Watsonville City Councilman Jimmy Dutra has fended off a challenge from Trina Coffman-Gomez to hold onto his Sixth District seat, garnering a weighty 54% of the 2,321 votes in the race, results released Friday showed.
“I’m really excited,” he says. “The people have spoken, and they spoke really loud.”
Dutra says his victory came thanks to his advocacy for the Sixth District while on the board, which was evidenced by discussions he had while on the campaign trail.
“I went out there and I knocked on doors,” he says. “We talked about the issues; that’s what people want to talk about. They’re concerned how their lives are being affected in their neighborhoods.”
The Sixth District runs from Green Valley Road and is bordered by Freedom Boulevard, Arthur Road and Marin and Madison streets in the west.
Dutra says his constituents are made up of varying demographics with a wide array of concerns.
“My district is huge, and all their issues are different,” he says. “And the fact that I know what the issues are that are facing each section of my district—and I work with them all—people really appreciate that.”
During his time on the board Dutra says he dealt with problems of illegal camping in the parking lot of the former Kmart on Freedom Boulevard, until that property was purchased by the company that owns Vallarta Supermarkets.
“I cleaned that up,” he says. “I worked with the city and the owners, we barricaded the parking lot so people couldn’t be racing in it. We moved out all the people who were living behind the building. And I worked with the city to get somebody good in there.”
Dutra also says he hopes to get a handle on the development in the area of Blanca and Atkinson lanes.
“People feel that they are getting pushed out of Watsonville,” he said. “That is a big concern.”
“They see me fighting for them and they like that.”
In addition, Dutra says he worked with city officials to address a string of vehicle burglaries around Brewington Road and Martinelli Street, and helped bring safety features to roads in his district.
“I have been hands-on in every part of my district, and people see that,” he says.
Dutra’s win comes in spite of a recent civil court case in which a jury found him liable for damages caused by alleged sexual abuse for an incident in 2005 and ordered him to pay more than $1 million. The verdict was not a criminal conviction. Dutra has denied the allegations, and says he plans to appeal.
As he looks forward to his new two-year term, Dutra says he is looking to implement a $1.9 million plan to revamp the city’s streetlights, based on a recently completed lighting study.
“A lot of these streets are really dim, and the lighting is aged,” he says. “We have some dark streets, and people want to feel safe.”
He also says he wants to strengthen the city’s Economic Development Department and fix the roads in the Sixth District.
In addition, Ramsay Park is getting a massive facelift, which will be followed by the City Plaza and Callahan Park.
“I never see myself as council member Dutra,” he says. “I’m just Jimmy, and that’s how I portray myself, because I don’t see myself differently than one of my neighbors. I just happen to be the voice for us.”