By JIMMY DUTRA
We have seen politics hit an all-time low in our community. Behavior that has been more common at the national and state level has arrived in our local politics. It has moved from “what I can do for the people” into “how I can smear my opponent the most.” Instead of debating issues and pointing out facts and differences, some candidates have moved into spreading lies and misinformation in order to trick the voters.
I pride myself on being honest and value my integrity. As I have knocked on your doors for the last eight years since first being elected into office, we have spoken about the issues that most affect our community. As the District 4 city council member, we cleaned up the sloughs in our neighborhood and built a park in our district. Most recently on the city council I voted against a development that is intended to be constructed on toxic land. I put the health of our community first.
When Covid-19 was greatly impacting our city I fought hard as your mayor to obtain access to the vaccine. The vaccine was being utilized in the north part of our county while we were being disproportionately affected by this pandemic. This was not fair and I spoke up for all of us.
I have always been working hard for the people of our valley. As I have made decisions and created policy for our community, my actions and decisions at times were in conflict with the establishment. I will not be a rubber stamp for decisions coming out of our local government. Nor am I or would I be a puppet for special interest groups. I will absolutely work with everyone, but will not feel I have to owe my support or vote. I will award support when the decision is best for the community or organization as a whole.
This becomes problematic for these entities who are looking for a puppet. Thus, a target is placed on my back. Did I ever think three days before people began to vote in an election I would be blindsided by lies and untruths? Absolutely not. However, people do desperate things when they are faced with losing. After the June primary I was up by over 7%. As I continued knocking on doors after the primary I was connecting more and more with our community and our momentum was growing. I was feeling confident we were going to be the next voice to represent our valley.
Needless to say my opponent and his supporters conveniently pivoted the conversation away from discussing local issues, which they clearly would prefer not to discuss. They wanted to swim in a pool of misinformation and lies. All in order to distract the voters from having to talk about what is really facing our community.
It has been a week since we received that horrible and disgusting mailer from a dark money political consulting group out of Sacramento. This is the same group you received mailers in support of my opponent during the primary. Have we heard my opponent step up and say this is wrong? No we have not. I believe how we campaign is a reflection of the leader we would be.
Why does Sacramento and all this outside money want to get him elected? There is a reason they have been spending up to $100,000 against me. It is because I will not be a mouthpiece for their special interest buddies.
The voters have two very different choices. Someone who is owned by special interests or someone like me who owes no favors and can actually be a voice for all of us in the Pajaro Valley without reservation.
Democracy is so vulnerable right now. We need to protect it. This election our local democracy is on our ballot and it will be up to us to decide the future of our community.
Jimmy Dutra is a candidate for Fourth District Santa Cruz County Supervisor. His opinions are his own and not necessarily those of the Pajaronian.
Jimmy is correct. a target has been on his back ever since he first ran for city council. that is true for most LGBTQIA candidates, and it is true of me as well. I have defended both Jimmy and myself from repeated attacks from mostly anonymous haters now for years, on this website.
Democracy IS on the ballot.
I support Jimmy Dutra and ask that you vote for him Nov. 8.
Steve, you stupid fly. Your endorsement doesn’t help Dutra. He has enough problems. Go back to painting your hair.
Wendy, you have been after me for years. stupid fly? my constituents come to me for advice, and not only political advice. you have hated Dutra for years. For your info, many candidates for office have sought out my endorsement. so much for your foolish words. you tried to get me thrown off Nextdoor.com. did it work? NOPE.
if I want to color my hair, I will do so. I do not need beauty advice from you. every six weeks does the job. my hair does not look mousy. yours does. my curl is natural. go get a perm, it couldn’t hurt.
Hilarious. “Beauty tips from Steve.” Call Oprah. Let’s do a syndicated television show.
well, i can understand why you won’t run your photo. no one wants to see someone who impersonates a failed president from the 1870’s. you are clearly jealous that i go to each city council meeting and speak. i am glad it bothers you. you made my day. and your little gang of Dutra haters can just hate away. and as far as beauty tips, here is my favorite:
cant stand what you look at in the mirror ? BAG YOUR FACE. I like mine just fine , thank you very much.
You are wasting your time with Steve-O he is dumber than a snail.
I support the opponent, the humble Felipe Hernandez who served TWO terms as a medic in the Middle East. What had Jimmy done that even comes close? Nothing substantial.
Felipe protects and has fought for workers, the Dutra family has worked to prevent workers from organizing. I want a Supervisor I can trust to work hard to protect workers and students, housing and jobs, and that one we can trust is Felipe Hernandez.
This is my opinion, based on personal experience. I do not speak for the board of trustees at Cabrillo, or the college.
Cruzzer we all saw your hit pieces on this website. we all know how you hate Dutra. but like so many haters on this website, you HIDE IN ANONYMITY. if you are so proud of Felipe and so sure of your hatred for Dutra, why not say so USING YOUR REAL NAME AND IDENTITY ? i do that with every post I make here. I am transparent. many haters of Dutra are not, and they hide in cowardice, like you.
Felipe has not made any effort to work with me on any Cabrillo issue. my emails go unanswered. he will not even commit to having board meetings twice a year at our Watsonville campus, after he PROMISED me he would.
when i proposed a student center on our Watsonville campus for Asian American and Pacific Islander students, he said i had “blind slided him”. REALLY ? what about equity for our AAPI population ?
perhaps if Felipe showed up for more meetings, and on time, he would have more credibility. He did not show up for our first graduation in 3 years last May. ( I was the only male trustee to hand out diploma covers and speak to students) .
It is easier to pad your resume with a job that has only passing interest to you when you are waiting around for a better paying job to come up in the future.
you need to reevaluate .
excuse me, but you do not get to use an office just to get another one, while ignoring your duties on your current elected job . that is what Felipe is doing now. I know. I am the other trustee for Cabrillo college. i hear the crickets whenever his name is called to vote on Zoom. i know what i have experienced in the last 2 years. and you have not been part of it. so you need to listen to the OTHER trustee from Watsonville.
and he sure did not seem too interested in Asian American and Pacific Islander students at our Watsonville campus when i proposed a student center for them, again, he told me that i “blind slided him”. what nonsense.
Deflection at its finest. What is dark money? Where did you get your $100,000 figure from? What case did you win against your dads partner? What ever happened to Dutra farms? All facts I can’t find sources to. Please provide sources and be transparent.
Your stories are far fetched and quite frankly a page out of D. Trumps handbook. You are not important enough for “big establishments” and “dark money” to scheme against you to take you down. That’s a typical crutch to distract people from the fact that you have a lawsuit against you for child molestation. We all know a random person isn’t going to put themselves through the legal system for no reason. Delusional. Less than 2% of reported sex crimes are false. Statistics are in favor of the victim.
If this is all a conspiracy to take you down by the dark magic warlords. Why haven’t you taken legal action? Because you can’t back up what you’re saying.
Your past seems questionable. No longtime job. Claims to have extensive knowledge in farming but spent most of your life in big cities. Allegations of child molestation – while working in a school with vulnerable children with bare minimum credentials. Found guilty of a hit and run. The more I read about you the more I say hmmm… what kind of guy are you without the mask?
This buffoon knows as much about farming as he does about building a spaceship and flying to Jupiter. By the way, at the October 19 candidate forum, the liar claimed he owns farmland. Is that a fact? We will soon see. The very next day a complaint with the FPPC was filed citing his October 19 statement (proven by a video snippet from the forum) and the Commission’s attention was drawn to his failure to list his supposed farmland on his Form 700. Most of his lies aren’t perjury. Deliberately filing a false Form 700 is perjury. PS to Greg Caput: We miss you already!
yes, he owns farmland. are you his accountant? his realtor? his mommy? you have been hating on Jimmy for years. and i am now part of your little “I HATE” club. i wear that badge with honor. you have NO credibility.
Does he need an accountant? Does he need a realtor? He doesn’t need a mommy. He has Mother Teresa. By all accounts, she makes the mother character in the Manchurian Candidate look like Mother Goose by comparison.
Hey pay attention, dummy. If he owns farmland it is required to be disclosed on his Form 700. But, farmland does not appear anywhere in his Form 700. Therefore, there are only two possible logical conclusions. Either he is lying on his Form 700 to hide his interest in farmland (that will be affected by the next county supervisor) OR he is lying to the general public by falsely claiming that he is the “only one in this campaign who owns farmland” (don’t argue that he didn’t say that; it is proven by the video of the candidates forum on October 19). Again, there are only two possible LOGICAL conclusions—although I have no doubt that you will not comprehend either but will dream up a dozen illogical conclusions in a futile attempt to cover for your stupidity.
I noticed that on his form 700 as well. He didn’t disclose anything.
Don’t try to reason with Steve “Cabrillo” Trujillo. Reason and Steve are perpetually at odds.
read about my experience with my neighbor today. once again, you are wrong about me. but that is OK. you do not know me anyway.
I am not stupid. the voters proved that in 2020, despite your nasty efforts . i won with more than 60 percent of the vote. and i muted you on nextdoor.com after you tried to get me excluded from the website. what a dummy you are! . and guess what? i am doing the same on the Pajaronian. read what i wrote about the topic of this editorial and take heed.
when you finally reach adulthood I will listen to you. for now, GOODBYE !
Wtf? So you just ignore facts? You shouldn’t be a teacher either.
I do not ignore facts. i retired from my profession in 2013. and you have no right to tell me otherwise. who the hell are you to tell me about my former career? NOBODY.
read what i wrote below. no one is more dissimilar to trump than Dutra,
Neither of them had a father who could say NO. Each of them has a shocking sense of self-entitlement, as a result. Trump and Dutra. Two peas in a pod.
really? is that why he worked years to get a teaching credential ? so did I. we do not do that because we feel “entitled”. what garbage ! if you want 2 peas in a pod, look at the other candidate that ran for supervisor in June and his political idol, TRUMP . that makes sense. you do not.
He carried a 30 day substitute teaching PERMIT. That takes years to get?
he has a credential. a permit is all that is required for a substitute position. and you do not know what his credentials are, as you are not his lawyer, his manager , his accountant or anyone that has access to h is personal info.
Neither of them had a father who could say NO. Each of them has a shocking sense of self-entitlement, as a result. Trump and Dutra. Two peas in a pod.
Dutra was an employee of PVUSD until recently. but the civil lawsuit ( nor criminal charges involved) made it uncomfortable to keep him employed. since there was NO police report against him, or any other legal action against him, he was able to get a CA teaching credential a few years ago.
how do I know? I went through the process 4 times, as i earned 4 different teaching credentials in CA. and what he earned is NOT a “bare minimum credential”. you know nothing about the process, clearly. listen to someone who does: ME.
and he was never found guilty of a hit and run. this is imaginary fodder to feed the Dutta haters like you.
The legal action against regarding the Dutra farm and the former partner went on for years. what is where the money comes from. and ex step bro wants a big piece of that , apparently.
do you think Watsonville does not have greedy people like Trump ? guess again.
He had a 30 day substitute teaching pass for the school year. Then he contradicts himself by saying he’s in the classroom everyday.
Yes he was. Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco Case No. CGC 12 521593 Bella Babchin Et Al v. James Michael Dutra Et Al. Look it up.
And who’s the ex-step brother? This is a new character to his web of lies… or your pure incompetence to be able to read and understand who is who. Until you can show me a lawsuit for this “contentious 6 year lawsuit” I don’t want to hear it. Talk is cheap, provide facts.