Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue won't seek re-election

Leaving many city leaders stunned, Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue announced Friday he will not seek a fourth term in office.

Saying he needs to devote himself full time to his agriculture business, Donohue said the decision revolved around the "family-work equilibrium" and not on any health issues or political aspirations.

"Salinas is a full-time city," he said. "I've tried to be high energy ... and hopefully keep up with the city."

He said come December, he plans to devote himself to his radicchio business, Royal Rose.

Donohue, who was elected in 2006, has said for years that he would likely serve two or three terms.

Nonethless, the decision clearly surprised many who walked up to him in a South Salinas coffee shop late Friday.

City leaders also said they were taken aback by the news.

"I'm shocked," Deputy Police Chief Kelly McMillin said. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this."

Citing Donohue's leadership role in Salinas' gang violence intervention efforts, McMillin said he has concerns about the city's continuity of effort.

"We're at a really fragile place with all of our efforts with a lot of new initiatives. A lot of that was because of the drive and leadership of the mayor," he said. "Whoever follows will have a huge role to play. This was such a priority for him."

Being an effective mayor, McMillin said, is "not just a skill you pick up. You have to have a passion for it. Understanding the problem and engineering real

progress on it are two different things."

Donohue said his focus for the next nine months will be the same as it has been the past six years.

"Working to be a more peaceful community ... and a more prosperous community," he said.

Often quoting John F. Kennedy in his speeches, Donohue has long said his priority is to build "enduring structures," a reference to the Kennedy statement, "Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures."

"That quote has guided my thinking on the issue of peace since day one," Donohue said.

Donohue was instrumental in the growth of the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace, serving as its co-chair, and of the Mayor's Clergy Council and other "structures" he says he hopes will endure.

"The way forward for Salinas doesn't change," he said. "A lot of good people have been working hard on this for a very long time."

Throughout the day Friday, even those who worked closely with Donohue said the news was unexpected.

"It's a bit of a shock. He put in a lot of extra time on the job, so I'm not surprised that he talks about his work and his family," said Pastor Frank Gomez of the Mayor's Clergy Council.

"While I know he has his detractors out there, I think he's done a great job. He has put Salinas on the map by being known in the state, in Washington, D.C. And people know it in a good way ? they know about our problems but they know we've assembled a good team that's sustained itself. It's become a model and other people want to learn from us."

For the remainder of his term, Donohue said he plans to continue working on economic development for the city.

"The outlook appears reasonable for the next year, but with a five-year outlook, we're going to have to look at revenue enhancements," he said. Those could include incentives for businesses to relocate to Salinas or a renewal of tax measures such as Measure V.

Specifically, he said he wants the city to expand its tax base and get the Alisal Marketplace up and running.

"We have to work on business attraction and retention," he said.

Gomez said he had hoped Donohue would stay on the job at least two more years.

"I'm very sorry to hear that he's hanging it up at this point. I would have liked to see one more term," he said.

McMillin shared concerns about a shift in leadership at a critical point in the city's anti-violence efforts.

"The work that we're doing does not lend itself to elected terms," he said. "It's constant growth and dynamic change, and that growth needs to be shepherded and understood."

The city structure, he said, is "enduring, but what changes with leadership is vision and priorities. So that's the part that remains to be seen. I'm confident that anyone thinking of taking this job has to have violence prevention as a priority."

While he declined to anoint a potential successor, Donohue said he believes future leaders will continue the work.

He said it's a relief not to have to think about campaigning during his final nine months on the job.

When asked if he has plans for doing something fun after he steps down, Donohue appeared perplexed by the question.

After some thought, he replied, "I love Salinas. I've loved every minute of being mayor."

Visibly tired by day's end, he added, "It was a tough day. But it was the right thing to do."

Julia Reynolds can be reached at 648-1187 or jreynolds@montereyherald.com.

Source: http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_20041331/salinas-mayor-wont-seek-re-election?source=rss

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