SALINAS — Salinas mayor Joe Gunter died unexpectedly Monday night at the age of 73 after a long public service career, including nearly two full terms as mayor of Monterey County’s largest city.
Gunter died at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, reportedly due to heart disease and complications from cancer.
A retired homicide detective, Gunter became the first police officer elected as the city’s mayor in 2012. He was known for his law enforcement career, and decades of community involvement, even before being elected mayor.
Flags were flown at half staff by both the city and Monterey County in Gunter’s honor on Tuesday.
Salinas City Manager Ray Corpuz said Gunter was the “leader of our city,” with a “deep connection to our Salinas community” and was “visible and accessible” to the entire community while supporting a range of initiatives and causes.
“His legacy was his positive belief in the Salinas community and providing hope during good and bad times,” Corpuz said.
Corpuz said Mayor Pro Tem Christine Cromeenes can fill in as mayor until the city council decides whether to appoint a replacement or call for a special election within 60 days. Gunter was up for reelection in November. Last week, Gunter presided over the council’s adoption of a budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, and the council isn’t scheduled to meet again until Aug. 4.
Salinas City Councilman Steve McShane called Gunter a “dear friend, mentor and colleague,” who “gave five decades of his life to the people of Salinas, and he will be missed.” McShane praised Gunter’s leadership in upgrading public safety facilities including the new police station, and construction of a new library, while also noting his long record of volunteering for a range of community causes.
“He made Salinas a better place to live,” McShane said. “I will never forget how many times I saw him volunteering at the Rodeo, Air Show, or other community event. He must have spent half his life volunteering. We need more people like Joe.”
Corpuz said the city will wait for the Gunter family to decide on services before deciding on how to honor him.
Former Salinas mayors Dennis Donohue, who Gunter replaced as mayor, and State Sen. Anna Caballero also praised Gunter’s work and legacy.
“I am deeply saddened by Mayor Gunter’s passing,” Donohue said. “He was one of the finest and most decent men I have ever known. He had a great heart for his family, country and all of Salinas. It is a tremendous loss for the city and the entire region. I will miss him.”
“On Monday, Salinas lost a giant and I lost a friend,” Caballero said, praising Gunter’s efforts to lead the city into the “digital age” including “advancing agricultural technology at Hartnell College and partnering with Forbes to put Salinas on the ag tech stage worldwide.
“A giving person and a lifelong public servant – veteran, police detective, and mayor, Joe Gunter will forever be known simply as Mayor Joe to us all,” she said.
Supervisor John Phillips said his friend of nearly five decades – dating back to the 1970s when Phillips was a new Deputy District Attorney and Gunter was starting his law enforcement career – was a “great cop, a great mayor, and he was truly devoted to the city of Salinas.
“He was one of the finest and fairest cops that this county has ever had,” Phillips said, adding that he spoke to Gunter in the hospital Friday and the mayor was “still working on issues important” to the city. “No one was more committed to Salinas, the city Joe loved.”
Board of Supervisors chairman Chris Lopez said Gunter was “tough but fair.”
“He earned respect by telling it like it was and always being willing to debate and discuss,” Lopez said, “but at the end of the day he treated everyone equally and did what he believed was best for the city of Salinas.”
In January, the county board upon request by Supervisor Luis Alejo, whose district encompasses much of the city, recognized Gunter for 50 years of public service with a formal resolution noting his life and accomplishments, including his dedication as mayor to “strengthening city infrastructure, improving public safety resources, parks and open spaces, (and) establishing a partnership between the city and county to battle homelessness, while developing economic efforts and job growth opportunities.”
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Gunter moved with his family to Marina in 1959. Following in his father’s footsteps, Gunter joined the military and served in the U.S. Marine Corps where he earned the rank of sergeant and fought in the Vietnam War. He returned home and began a 32-year law enforcement career in late 1969, rising to the rank of detective and investigating about 340 homicides in the city during that time. He was named Officer of the Year in 1986 and retired in 2002.
Renowned for his wide-ranging community work even before seeking elected office, Gunter served as the California Air Show’s president and director of security, as a longtime volunteer at the California Rodeo and with Alisal youth sports, and as president of the Women’s Crisis Center for Monterey County, among other efforts.
Gunter also operated a private investigation firm and with wife Lisa Eisemann opened the Salinas School of Dance.
He is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.