City of Salinas Government News

Gloria De La Rosa knows how to throw a party. To the sound of live mariachi, Tex-Mex and cumbia music, she awaits the results of the Nov. 5 election. Even before the results come in, the atmosphere is festive with drinks flowing and supporters dancing on the dance floor at 201 Main in downtown Salinas.

While five seats on the Salinas City Council are on the ballot Nov. 5, there is also attention on the two councilmembers who are not up for reelection this year.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about the new opportunities teens in Salinas will have to get involved in their community and city government.

In recent months the city of Salinas has seen an increase in pedestrian fatalities, including the death of a 3-year-old in July, after a driver ran a red light on East Alisal Street.

With Election Day approaching Nov. 5, Salinas City Council might experience more of the same direction – or a sharp shift. Five out of seven seats are up for grabs, including the mayor.

A meet-and-greet in Salinas at Mountain Mike's Pizza on Tuesday, Oct. 1 for Aurelio Salazar Jr. and Dennis Donohue, who are running for the District 6 city council seat and mayor, respectively, ended in an altercation.

John Murray has made no secret of his ambition to oversee the Salinas Police Department.

With a full City Hall and two defined factions that showed up—one to support and one to oppose a rent stabilization ordinance—the Salinas City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on Tuesday, Sept. 24 that will cap annual rent increases within city limits at 2.75 percent, becoming the first city in Monterey County to do so.

A construction fence surrounds a few bulldozers and concrete pipes on a formerly agricultural field in South Salinas. It’s the most visual representation to date of Amazon’s plans to move into Salinas, after years of starts and stops and closed-door conversations with city officials.

Why did the mountain lion cross Main Street in Oldtown Salinas?

Salinas City Council voted 6-0 to approve a new subdivision map on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and was met with applause.

About a dozen people gathered at Bataan Memorial Park in Salinas on July 19, to rally support for the city’s unhoused population. They carried signs and chanted “sweeps are not the solution” and “we need a place to be safe.”

Salinas City Council approved a long-awaited project to alleviate traffic congestion on Boronda Road on June 18.

Salinas’ new City Manager Rene Mendez inherited a city with a number of leadership positions being filled by interim roles – chief among them at the police department.

A cost-saving plan to shift all of Monterey One Water's billing to collection through county property tax bills was killed just seven days before it was to go into effect, thanks to opposition from just two of the board's 10 members in a weighted vote.

On Tuesday, June 11 the Salinas City Council unanimously approved a $259.7 million budget for fiscal year 2024-25, $10.9 million larger than 2023-24.

In 2021, videos and photos of Salinas High School students stomping on and mutilating a Black baby doll circulated in national news.

After two terms (two years each) as Salinas' mayor and two terms (four years each) as a City Council member, Kimbley Craig announced on Thursday, May 23 that she will not seek re-election to a third term.

On Tuesday, May 21, Salinas City Clerk Patricia Barajas announced the rules by which 11 candidates would make their pitch to be appointed to a vacancy on council.

Two years after Amazon backed out of a massive warehouse project in Salinas, the online retail and web services giant confirmed it is revisiting its plans to build in Monterey County’s largest city.

Over the past few months, Salinas residents have seen an increase in street vendors in high-traffic areas, including food trucks. This can make it easy to grab a bite to eat, but also comes with issues. Residents have been calling…

Dozens of people showed up at Salinas City Hall on Tuesday night, April 23 to talk about elections even though it is not yet election season.

Salinas City Councilmember Steve McShane brought tomato seedlings to a council meeting on Tuesday, April 9 to give to his colleagues, “to spread goodwill,” he said. Then he announced his resignation, effective May 10.

Signs announcing “housing is a human right” and “rent is too high,” along with demands for rent control and stories of evictions, have become commonplace at Salinas City Council meetings.

Halfway through his fourth term as a member of Salinas City Council, Steve McShane announced his resignation, effective May 10.

After months of reviewing and interviewing several candidates, Salinas City Council is set to appoint Rene Mendez to lead the largest city on the Central Coast.