In 2022, Palm Desert residents went to the polls and expressed their desire for the city to move from two electoral districts (with four of five council members representing one large district, and one member representing the other) into five districts, each with their own representative.
Eventually, the City Council adopted the five-district system, and on Nov. 5, the newly created District 3 will elect its first representative. The election comes as an explosion of development in the district is raising concerns about a lack of public safety services, middle and high school options for families with children, nearby grocery stores and public-transportation services.
Stephen Nelson has lived in District 3 since 2019, and he serves as the president of the Genesis at Millennium Palm Desert Homeowners Association. He serves on both the city’s Public Safety Committee, and the Resource Preservation and Enhancement Committee. Nelson is a graduate of Bowling Green State University (with a degree in business administration) and the Harvard University professional development program. His career has revolved around software, cybersecurity and telecommunications, but Nelson also cares for his elderly mother and two minor nephews. According to Nelson’s most recent campaign-contribution filing, through June 30, he had received $9,475 in contributions and had $7,890 on hand. His campaign website lists nine endorsements, most notably from Rep. Raul Ruiz, Palm Desert Mayor Karina Quintanilla, Indio City Councilmember Waymond Fermon, Equality California and Democrats of the Desert.
Gina Nestande moved to Palm Desert in 1996 and is an incumbent Palm Desert City Council member. The mother to seven children in her blended family, Nestande earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Missouri, and a master’s degree in business from the University of San Diego. As of June 30, Nestande reported $10,249 in contributions as well as a personal loan to her campaign in the amount of $32,000. Her cash on hand was $10,649. Her campaign website lists “supporters” including Palm Desert City Council members Jan Harnik and Evan Trubee, retired City Council member Sabby Jonathan, CalFire and the International Association of Fire Fighters organizations.
After starting her college education at age 17, Anyse Smith graduated from George Washington University, earning a bachelor’s degree in international affairs. From there, she went on to study at the Paris Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, completing her master’s degree in international law and diplomacy. Her campaign website mentions that, upon Smith’s return to California, she entered a period when she was “grappling with issues of drug and alcohol dependence that led to a period of incarceration, homelessness, and numerous hardships. However, her story is one of triumph over adversity. Anyse sought help and emerged victorious, graduating from the Gateway Program at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission in spring 2014.” Since then, she has earned a law degree at California Desert Trial Academy in Indio, and became a licensed attorney. Today, she is a professor at the Desert Trial Academy and serves on the Board of Governance of the Riverside County Continuum of Care. Her campaign-disclosure filing shows that, through June 30, Smith had received $55,179 in contributions and had $26,092 in cash on hand. Smith’s website displays endorsements from organizations including the National Organization for Women of Riverside County, Democratic Women of the Desert, United Steelworkers Local 7600 and others.
The Independent recently spoke with each of the candidates and asked them the same set of six questions. The candidates’ answers have been edited only for clarity and style.
Stephen Nelson
How long have you been a resident of District 3, and why are you running to become the first Palm Desert District 3 City Council member?
I have been a resident of District 3 since September of 2019. And in terms of why I’m running for office, that, you know, is a multi-pronged approach. Our side of the city is new. We had no representation on the at-large council at all. There was nobody who lived north of Fred Waring, right? So the unique environmental issues … were unknown to the council. So, out of sight, out of mind. I always reference that, during the windy season here—which is getting longer and longer—one morning, I found myself trying to exit our community on Dinah Shore Drive, which is our northernmost border. Now, I’ve been to the Giza Pyramids in Cairo. I found it easier to drive in the desert near the Giza Pyramids than to drive out onto Dinah Shore. That’s how much sand there was. We could not get out of our neighborhood, and there were no sweepers. There was just no remediation for us at all. We were just kind of stuck.
We had to let people get trucks, you know, to make pathways for those of us who don’t have trucks. We were kind of on our own, and I found that to be odd. So, that was my first foray into calling City Hall, and I said, “You know, we need some help up here.” When you’re in Chicago, and you know the bad weather is coming, they have the snow-shovel people cued and ready, like an army. That way, people aren’t encumbered. But here, they allowed the encumbrance to happen, and then they’re like, “Well, we don’t have enough vehicles,” and they didn’t have enough street sweepers, you know. And it literally took an act of Congress to get us out of here.
So when I called City Hall, I spoke to public works or something. And then I had to get the mayor (at the time, Kathleen) Kelly, and tell her. I’m on our HOA board as president, and I said, “Look, we’re stuck up here, and I need some help. My owners can’t get out.” And I said, “We’ve got 166 families up here that can’t exit the community because of the amount of sand.” Thankfully, and I still thank her to this day, she got some people up here to dig us out, and it was four feet of sand on our western wall.
So, that was one of the many reasons that I said, “Some things have got to change.” The city is growing quite fast, and it’s because of people like me who came from Los Angeles, San Francisco and the like, who have school-aged children, and who are still going to work every day. So, we have requirements. We have to be at work at a certain time. We need the city operating at our pace. And it was clear to me at that point, and later down the line, that they did not have those things in place. My dad always said, “Stop complaining. What are you going to do to resolve the issue?” He’s no longer with us, but my mom seems to echo him and channel him regularly. She is my manager. You know, she lives in the community, too, so she’s one of my owners. So, she said, “You need to get this resolved. Stop complaining. You’ve got to fix it, so go do what you have to do to fix it.” And that’s how I came to run.
What do you consider to be the top two issues confronting all Palm Desert residents, including your District 3 constituents?
First and foremost, I will say it’s public safety. Since 2020, when then-Mayor Gina Nestande cut back the police staff because of COVID—and that was the right decision to do so—because we didn’t need that full force. People were sheltering in place, and so be it. I agree with that decision, but the part I cannot agree with, that has contributed heavily to the 45% increase in crime that Palm Desert has experienced since then, is that after COVID was over, (the council) did not return our public safety levels to what they were previously. And the result of that was a 45% increase of not only crime, but violent crime in Palm Desert. Also, (the understaffing) contributed to putting undue stress on the deputies here to the point that they have mandatory overtime, and they can’t fulfill all their training needs at an optimal level.
As you can see, we still are allowing these smash-and-grabs to occur on El Paseo, and our jewelers have been the targets of them, along with Gucci and Louis Vuitton and many others. That doesn’t happen on Rodeo Drive (in Beverly Hills). It happened once, and it was resolved, but we continue to allow it to occur for some reason, and that’s not a good thing for our economy. It’s not a good thing for our merchants, and it’s certainly not good for the image of Palm Desert.
The second one is our budget. I’m a commissioner (in the city). I sit on the Public Safety Commission, and I also sit on the Resource Preservation and Enhancement Committee. We got to the point earlier this year, where we were presented with a memo from the staff, saying that they would appreciate it if (we commissioners) would support this sales tax initiative and increase. And I said, “But why? We have enough money to operate this city, certainly, and I don’t understand.” So, a follow-up came with that memo that showed a (budgetary) cliff that would happen during the fiscal year 2027-2028, where our reserve funds become depleted in full. Now, we had hundreds of millions of dollars in there, I want to tell you, and it has been purposely drawn down for vanity projects.
To give you an example of those said vanity projects: We’re talking about the Regional Park, which nobody asked for. That in itself is $30 million alone. We have deferred maintenance (because) previous councils decided they didn’t want to maintain certain things in certain buildings. They could kind of kick the can down the hallway and say, “We’ll deal with that another day.” Those are coming home to roost now, as you might imagine, because they’re getting to the point they can no longer be delayed. To give you an example, in the last fiscal year, it was $6.5 million. This fiscal year, it’s another $6.5 million, and next fiscal year, 2025-2026, it’s another $6 million. So, we’re talking about $20 million in deferred maintenance in city facilities and other equipment purchases and so on and so forth. Now you can see why the reserve fund, which was plentiful, is disappearing. The big thing in the valley was that Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and Indian Wells always had very large reserve funds that would hold them together through anything. And now we’re sitting here, and it’s going to be depleted down to $0. So, now they’re asking for a tax increase of 1%, and it’s being done under the guise of public safety.
So, they hauled all the deputies up here and the firemen. I applaud, still to this day, that they show up, regardless of the situation. But I found it to be disingenuous at best, because this 1% is going to generate $25 million in additional revenue for the city. Do you want to know how many deputies they’re getting under that tax increase to shore up the (public safety) patch job that was done in 2020 that they failed to restore after COVID? By the way, my view is that 22 deputies is the deficit today, what with population growth and everything. They’re down 22 deputies, and in their budget, you get three. Out of $25 million, you get three additional deputies.
They’re not doing it under a measure where there would be an oversight committee. So, they could change their mind and make three (deputies), one or none, if they so choose, because it is a non-measured tax increase. So, you don’t reward the same people that spent all your money and give them additional funds, $25 more million dollars without any oversight. And, the way the wording is, they can use it for general government spending. That can be a whole lot of things. We could put another pedestrian park off of El Paseo, which was shot down recently, thank God. That was a $4 million luxury project we didn’t need.
So, that’s my No. 2 priority. Quite frankly, they’re both equally important, safety and our financial well-being as a city, but those are the top two.
Palm Desert voters are being asked to vote on Measure G, or the “Safety, Roads, City Services Measure” sales tax proposal, which calls for a 1 cent increase in this tax. Do you support or oppose Measure G, and why?
I think perhaps, in my answer to the last question, I showed my hand. But, let me say emphatically, I do not support the tax increase. And I want to say to the deputies and to the fire people specifically, I want to emphasize, that my “no” does not mean I don’t want you to have additional staff. I am an ardent supporter of public safety, and I sit on that commission and want them to get the staffing they need, because we depend on them to keep us safe and out of harm’s way. My “no” has to do with the fact that there is no oversight to this. We are not going down the path of, “Let me just have $25 million more. Oh, well, that’s gone. And that only gave us three deputies, but we still need 19 more, Stephen. So, give me another 1% to get to replacing those 19 more officers.” And then you’re only going to give me another three.
This is a slippery slope, and the city has enough money to manage the city at its current levels, but they have yet to go through the existing services that we do provide today, and trim the fat. They have not done that. They’re just saying, “Keep everything the way it is now, and don’t look at anything. We need more money, and this 1% is going to come mostly from tourists.” I said, “Well, we year-round residents are going to pay it morning, noon and night, 365 days a year, and that’s 50,000 people. So, explain to me, how we are going to get a break because of tourists?” No. We’ll pay it every day we walk out of the house. So, no. I cannot support it, especially in light of no oversight. I’ve been to this movie with them already, and they get money, and then they change the script on you. And then you’re like, “Where’s my three deputies?” “Oh, well, we had to reappropriate that.” This is why you need oversight. That’s why in La Quinta, when they needed this specifically, there was an oversight committee. Why? Because the residents wanted to make sure it was going where it was intended to go, not “peel off a little bit to go here,” or “peel off more and fix that up.” No, it went solely to prop up the fire and the police funds. So, I would support if they were to recast this as a measure, and those funds would go solely for the purposes of shoring up public safety as advertised.
I do want to make it very clear that I support the sheriff and the deputies getting what they need, because they desperately need more people. And the fire folks, they’re having to step back now, because they can’t work as many hours as they were. So now it causes us to have a void in personnel. We need more personnel to ensure around-the-clock coverage. And on the sheriff’s side, they’re struggling with competing counties over pay and whatnot. There are a lot of nuanced issues, and I’m not saying it’s all the city’s issues. But, because we’re a contract city with the sheriff’s department, the city doesn’t do their part to keep us safe. Again, we’ve gone up 45%, not in regular crime, but in violent crime, since that (police budget) cut, and that’s unacceptable for Palm Desert.
Although there are thousands of new housing units under construction in District 3, there’s a dearth of supermarkets, public safety facilities and services, schools and public transportation options to support the anticipated increase in population over the next 2-3 years. How will you address these quality-of-life needs for your constituents?
Public safety, we just mentioned. There’s a deficit of approximately 22 deputies as of today. That’s my estimation. I’ve looked up historically what (we had before, and what we have now. Of course, they’ll say they have some economies of scale, you know. They use the Citizens on Patrol (COPS) program, the community service officers (CSOs) for trivial matters and traffic, but north Palm Desert doesn’t have CSO problems or COPS problems. They have sworn officer problems. The COPS personnel are non-sworn. They cannot pull people over, or write certain reports. They cannot issue any type of breathalyzer. They can’t do any of that. You know, they can help the deputy, but ultimately, you need a sworn officer there. We have a need for sworn deputies, and that’s just it.
We have home invasions up here, one of which happened to my mom several years ago. They attempted to break in her house, and their car was full of illegal weapons and ammunition. We had another home invasion in our community where they took large sums of money during the middle of the day, at 12:30 in the afternoon. And when we have cars stolen, it’ll take several hours for them to get out here to deal with your stolen car, because that’s lower in the priority scale.
We have mental health issues with people out here that the sheriff is involved in, along with behavioral services. It’s just that the sheriff’s department personnel are taxed, and it doesn’t help that Palm Desert hasn’t restored their head count. It’s simply irresponsible, and it puts us at risk, because we’re up here with large expanses of construction and abandoned land, and that begets trouble and dangerous people. Our (community’s) north entrance goes out into a morass of darkness, and bad things always happen over there. I mean that literally; I’m not just saying that for effect. Everything bad that happens to us comes to that north gate, and that’s just a morass of darkness that leads to the train tracks that goes to the highway, and that’s what happens. It happens to us; it happens to The Gallery (community), and it happens to Spanish Walk. It’s a problem, and we need our deputies. One of my first actions will be to restore that contract (with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department) to be commensurate with the population that we have, and that continues to grow.
Now on to groceries. We don’t have a grocery up here. We simply don’t. Our grocery is Costco and Sam’s Club, and maybe Ralph’s, if I want to go to Country Club. I was hoping that the vacant lot across from us would get us a Trader Joe’s, maybe, or some type of boutique, healthy option, because that’s what we saw in the renderings when we were purchasing these homes, but no such luck. So, we have a vacant property that’s a pie-shaped lot on the corner of Portola (Road) and Gerald Ford (Drive). That was supposed to be a restaurant, kind of a day-to-day (place), if we need to go pick up a courtesy item or some coffee or something. There was supposed to be a restaurant, a coffee shop, in, like, a sundry store, and it also had offices in it. I found out that (Palm Desert) had an economic development person who would try to bring businesses here to Palm Desert. It got to the point, when I didn’t hear anything from him, I said, “I’m going to start being sales rep to get this built,” because we have a gate that ties our neighborhood to this convenience area. That’s what it was designed for. So, as president (of the Genesis board), I started to see these new coffee shops, (like) Blue Bottle coffee; there are several of them around California, and beyond in Phoenix. And I said, “You know what? I’m sure they’re looking to expand.” Or Porto’s from L.A.—you know, I would die and be 400 pounds if we got one here, right outside my door. But that would be something great, if they could move here. And Porto’s builds new, from the ground up. So it would just be perfect, and I presented these options to the city. They’re supposed to sell the city to make companies want to come here, and I don’t see that happening. I don’t think the fire’s there to get us what we need up north. You know they get things down south. You snap your fingers, and it’s there. But why don’t we get anything up north? So that’s the problem with the groceries. We just don’t have one. It just comes to that.
Now, on to public transportation options. Funny you should mention that, because I just brought that back up again in a meeting of the city’s Resource Preservation and Enhancement Committee that I serve on. I spoke to our liaison staff person at the city, and said that the CEO of Sunline was here before us in September of last year. And, I mean, we had some very direct questions for her, and I told her, “I am concerned about the fact that north Palm Desert has no east-west bus service.” I said, “I’m going to tell you that all these affordable housing properties you see that are being built here, there was a criterion placed on them. There’s a scoring mechanism whether (a housing project) gets approved or not, and it needs to be close to certain services, right? And they marked that these streets would have east-west bus services.” And, I said, “For that reason, and many more, I presume these are going to happen really soon, by the time that these people move into these buildings.” I would hope that would be the case, because I wouldn’t want to think that (the City Council) just put something on the paper to get it approved.
Regarding schools, the thing that a lot of people do not understand is that we are in a different school district than most of Palm Desert. Most of the city is in the Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD). Everything north of Frank Sinatra is in the Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD). We are the easternmost block of the PSUSD, but we do not have a PSUSD school in the city limits of Palm Desert. So, our students have to take a Sunline bus. And because Sunline doesn’t have an east-west transit, students have to, and sometimes in the summertime, walk from where we are at, Genesis, to the corner of Cook Street and Gerald Ford, where a little north of that is the bus stop. They have to travel south to Town Center where the transfer point is, and then they have to travel back up Bob Hope to go to the high school over by Ramon (Road) and Rattler Road. That takes an entire two hours and 24 minutes, just for transit for some high schoolers in the summer. Sometimes they get to class on time, and other times not. But that’s the only solution they’ve been given if they want to attend PSUSD. The position of Palm Desert, when I told them about this, is, “Why don’t you just have them transfer to DSUSD?” I said, “Because I pay my property tax to Palm Springs, which is double the amount that DSUSD charges you.” So no, I don’t want to settle there, but you’re missing the point. I want this fixed for our kids. They shouldn’t have to have a 2 1/2-hour bus ride in the morning. That’s ridiculous. And I got an email from the CEO, and she said that she would put her people on it this year to look at investigating as to whether it meets their criteria for building (bus) service. Because, as it stands now, there’s not enough ridership. And I’m like, “You have to build first. If you’re going to wait, people are going to be sadly, sadly, having a bad experience in their new homes when they have to go south, just to go west.” So, I think there’s a lot of improvement there that has to occur quick, fast, and in a hurry, before these thousands of people start moving into these homes.
What steps should the city of Palm Desert 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?
I’ve been told that Palm Desert is a contract city. They like to contract services out. So, we have City Net. I’ve actually worked with the gentlemen who came from Orange County to put City Net in place here, and managed the homelessness process. He was personally helpful to me, because he assisted in the effort of dealing with a lot of our behavioral health issues and the sheriff. He was very skilled, and the plans he put in place before he left us were good. They called him back to Orange County, and I was really sad to see him go because I really believed he was an asset to the city, and he would be an asset to any city he worked for. He cared. He was smart in the way that he approached homelessness. He had a more consultative approach when dealing with homelessness. He cared as a human, and he got people in beds. You know, not everybody wants to come inside, but he was very artful and did not offend. He was convinced that, for the person he was dealing with, that would be in their best interests, and he hired people of a similar moral compass, I’ll say, to look out for humanity and our most delicate residents.
So, he’s not with us now, but he left his mark in the employees. And, I believe the city is offering services to assist (homeless individuals) to better themselves, to find shelter, to deal with any type of issues that they may have, and it’s done in a very human and humanitarian way. I’m very proud of the program he put in place for the city.
What’s your favorite relaxation activity in Palm Desert?
One of my favorite things to do in Palm Desert is, I go to a coffee shop. I’m going to give myself away now, because people are going to find out about it. Anyway, I go to a coffee shop that’s right on Highway 111. It’s one of the newer coffee shops that have come to town. They make coffee from this specific country, and I didn’t know they were a coffee-producer country. But the way in which they couple the coffee and make almost like a dessert drink is special. There are strawberries in it, like actual strawberry puree and actual cream that they whipped. I think matcha goes in it, too, and then the coffee. I didn’t think that combination would be good, but I was encouraged to try it. And now I go there so much, it’s like I have to make a line item for it on my budget, which is a bad thing, But it’s a very relaxing coffee shop. And from time to time, people will just get together and start having discussions about just anything, so you meet people who you wouldn’t have met, you know, because you’re in your car all the time. Some people bike up to the shop; some people walk; others take cars, and we come from all parts of the city, and we have really good conversations while having delicious coffee.
Gina Nestande
How long have you been a resident of District 3, and why are you running to become the first Palm Desert District 3 city council member?
I know we have just gone to districts, but actually I’m really running for the city of Palm Desert. I know we’re in districts, but I plan on representing what’s best for all of Palm Desert. I’ve been on the council for eight years now, and I will say I thought long and hard about serving eight years and then moving on to a new chapter in my life. However, I had so many people in the community, and even on the council, asking me if I could commit to another term. So, I thought about it long and hard and decided to continue the work that I had been involved with for the past eight years. Some things have been completed, while other things are still a work in progress.
What do you consider to be the top two issues confronting all Palm Desert residents, including your District 3 constituents?
Public safety is the top priority, and between fire and police, it takes up almost half of our budget. And with inflationary pressures, that cost doesn’t really go down. Instead, it’s going up. I know in 2020 with COVID, we had to look at our budget and make cuts across the board, but my goal is to get more officers in the police department hired again. Also, there’s a need for a fourth fire station, especially in District 3, as it stands now. There are so many homes that have been approved, or are under construction. I think we’ve added almost 3,000 people to our population. That’s a lot of people, and we’re approved for 7,000 homes.
So again, public safety is a top priority, and in order to fund that top priority, we need economic growth. And the two biggest sources of income for the city are the sales tax and transient occupancy tax, known as TOT, that the hotels charge when you stay in a local hotel room. I serve on the city’s subcommittee for economic development, and my goal is to continue working with staff and professionals trying to attract new businesses, new unique offerings to our desert. For example, I was the first one on the council to support the Acrisure Arena. There were some on my City Council who weren’t crazy about it at the time, and I happened to be mayor at the time, so I was working closely with the developers of the arena. I gave my full-hearted support to that project. Also, I believe the DSRT Surf Resort that broke ground (next to the Willow Ridge golf courses) in May is going to be an economic game-changer, especially in our summer months. Right now in the summer, it’s not quite a ghost town—there are more year-round people—but there are very little visitors that come. I believe this DSRT Surf Resort is going to bring people, especially during the summer months, to shop, spend and stay here in the desert, thereby increasing our revenues.
Another unique (issue), well not unique, but District 3 is closer to the mountain pass area, and that’s the windier area. So, we (residents in District 3) experience more dust and poor air quality—not all the time, because the wind can change, but air quality and dust mitigation is a big issue as well.
Palm Desert voters are being asked to vote on Measure G, or the “Safety, Roads, City Services Measure” sales tax proposal, which calls for a 1 cent increase in this tax. Do you support or oppose Measure G, and why?
I support Measure G because of the population growth that we’re experiencing in the north Palm Desert area. Like I said, we’ve got about 3,500 new residents already, and we were slated to build 7,000 more homes. Some are already completed, but that’s the total, and that’s a lot of people. And the more people, the bigger the expense for public safety. And there’s more wear and tear on our roads. There’s a need for more infrastructure, and we want to have a beautiful regional park in the north sphere. The whole point is we want to maintain the quality of life our citizens have come to expect.
Also, there’s a great need for a new fire station, and that is very, very expensive. It’s millions of dollars. There will be some cost sharing with the county and some other government agencies. Just to note, Sacramento passed legislation, and it was probably needed, to reduce the number of hours legally that a fireman or firewoman can work. So, there are going to be increased labor costs, even without building a new fire station. Our city has a balanced budget, and we try to be very vigilant to not waste taxpayer dollars. I know there’s been some controversy when we were looking at building a visitor center or a permanent outdoor dining area along the EL Paseo business district. The whole intent of those projects is not to be “vanity projects,” but we were looking to increase economic activity and increase revenues for our desert. So, if it doesn’t end up working out or being cost effective, we don’t do it.
Although there are thousands of new housing units under construction in District 3, there’s a dearth of supermarkets, public safety facilities and services, schools and public transportation options to support the anticipated increase in population over the next 2-3 years. How will you address these quality-of-life needs for your constituents?
As I’m serving on the subcommittee for economic development, we’re already looking at a north sphere town center that’s going to be mixed use, but we’re looking at commercial uses. We’re looking at perhaps bringing a Trader Joe’s grocery store in, and definitely, it’s in the works, and we are on it. We’re not talking about one little store here, one little store there. We’re looking at a whole town center, and that’s another reason why I want to run for another four years, is to see that come to fruition.
Right now, this District 3 is actually in the Palm Springs Unified School District. And, right off of the intersection of Gateway (Drive) and Gerald Ford, there’s a sign that says, “Future Home of the Palm Springs Unified School District.” I’ve met with the PSUSD people and with Desert Sands (Unified School District representatives), and I was actually advocating to get that land turned over to Desert Sands. It’s not going to happen, because there’s too much tax-dollar money already allocated from Palm Springs, so it’s not going to happen. And we don’t really have the jurisdiction to build schools, because it’s PSUSD (territory) and not Desert Sands. But a lot of people who live in this area are able to get transfers into Palm Desert High School or Palm Desert Middle School. That’s what a lot of families with children do with the schools.
And then, in terms of affordable housing, I’ve been a big advocate of The Palms community and other projects. For whatever reason, there was not 100% support for The Palms community. I just like to always keep things positive, but I supported that project, and fortunately, it was approved. We do need affordable housing that’s based on income. In fact, talking with some of the police officers, many of them can’t afford to live in Palm Desert because of the lack of affordable housing. So I’m happy to know that we’ve got construction going on as we speak, right next to the Palm Desert (police) station, right off of Gerald Ford. We hope that we’ll be able to provide housing for our workforce. We’re very cognizant of the housing needs, or lack thereof.
As for public transportation, I will say that, not just in the city of Palm Desert, but in all of the Coachella Valley and the state of California, we do have awful public transportation. I have two sons; one lives in New York, and one lives in Washington, D.C., and they’ve got an amazing transportation system with metros and buses. It’s just amazing. In California in general, and in our valley, everything’s so spread out. And the best that we’ve been able to do is begin the planning stages of getting a train from Los Angeles to have a Palm Desert stop. It could take 10 years, but if we make that more of a reality, that can tie-in to some public transportation options. Also, it would help get more students to be able to attend Cal State University if we have increased public transportation. But I believe getting a train stop here is a very good start.
What steps should the city of Palm Desert 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?
So the city of Palm Desert has a new program called City Net, and we’ve hired two full-time social workers. They work Monday through Friday, and they help with the homeless population. For example, two months ago on one of our 110-degree days, I saw an elderly gentleman, kind of like almost passed out at an outdoor table in front of the Starbucks, and I could tell that he looked homeless. I was able to get his attention and get a conversation started. I said, “Where have you come from?” And he said, “Originally from New York.” And I said, “Well, do you have family here? Do you have anybody here?” And he said, “No.” And I said, “Well, what brought you here then?” And he said, “I came here five years ago to golf.” I said, “Great.” And then he told me he was a veteran, and he’s 80 years old. So all I had to do was pick up the phone and call City Net, and within 30 minutes, we got this elderly veteran off the streets. We pay to have X number of beds at the (Coachella Valley) Rescue Mission, so he was brought there. I’ve been following his case, and he has permanent housing now. So, it’s one homeless person at a time that is going to help alleviate the homelessness.
Now this is somebody who wanted to be helped, but quite often, we have people who are addicted to drugs, or alcohol or have other mental issues going on, and they don’t want help. Those are the tougher cases. Martha’s (Village and) Kitchen has an excellent program, as does the (Coachella Valley) Rescue Mission, and I know the Coachella Valley Association of Governments homelessness task force has been a resource as well.
What’s your favorite relaxation activity in Palm Desert?
It is jogging. I’ve been an avid jogger since I started when I was 19 years old, and I’ve not stopped since. I might be a little slower, but I love jogging. Like this morning, I was out at 5 a.m. jogging. So that’s what I do. Sometimes, though, because I’m getting older, I’ll add some walking, and then, usually, I’ll go to the Palm Desert mall. It’s a great place to be inside where it’s cool, and you can walk around.
Anyse Smith
How long have you been a resident of District 3, and why are you running to become the first Palm Desert District 3 city council member?
To your first question, I first moved to the city of Palm Desert in 2014, and when I moved to the city of Palm Desert, I was living in what would now be considered District 2 prior to the redistricting. So, I’ve lived in the city of Palm Desert, and in unincorporated areas of Palm Desert, since then. I moved to north Palm Desert late last year, prior to the redistricting that took place. That was a move I was very happy about, because I wanted to be closer to the freeway, of course, because I drive a lot for work. North Palm Desert, you know, is a growing area. It has a lot of amenities and services, but it definitely needs more. And now, as a north Palm Desert resident, I’m looking forward to working on behalf of my neighbors to ensure that the same amenities and the same services that we see in other parts of the city will also be here in north Palm Desert.
And then to part two: Why am I running? I’m running for Palm Desert City Council to represent north Palm Desert residents, because I believe that north Palm Desert needs a strong voice and advocate on the Palm Desert City Council. I, myself, am an educator. I teach at our local law school here in the city of Indio. I’m also a public-interest attorney, which means I work to expand access to justice for generally underserved communities. And I’ve been an advocate, a community advocate, in the Coachella Valley now for over 10 years. Advocacy is what I do. It is what is in my heart, to work on behalf of the community, to make sure that everyone has a voice and a say in determining the future of the place that we call home. That is why I’m running: to be an advocate for north Palm Desert residents.
What do you consider to be the top two issues confronting all Palm Desert residents, including your District 3 constituents?
If I had to boil it down to the top two issues, I would say public safety and supporting our seniors and working families. To the priority of public safety, look: Here in Palm Desert, we have a growing community, particularly in north Palm Desert, with approximately 7,000 new housing units, that’ll bring 9,000 new residents. And so, it’s no surprise that, as our population increases, we will also have a need for more fire services and more police services. I think that is one of the main issues facing the city right now, and that has been discussed within the budget process. And looking at Measure G, which is on the ballot in November, we can (use that revenue to) continue to maintain and improve our services and the level of services that we are providing to Palm Desert residents. We’re facing potential challenges with our budget in the coming years, as many cities are. And so, I think that quality of life means a city where we have safe neighborhoods, safe schools and safe businesses. I think I saw that there was a 30% increase in vehicle thefts in 2022 here in the city of Palm Desert. So, we definitely have some challenges that we need to tackle, because we want Palm Desert to continue to be a beautiful place to live for everyone, and part of that is making sure that our public safety apparatus is properly funded for the population increase that we are expecting to encounter here in the coming years.
Then, next I mentioned seniors and working families. Now, we know that there is an affordability problem. The economy has put many of our seniors and working families in a position where they don’t know if they can continue to afford their housing. The cost of everything is going up, and especially here, where a majority amount of our population are seniors, and we also have working families here, too. So, I believe it is the responsibility of the city to be proactive in supporting communities that will be most impacted by the rising costs of everything, be it housing, be it groceries, or any of the things that we pay for to maintain our lifestyles. It is extremely important for the city to make it a priority to take the actions needed to ensure that our seniors and working families can continue to live in Palm Desert. It is absolutely a priority of mine.
Palm Desert voters are being asked to vote on Measure G, or the “Safety, Roads, City Services Measure” sales tax proposal, which calls for a 1 cent increase in this tax. Do you support or oppose Measure G, and why?
First, I think we need to look at how we got here, as it concerns why city staff are recommending this particular one-cent sales tax measure. It is because the city is looking at a $17 million deficit, long term, if we continue at the same sales tax rate that we have now. Palm Desert already has one of the lowest sales-tax rates in the valley, and now we have needs that have to be met, including public safety that I already mentioned. It’s this growing demand and costs that have placed increased pressure on the city. You know, we have to maintain 911 emergency medical, police and fire response services. We have two fire stations right now that need to be updated, and a third station on the way that is going to need to be staffed. Additionally, with the expected population increase, we’re going to need more law enforcement officers, and I think the number is actually three, to keep up with the needs of the community. We already know that, over the past several years, emergency response times have fallen. I believe in 2019, for priority one calls, the average time was less than six minutes. And, as of last year, it’s over seven, and the average response time for any level of priority call is over 30 minutes, and those numbers keep going up every year. Now, that has to do with an increased number of calls. We have here one of the busiest fire stations in the country. Over 80% of those calls are for emergency services, and so we have to be able to maintain for Palm Desert residents our emergency medical, police and fire response times, and hopefully decrease them eventually. When people call 911, they expect that somebody is going to answer them, because they’re going through a very scary moment. And, in my opinion, it’s a disservice to the residents of Palm Desert not to do everything we can to make sure that the services that our residents expect are, in fact, provided. It is the city’s responsibility to make sure that that happens. And so now we’re faced with the question of: How do we address this? We have the cost of public safety going up, and I know that the city did explore numerous other outlets for how to address this upcoming deficit that we’re going to face. We’re balanced for this year and next year, but moving forward, we’re going to be taking more from our general-fund reserves, and so how do we address that? I think they explored options like increasing our TOT (transit occupancy tax), or increasing (Palm Desert’s) Prop A fire tax, but the only method to address the increasing costs and supply chain issues that will impact the city—not just residents, but the city—was to introduce the sales tax measure.
My understanding of the sales tax measure is that 100% of the revenues generated from this tax would remain in Palm Desert. That would equate to approximately $25 million which would be primarily used to maintain city service levels for police, fire, parks, public works, infrastructure, etc. Certain items are not going to be taxed including groceries, medical supplies, prescriptions, feminine products, diapers, things of that nature. And as I stated earlier, of the nine cities, Palm Desert has one of the lowest sales tax rates at 7.75%. So we’re trying to confront this like many cities are, because we owe it to the residents to do what we can to make sure that we can maintain the excellent quality of life that they expect and deserve. And so based off of all of that information that has been provided by the city, Measure G does seem as if it is going to be a necessary move to maintain our budget and not to go into a deficit and drain down our general fund reserves year after year. It is not good long-term planning to allow that to happen without providing a solution.
Although there are thousands of new housing units under construction in District 3, there’s a dearth of supermarkets, public safety facilities and services, schools and public transportation options to support the anticipated increase in population over the next 2-3 years. How will you address these quality-of-life needs for your constituents?
Great question. Well, to your point, I’ve been out talking to a lot of voters, and we all share a very similar sentiment that north Palm Desert has a lack of services and amenities for residents. And, I’m going to tie that back to support for Measure B (which mandated the creation of five electoral districts within the city) that we voted on (and passed) in November of 2022. My understanding is that the majority of that support came from north Palm Desert, and I think there’s a reason for that. Residents living here will tell you that we need more grocery stores. You know, we’d love to have a senior center. We’d love to have more green spaces, more areas that are walkable, a more walkable city, and definitely more access to health care services here locally. I’ve spoken to a number of residents who have shared with me that they cannot get doctor appointments anytime in the foreseeable future when they try to find doctors here. So, this is a big issue, and one of many, but again, we should absolutely have more grocery stores here in north Palm Desert.
Concerning public safety facilities, we do have the Sheriff’s Department located off of Gerald Ford, which is here in north Palm Desert, and fairly close and accessible for residents. But again, we’re also talking about fire stations, and Fire Station 102 is in the works now, and that will be coming as of next year right here in north Palm Desert. And rightfully so, because with as many as 7,000 new housing units and 9,000 new residents, we absolutely need to have a new fire station to meet the number of calls that are expected. We already know, and I mentioned it before, that we have currently one of the busiest fire stations in the nation, right here in Palm Desert. So, bringing that new fire station, I believe, is an excellent idea. It’s a necessary move to have a fire station here that is close enough so that it can respond to calls, and that response times are kept low.
Concerning the issue of schools, I was speaking with Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez, who has endorsed me, about this issue. I had communicated to him that many families who I had spoken with, and have children in school, were not pleased with the distance that they had to travel. Particularly, I think it was for middle school students; if they were in the Palm Springs Unified School District, they have to go all the way to school in Rancho Mirage. Now to clarify, in north Palm Desert, part of the (electoral) district is in Desert Sands Unified School District, and the other part of the district is in PSUSD. So, for those families who are located in the PSUSD part of the district, they find that they have to leave much earlier to bring their kids to school, and the students have to leave even earlier if they’re taking the bus. And so, I think it’s a very important conversation to have. We need to work with our partners at the county level and determine how we can bring more schools to meet the needs of our families with children.
And lastly, public transportation and transportation equity are subjects that I have been talking about a lot, but I certainly didn’t start that conversation. In attending City Council meetings, I have heard and seen numerous individuals make public comment about how it is very inconvenient for somebody who is riding the bus to get around Palm Desert, particularly in north Palm Desert. And I know that to be true, because during my time as a housing manager, I was housing seniors here in the city of Palm Desert, and this issue came up for one particular client. She loved her unit. She was so happy, because she had been unhoused for 11 years and was finally going to be able to settle in. So, she said, “How close is the bus?” She was 61 years old at the time, and she did not have a (driver’s) license. She went everywhere on foot or took the bus. And we drove and looked, and the closest bus stop was not anywhere close to her apartment. Of course, she continued with that unit, because she didn’t want to be living outside anymore. So, of course, she was going to accept it, but just to get to the grocery store required her to walk a very long distance, longer than she should have had to walk. So, I share that anecdote and the public comments that I’ve heard about the issue, which indicate that Palm Desert is not viewed as a city that’s very bus-rider friendly. But I believe that working closely with our partners in the community, particularly SunLine, we can determine how to become a place where you can ride the bus, or you can drive your car, but both are efficient, comfortable methods by which one can get to their doctor’s appointments, to the grocery store, or to school. Because right now, I imagine that most residents here do own cars, but not everybody does. And if we want to make it easier for people to improve their lives by going to school, but you can’t easily get from one side of the city to the other in order to go to class, or if you have to leave for work hours ahead of time, and you can’t work a shift that goes very late because the bus does not run very late, these things limit your options. So I think that continuing to work with SunLine and making sure they are aware of what residents are saying concerning the issue of transportation, I believe, is a responsibility of the City Council person, and it will certainly be a priority of mine. The goal is not to make things more difficult for people. It’s to try and find solutions that work for them.
What steps should the city of Palm Desert 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?
As a housing and homelessness advocate for the past 10 years, I love this question. I manage the housing program at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, and I manage the Housing First program at the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. I sit on the board of governance for the Riverside County Continuum of Care, which oversees all of our (Housing and Urban Development Department) and state funding that comes through the county to nonprofits and government agencies. Those funds go toward helping the most vulnerable in our communities. I’ve done street outreach. I’ve done case management. I’ve done housing navigation, homelessness prevention, and anything you can think of, I have done, and, one thing I’ve learned during those 10 years is that you have much better outcomes when you directly engage with individuals experiencing homelessness at their level. Meet them at their level, but never forget their humanity. People can tell you exactly what it is that they need, and it’s our job in those circumstances to provide those services. But very often, we try and apply one-size-fits-all solutions to this very, very difficult issue to tackle.
And I can tell you, we didn’t solve it. During the past years I was working on it, we definitely did some amazing work, and housed hundreds of people across the valley, but it’s a very complicated issue. And so, what steps should the city take? I would say that one step that the city has already taken, which I am very supportive of, is working with City Net for outreach services. So, if an individual is unhoused in the city of Palm Desert, they can contact one of the City Net case managers who will connect with them where they’re at, and then connect them with services and housing, amongst other things. But I will add that working with our nonprofit partners is one of the most proven-to-be effective ways to address homelessness. Nonprofits know how to do this work. They’ve been doing it for a long time. They are more tied into, and familiar with, the community that we are trying to assist. So I would be a huge proponent of increasing the amount of collaboration that we do with the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and CVAG, as well as increasing capacity for City Net involvement to the extent possible based on potential budget restrictions, tapping into our opiate settlement funds and finding creative ways to engage with our partners to get this done. I think that is more effective than the government, or in this case the city, trying to tackle the issue itself. And, of course, affordable housing has to be part of this conversation, because for unhoused people, finding a unit that they can afford and maintain for the long term is extremely difficult.
I sit on the board of the Community Housing Opportunities Corporation which brought the first affordable housing development to the city of Palm Springs in over 14 years. That’s the Monarch Apartments in the city of Palm Springs, and also the Dolores Huerta development in the city of Coachella. And while we have over 1,000 affordable housing units coming to the city of Palm Desert that are extremely important and will be a great benefit to the community, at the rate that individuals and families are falling into homelessness based on the affordability crisis, we have to do more. I’m a big believer in not just doing the bare minimum, but let’s exceed expectations where we can.
What’s your favorite relaxation activity in Palm Desert?
I do enjoy playing tennis, and going to Civic Center Park and walking around. I do that with my father when it’s not so hot outside. We go, and we just walk around and around at Civic Center Park. I really just enjoy being outside. The desert is such a beautiful place, and Palm Desert is such a beautiful place where we can enjoy being outside, and hiking, and really just tapping into nature. So, when the weather allows, I really enjoy just being outside.
I also play golf. So, I’ll play golf with my father sometimes. I don’t play good golf, so I’ll make that point. It’s not good golf, but I’ve got my clubs, and I get out there. So, I enjoy doing that with him as well. It’s a very nice opportunity for families to come together and be outside, and it’s also good for the overall health of the community, and that’s something that I very much enjoy.