Former city finance director Jack Dilles ousted three-term incumbent Dene Bustichi in the Nov. 8 Scotts Valley City Council election.
Also elected were incumbents Mayor Donna Lind,to a third term, and Vice Mayor Randy Johnson, to an unprecedented sixth four-year term.
In incomplete returns, Lind had the most votes following an often-bitter local election. She led with 2,224 votes, followed by Johnson (2,124 votes), and Dilles (2,040 votes). Challenger Rosanna Herrera recorded 1,824 votes, and Bustichi, seeking a fourth term, received 1,654 votes.
Current councilmembers Stephanie Aguilar and Jim Reed are up for re-election in 2018.
Dilles said he is optimistic about working with his former opponents.
“I’m looking forward to developing relations with the other councilmembers,” he said. “We need to get good things done for Scotts Valley.”
Lind, who had run as part of a trifecta of incumbents, said she was taken aback that Bustichi, first elected to the city council in 2004, failed to retain his council seat.
“I’m very disappointed. Dene has done a tremendous amount in the community,” she said. “I’m sorry about the dirty politics.”
Lind said that personal insults, “dirty” political ads and out-of-town candidate funding had affected the council election campaign toward its end. But she said the past would not color her future involvement with the new council member.
“I’m a professional. You have to work out your issues,” she said. “The city must come first.”
Reed, one of the leaders of Neighbors for Keeping Scotts Valley Strong, a PAC supporting the three incumbents that targeted Dilles in ads and brochures, said he will miss Bustichi’s contributions to the council.
“I have never seen anybody selflessly give more to their community than Dene Bustichi,” he said. “Scotts Valley is incredibly fortunate to have Dene Bustichi.
Reed said he is ready to move beyond any campaign animosity.
“I called Jack Dilles this morning to congratulate him on his win, and I look forward to working productively with him for the benefit of our amazing community,” he said. “As an elected member of the County Office of Education, Jack Dilles proved to be a good listener and common sense thinker. I expect those same qualities will make him an effective councilmember
