Caput Keeps Campaign Promise

When last year, he made a promise to a group of Watsonville residents too young to cast a vote for him.

Caput said he would give a portion of his salary to high school athletics at Watsonville and Pajaro Valley high schools.

On Wednesday, the Fifth District supervisor made good on that promise during a brief ceremony in front of the Watsonville public library. Caput gave Athletic Director Brad Hubbard and Athletic Director Robert Gomez each $4,125.

The gifts are just for the first half of 2001; each school can expect a similar check at the end of the year, Caput said.

"I just want people to know I'm keeping my promise," Caput said, adding that he hopes his donation will inspire others to be generous and support local sports.

He decided to give back a portion of his salary, because during his campaign, Caput called for county supervisors to take a 25 percent pay cut. The board approved a 7.5 percent reduction for county furloughs, so Caput took the remaining 17.5 percent of his intended cut to dedicate to community projects.

Athletic programs was first on the list for Caput, a Watsonville High grad who admits he was "an average athlete" on the Wildcatz football team and as a discus thrower in the track and field program.

High school athletics have been hard-hit as state education funding plummeted in recent years. Gomez, of PVHS, said coaches work for free and spend the weeks leading up to a sport season fundraising; the fall sports teams at Pajaro Valley High raised about $20,000 this year.

Gomez said Caput's gift will help "pay basic fees just to keep sports going." The county supervisor's check should cover the majority of the fall referee bills for the school.

Caput also is spending some of his salary on a tree-planting program. Countywide, the Board of Supervisors intends to plant 25,000 trees—5,000 in each district. The reforestation program has already begun in South County, where Caput said 300 redwood trees and Japanese double cherry blossom trees have taken root.