WATSONVILLE — A large crowd gathered inside the Watsonville City Council Chambers Tuesday evening to witness the annual swearing in of the new mayor and vice mayor.
Lowell Hurst, who has served as Watsonville’s mayor twice before, has taken up the position for 2018. First elected to the city council in 1989, Hurst has served on and off for many years. His most recent stint as mayor was in 2013.
Watsonville’s mayoral position has been on a rotating basis since 2014, with each city council member taking a turn every year. Former Mayor Oscar Rios, who has served for the past year, spoke right before the ceremony, thanking the Watsonville community for their support.
“Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity,” Rios said to the crowd. “I look forward to continuing to serve you on the council for the next few years.”
After Hurst presented Rios with an honorary gavel for his service, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Connolly took the floor, speaking briefly about Hurst and new vice mayor Jimmy Dutra.
Both Hurst and Dutra were then sworn in under oath.
Dutra, who was elected to the city council in 2014, was born and raised in Watsonville. On Tuesday he thanked a number of community members for their help on various projects and events, and said he would work his hardest for Watsonville in the next year.
“We have to continue to fight for what we believe in,” Dutra said. “And we believe in this community. I am so honored to be here right now.”
Hurst then spoke, acknowledging everyone who showed up to the meeting, thanking his family, and urging everyone to work together in the next year.
“We need to move forward,” Hurst said. “I know our town has the character, the personnel, and wonderful residents to make things happen. But we need to work together, compromise, and find what really works for our community.”
•••
At the close of the meeting, Councilwoman Rebecca Garcia asked if a performance review of City Manager Charles Montoya could be placed on a future agenda, which City Attorney Alan Smith said could happen if four councilmembers vote yes.
She said she spoke with former City Manager Carlos Palacios, who told her that an annual evaluation of city managers is a “common practice.” The city managers of Santa Cruz and Salinas are evaluated yearly, Garcia noted.
Montoya said contracts vary among city managers, and have different requirements on performance reviews.
“Anytime four councilmembers want to make that recommendation to have a performance review, I’m perfectly happy with that,” he said.
Hurst said the council needed clarification on the process to place items on the agenda.
“If you have some bone to pick with the city manager, you should have those discussions with him,” Hurst told Garcia. “I wish you would have those conversations prior to bringing it to the public.”
Garcia said all she was asking for is the “common practice of an annual review.”
“I don’t have any bones to pick with Charles,” she said. “If I did, I would talk to him about it. It’s just a process I think we should be following.”
•••
Pajaronian Managing Editor Erik Chalhoub contributed to this article.
