Voters in Indio’s District 5 will choose between two homegrown City Council candidates on Nov. 5. Both Ben Guitron and incumbent Lupe Ramos Amith are Indio natives, and both have extensive roots in public service.
Lupe Ramos Amith, an Indio City Council member since 2004, is currently serving her fifth stint as mayor. Ramos Amith said she is seeking a final term because she wants to help complete the city’s master plan.
Ben Guitron has worked for the Indio Police Department for more than 40 years. As head of the Office of Community Safety, Guitron engages with a network of public, community and business interests to communicate on important issues.
The Independent recently spoke with both of the candidates and asked them the same set of six questions. The candidates’ answers have been edited only for clarity and style.
Ben Guitron
What do you think are the top two issues facing District 5 residents, and Indio as a whole?
I think Indio, as a whole—we’ve had some incredible growth in our city, and it’s not just in our housing or our businesses. It’s in our schools; it’s in maintaining our services because of the growth. So, in general, we need to continue, as the council is doing now, to not just look at what we’re doing now, but how (Indio) will look 20 years from now.
I’ve gained those experiences working in (public safety) and representing the department on the Planning Commission and also the Development Review Committee, where developers work with staff to make sure that the standards of the city are being followed. (Even with) smart growth, our public services have economical challenges, for one reason or another. I have a good, clear understanding of how one impacts the other, (coming) from public safety and working with the business community, and with developers who are not just (bringing) businesses but also housing.
You know, a lot of challenges that the valley has also affect Indio. Being the largest city of the valley and the oldest, we are faced with some of the things of the past that have reached a point of their maximum—our power infrastructure, for example, and being able to maintain it, but also making sure that it doesn’t affect our future. It’s part of the infrastructure of our city, and some of the hurdles that we’re going through now, we need to take an approach, not looking at it at 10,000 feet, but looking at it at 35,000 feet. Being part of a body that implements policy, decisions are not easily done. They take time; they take (continuing) to work with staff and the collaborative partners that we have to make sure those things are done to the best of our ability.
What sets you apart from your opponent? Why would you be a better City Council representative?
I’m going to bring a new perspective. I want to do something that makes a difference. Not to challenge what was done by my opponent—it’s not to critique; everybody does their best—but it’s time for a fresh new perspective. What I bring is, the last 40 years of my livelihood, (working for) the Police Department and being homegrown, being born in Indio, my family having roots here between Coachella and Indio since 1919. I don’t just come here to learn. I come here to hit the ground running.
I’ve been fortunate to be (involved with) the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District (CVMVCD), which gave me the privilege of being a seated representative with the same rules and conditions of a public agency, (but) by appointment, not by an election. I’ve also been fortunate to hold positions on some of the committees that I was appointed to. I was (chosen) president twice of CVMVCD, an 11-member body, public agency. I’m currently the vice president at Vector. And along with that, (I’m involved with) various other organizations. I’m a founding member of Volunteers in Medicine, and also part of the Desert Recreation District Foundation. Along with that, being a member of several other organizations gives me the diversity to really understand where we’re at right now, and the communication also with the business community. I just received an endorsement from the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, which Indio and a lot of our businesses, both large and small, are part of. So to me, having the privilege to be elected to a team where I can hit the ground running (means) I’m going to be able to help not just District 5, but the entire city.
District 5 includes the Empire Polo Club. What changes, if any, would you like to see regarding Goldenvoice’s use of the festival grounds? How do you balance the economic benefits of the festivals versus the interests of nearby residents?
Well, having had the privilege of working with the department for 40 years and as a volunteer for five years prior to that, I’ve worked the Date Festival every year since I was a kid. I’ve learned it from private life to professional life. The annual Tamale Festival, I’ve been there since the first one. Obviously, the world renown of Goldenvoice and their partnership with AEG has brought us a world renowned (event) with Coachella, with Stagecoach and other performances that they’ve done. And working in the polo fields, I was also part of the process as they did the environmental impact report. That is a guide in order to assist not just the current operators of the festivals, but also the city and the community. I want to be assured that we follow that, because that’s a study that doesn’t just take a few weeks. It’s a yearlong study, and it covers every aspect. There’s been a lot of capital improvements in the partnership—obviously being held in the city of Indio, and it is in District 5, but it’s the entire city, 34 square miles.
What I’d like to see is the continued balance, the continued partnership and the assurances that the success of the promoters is our success, along with that, still being mindful of the quality of life for our community. We need to listen to our local community, but still continue to work with our partners that do the festivals, because they do bring something special to Indio and the valley. It’s obviously (an) economic benefit, to not just Indio but the entire valley. When you have 100,000 people coming to a world-renowned event, it is special. But we still have to maintain the quality of life of our community. The need for access points and traffic flow, I know firsthand, it’s a never-ending plan. We adjust the plans that are there, especially from the public safety side, which I know and understand very well, but it’s never done. It depends on the events and the relationships that we have in order to make them successful for the event promoters, but also make them successful in ways that the public and our residents and our guests (can feel) comfortable and safe with. I think the relationships where they’ve done their best are ones that continue to maintain a balance, where there are open lines of communication.
Besides the infamous short term rentals that have been the attention of a lot of people in the last several years, the ones affected the most are the people that live in District 5, where you are working with several different lifestyles of communities, from age-qualified to family to private estates, and then those that are invested in doing rentals for events and activities on their estates.
Downtown Indio is in the midst of an uptick, with new arts, music and food-related businesses moving in. What should the city do to encourage increasing revitalization, both downtown and across the city as a whole?
(With) the city and the current administration, I’ve lived through nine city managers and a slew of different department heads and projects and staff, and I’ve seen how things have changed. I know that part of our community doesn’t want to see the DNA of Indio go away. You know, we have a lot of rich history, and a lot of people that have made differences. We don’t want to forget them, like our Tamale Festival. It represents a culture of our community, especially in the east end, that people enjoy and love. (Dave Hernandez), a former business owner and a prominent person in our elected councils, was a founding member of that festival. He came up with that idea in order to bring awareness to the culture and to give people a wonderful opportunity to have a festive experience. It became a nationally known event, (but over the years), it’s lost a little bit of its luster. I know that attempts right now are to go back, to get back our annual parade and other events like the 5 and 10K run as well. Everything from being recognized on the Food Network and by Huell Howser, who (lived in Palm Springs) and was known for promoting the best of California. We’ve lost a little bit of that, and we want it back. The merchants and members of our community want to see that sparkle back.
As things are moving downtown, I think we need to remember that we have families and people not just locally, but throughout the valley, that appreciate (that history). Even before the city was recognized as being the city of festivals, it was all about families. We have people who want to bring that back. Besides the music festivals, we used to have a holiday parade, Christmas parades, Western Days, the rodeo, the horse show. As we move forward in planning, there’s been a lot that’s been invested in downtown. We have investors who are looking at us, even besides what’s going on right now, and we have to be prepared to manage that and make sure it’s the best that we can do, so everybody benefits from it. I’ve had relatives who live in the city and the surrounding communities, and we sit down and talk about, “Let’s not forget where Indio came from, so we know where we’re going,” but we know we have to also understand that there are changes that the city is doing to benefit our community and the people who are investing.
What steps should the city of Indio take to address homelessness, both from a city and a valley-wide perspective, especially in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Grants Pass decision?
In 2004, we had an expansion of a facility in our city that would be addressing homelessness. We knew then that (the homeless population) would be growing. I had an opportunity to go to San Diego for two weeks and see what they were doing, especially in their community policing efforts and working with their shelter facilities. We came back knowing, No. 1, it’s not against the law to be homeless. (Even with) the issues that develop because of homelessness, some homeless don’t have any of those challenges. There is a small percentage that just make a decision, that’s the way they want to live their lives. (Those) who have that need for care because of their health or mental health issues or drug dependency, those are challenges that we don’t have enough facilities (for). It’s not just Indio. It’s a regional issue, but we still have to do our part, regardless of the changes of the laws. The local impacts in our community have to be creative and progressive to make sure that we deliver the best, but there’s going to be a balance.
We know that homelessness is not going to go away. It’s something that’s just part of all our communities; it affects everyone. We just have to learn how to do better. (In Indio), we came up with the idea of quality-of-life officers, dedicated officers working with the homeless. During the recession, we had to cut back because of staffing levels, but in 2012, with the support of the council, we brought the program back. To this day, that program is a model program in our city. We were the first city to be able to incorporate a clinician program to assist with challenges that the homeless face. We have an alcohol dependency program.
The problem is we don’t have enough. We have to look at ways of expanding those services with our collaborative partners, to look at making sure Indio’s doing their part. But we need to also encourage the assistance of (Riverside) County, and look at what other cities are doing (around) the valley. I think every city has a certain level of responsibility to do their part, where it’s not just Indio, but we still have to continue to be progressive, looking at not just enforcing the laws. We’ve been very successful with being able to put people, probably over 500 homeless, back into society since 2012. Based on my experience and knowledge and the partnerships that I’ve been a part of, I’m going to continue those efforts at the council level.
What is your ideal night out in Indio? Where are you going, and what are you doing?
My wife and I enjoy being out with people in the community and going out to our local restaurants. I can’t really tell you if I have (a favorite), because one minute, we can be at The Bistro at Fantasy Springs casino, or we can be downtown, or we can be at other known restaurants within the city. I just enjoy being out there in contact with the community. I’m always, “Hey, we were supposed to show up at this time. What were you doing? I go, I was talking to somebody.” Walt Disney had a statement, “Whoever you meet, it matters what they say.” In my livelihood, being a public servant, I enjoy being out there in the community where you just meet everyday folks, (whether) they’re residents or guests to the city. My wife and I enjoy communicating, meeting new people or people who we know, talking with them or listening to them.
Lupe Ramos Amith
What do you think are the top two issues facing District 5 residents, and Indio as a whole?
Indio as a whole and District 5 is going to be disrupted for about a two-year period of time, because we are building every backbone street and major thoroughfare to its ultimate design, just to be able to meet the needs of the travelers and the capacity issues that we have now. There are going to be a lot of red cones, a lot of construction, a lot of detours. Of course, we won’t do construction during the festivals, but it’s going to be a mess for a couple of years—but at the end of the two years, everyone’s going to be very pleased with the improvements that we’re making. That impacts all of the districts; there’s not one district that isn’t being touched.
Another thing I want to add: When you drive into Indio (heading east), everything on the left of the freeway used to be nothing but sand dunes before I got on council. Since then, we’ve approved all of those projects (including) 20,000 homes over there. That’s how we doubled, basically, the size of Indio. That’s one thing that our residents are going to have to bear with. The other one is similar, in that our freeway overpasses still do not have the capacity to connect the left side of town with the right side of town. I’m talking about Interstate 10. If you’re on that bridge trying to get across at 8 a.m. or 5 p.m., which is rush hour, you could be there 30, 45 minutes, just waiting to get over to the other side. And, of course, each bridge that we build is $80 million. We have one of them funded. We’re still trying to figure out how to fund the other one. So, it’s not only a challenge financially to gather all the different funding sources, but again, we’re going to be under construction further beyond the two years with those bridges.
What sets you apart from your opponent? Why would you be a better City Council representative for District 5?
My background lends me a skill set that not very many people have the privilege of attaining, which is working in an engineering office. We are the windows of the future, because we are the ones who take the dirt, the ground, the raw land and create, to make something out of it. That’s what I’ve always done, and I’m able to project out and envision how we can make something really great. I think that my background in the development industry really lends itself to helping the city.
Of course, over the 20 years, I’ve become involved in regional and national committees, so I’m well-versed in procedures and how to pass legislation. I even worked, at one time, for the Sacramento Assembly office. I think that sets me apart. Not only do I know the construction part of it, but I also know the internal legislative part of it.
District 5 includes the Empire Polo Club. What changes, if any, would you like to see regarding Goldenvoice’s use of the festival grounds? How do you balance the economic benefits of the festivals versus the interests of nearby residents?
There are many events at the Polo Grounds throughout the year. (We have) the largest dog show in the world, bigger than Westminster. We have Coachella, and then we have Stagecoach, which is the country festival. We also have a metal festival toward the fall. But, throughout the year, these grounds are used for sports like field hockey. We had professional soccer this year, where the international players came and competed. So, it’s used year-round, and the Goldenvoice team has managed the traffic flow and the impacts on the neighbors very well. We’ve given them the parameters. You know, (they’re) allowed so many days, but (they) have to be shut down by a certain time, and have to make sure to let residents pass through so they’re not inconvenienced.
We encourage them to continue to have these events, because they do bring in an international crowd, which, of course, gives Indio notoriety. But also, it gives outsiders an opportunity to know Indio and possibly come and live in Indio, just like others have come to love this place.
Downtown Indio is in the midst of an uptick, with new arts, music and food-related businesses moving in. What should the city do to encourage increasing revitalization, both downtown and across the city as a whole?
We have events (in downtown) quite frequently, Food Truck Fridays, the farmers’ festival, movies in the evening (and more), but to continue the momentum of that upward tick, as you refer to it, we continue to be partners with the business community. We have many public-private partnerships with the business owners down there, and we continue to encourage new business owners to partner with us. (Indio) owns a lot of the downtown; we purchased it 20 years ago with the vision that someday we would be able to have a hand in how it developed, which is exactly what you’re seeing come forward. So there still are opportunities, and we continue to research what we think would be the next business that would fit into the theme that we’re going for, which is an arts and entertainment (district). We consider all proposals, and we partner with public and private (businesses) and figure out a way to make it work, and it seems to be working.
What steps should the city of Indio take to address homelessness, both from a city and a valley-wide perspective, especially in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Grants Pass decision?
Indio has always been partners with the homeless facilities that we have. We have the two largest facilities in the Coachella Valley housed in Indio; that’s Martha’s Village and Kitchen and Coachella Valley Rescue Mission. We also have the largest food bank in the county, I think; it’s FIND Food Bank. So, we have always partnered with all three of those agencies, supporting them financially and in any way that we can, because we realize that in order to address what is currently happening in society, there needs to be a partnership.
We do have an outreach team that catalogs most of the people who are in our area, and (determines) how we approach them and what their needs are, and if they’re receptive to taking services and benefiting from what’s available to them. We also partner with the county, so we have in our outreach team a psychologist also. We’re not out there as police; we’re not out there as enforcement; we’re out there as an outreach team that really wants to understand how we can help those who are homeless.
What is your ideal night out in Indio? Where are you going, and what are you doing?
Well, ideally at the polo fields, we had a little hidden gem that was called the Tack Room Tavern. It was the locals’ favorite, and that’s where you saw everyone. You could sit around the fireplaces outside, or if it was a hot night, they had the misters on, and there would be music. They had a pizza kitchen outside. It was just a big, social community center, but it was a restaurant as well. They closed this summer. I’m not sure when they’re going to open, but ideally, that’s where I would spend time, because I would see everyone who I know coming in and out, whether they’re coming to eat or just to get a quick drink or just to sit around and socialize. That’s another part of Indio that has been there historically, ever since Mr. (Alexander) Haagen purchased the property decades ago. It’s a real gem that I enjoyed spending time at, just seeing everyone who I know and catching up with them. I think they’re going through remodeling. It’s a beautiful environment with the rose gardens around you, it’s just a very peaceful place.
We also have the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival here in Indio; it’s about 80 years old. You know, I was on a panel one time with Rolling Stone (magazine), and they were talking about how to create an environment for festivals. And my response was, “Let it happen organically,” which is how it happened in Indio. Our hard-working people would finish the harvest and decide, “Hey, let’s have a big festival.” Or our working people would say, hey, “We’re starting the holidays; maybe we should get together and make tamales, so there’s a Tamale Festival.” I mean, it’s just so organic, the way everything evolved here in Indio.
