Meet Jesse
I’m Jesse Dugas, and Cave Junction is home. I moved back here 18 years ago. This is where Sandy and I have raised our family, where I own JPS Computers, and where I’ve spent years coaching and serving our community.
Many of you knew me as Jesse long before I became mayor. That hasn’t changed. I love this community, I love serving it, and protecting our youth and elderly residents matters deeply to me.
Serving on City Council and now as mayor has given me another way to do that work. I enjoy asking hard questions, thinking outside the box, and finding practical solutions to problems that can seem impossible to solve.
My Family, My Home
Sandy and I have four children, and raising our family here is a big part of why this community means so much to me.
When I talk about protecting our youth and building a future for Cave Junction, it’s personal. This is where we’ve built our lives, and I want families here to have opportunities, dependable services, and a community they’re proud to call home.
Coaching and Community Service
For 14 years, I coached high school baseball here in the valley. Along the way, I helped several kids move on to college and trade schools. Watching them take those next steps has been one of the most rewarding parts of serving this community.
I’ve also coached high school football, boys’ and girls’ high school basketball, middle school football and basketball, and boys’ and girls’ club football and basketball. With Little League, I’ve served as a coach, board member, and president.
I love serving our community in all of these roles. Working with our youth has been a big part of my life, and protecting their interests remains one of the reasons I serve.
Serving Cave Junction
As a council member and now mayor, I’ve loved the job and the responsibility that comes with it. For me, it’s never been about a title. Those who know me know I still go by Jesse, and it still feels a little strange when someone calls me Mayor.
I enjoy critical thinking and looking beyond the obvious answer. Sometimes that means identifying a problem people haven’t noticed yet. Other times, it means finding a way forward on something people thought couldn’t be solved.
That’s how I approach serving Cave Junction: ask questions, understand the problem, and work with the people who can help solve it. With a tight budget and limited staff, we have to think creatively, make careful decisions, and get as much as we can out of the resources we have.
I want to keep doing that work for the community I call home.