staffing and equipment contained the Bruhn fire), a start on public works projects to fix streets and sidewalks and to invest in energy efficiencies in solar panels and LED street lights to reduce energy costs.
· The City is also in the forefront in recycling agricultural-wash water to augment area water supplies, and in making the Salinas Valley a world leader in agricultural technology.
· Expansion of El Gabilan Library, soccer fields at Constitution Park and Chinatown revitalization are in the works.
“My vision for Salinas doesn’t stop with the accomplishments of the past. We need more police officers on the streets, more fire equipment, moving the waste transfer station out of town to redevelop the Alisal area, programs in partnership with school districts for after-school recreation and study, establishment of senior centers and a makeover of our parks so they are more usable, including creation of a Carr Lake park.”
“I want to finish what I have started, particularly in terms of public safety, job creation, bringing business to Salinas and leading the way in solving problems, including increasing city revenue with two tax measures (sales tax and utilities tax), water supply projects, flood prevention, and redevelopment of areas long-promised but unfulfilled,” Gunter said. “I’m the person who can finish the job.”
said. “We need to keep that momentum going. That’s why I am asking our residents to keep me in office.”
Mayor Gunter, 69, has a lengthy resume that includes years of both work and volunteer service for many Salinas organizations. He served 32 years on the Salinas police force, primarily as a homicide detective, and he owns a private investigation agency with his wife, Lisa Eisemann, who also owns and operates a Salinas dance studio.
