Lisa Middleton is taking a break from political life.
At her Palm Springs home, she appears energized after getting some much-needed rest during the holiday season. As she wrapped up seven years on the Palm Springs City Council (2017-2024), including a term as mayor, Middleton ran to represent the newly drawn 19th State Senate District. In the general election, she got 45.2 percent of the vote, and was defeated by incumbent Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh.
Despite the loss, Middleton said she’s undeterred—and isn’t ruling out another run for elected office.
“My passion is not going to go away,” said Middleton, whose City Council term ended in December. “We’re trying to figure out just what alternatives there may be. I will possibly consider running for another office at some point in time. I haven’t made any firm decisions. I will also have some conversations regarding the possibility of appointed positions with the state government. It’s still very early. I’m still on the CalPERS board, so I have that direct involvement. It’s not as intense as being on City Council, so I’ve gotten a chance over the holidays to actually relax a little bit, which is kind of nice. But I care very deeply about Palm Springs and will continue to stay active.”
Middleton has been on the aforementioned California Public Employees’ Retirement System Board of Administration since 2019. The state organization manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.6 million public employees, retirees and their families.
Prior to her election to the Palm Springs City Council, Middleton served three years on the city’s Planning Commission. She has served on the boards of the Equality California Institute and the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, and was the Center’s interim executive director in 2014. Middleton worked for the State Compensation Insurance Fund for more than 20 years, overseeing workers’ compensation and moving up the ranks before retiring as senior vice president for internal affairs in 2010.
She made national headlines with her election to the Palm Springs City Council in 2017, becoming the first transgender person elected to a political office in the state of California. Middleton made her gender transition in 1995, decades before she would run for public office, and she has been deliberate about keeping the focus on her leadership, not her identity.
“I’m very proud of who I am and what I’ve accomplished, and being a first comes with the responsibility to be a good role model,” she said. “But being transgender is a part of who I am; it’s not my full identity by any stretch of the imagination. I was elected to be a responsible leader for the city of Palm Springs. The people of this community are committed to the proposition that everyone should be judged based on what they do, not who they are, and we’ve shown that over and over again with the people who we have elected, and how and what we expect of them.”
Middleton and her wife, Cheryl, have lived in Palm Springs since 2013. They have two grown children and three grandchildren.
As a City Council member, Middleton contributed to a period of unprecedented growth in Palm Springs. The city’s reserves grew from $32 million to $125 million, while police and fire department budgets increased significantly.
“Those are things that make a difference in the safety and quality of life of people who are living here,” she said.
The business sector benefited, too. City revenues grew from $110 million to $190 million in the past seven years. Middleton said she is “incredibly proud” of the council’s financial record during her tenure.
“We have added $100 million in reserves,” she said. “That is a remarkable accomplishment in terms of making sure this city is fiscally sound and responsible, and we’ve done it while being absolutely committed to the values of treating everyone with respect, of being a welcoming community to people across the spectrum, and holding true to our values that Palm Springs is going to be an incredibly inclusive community.”
Increasing the valley’s transportation network was a priority for Middleton during her council terms. She helped secure $50 million in state funding to build two “all-weather” bridges over the Whitewater Wash at Indian Canyon. The $75 million project is slated to end the frequent closures due to heavy wind and flooding on one of the most heavily traveled direct routes from Palm Springs to Interstate 10.
“Getting the funding for the bridge over Indian Canyon was absolutely critical,” Middleton said. “We’ve been trying for over 25 years to get that funding, and finally, it happened, because of the cooperation across the Coachella Valley. So I’m really pleased about that.”
She is a staunch advocate for bringing rail service to the Coachella Valley, seeing it as an important factor in connecting the area to other urban hubs.
“We’ve made more progress on bringing rail to the Coachella Valley in the last three to four years than had been done in the previous couple of decades. I’m very pleased to have been a part of that effort.”
Lisa Middleton
“We’re still only bringing just a handful of people into the valley through rail,” Middleton said. “So, if you do the simple math, we’ve got over 10 million visitors coming into the valley each and every year by automobile. If you get out on Interstate 10 on a holiday weekend, traffic is at a complete standstill—and none of us moved to the Coachella Valley wanting to get stuck in the same kind of traffic that we thought we left in L.A., or San Francisco and San Diego and all those other places.”
Middleton thinks the valley can be an innovator in this space, much like BART and the Metro system have been game-changers in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
“Historically, Amtrak in California (has) more riders than any place in the country, except for the corridor between Washington and New York,” Middleton said. “There’s more public transportation taking place in California than we get credit for. But too often, (it) has been primarily used just as a commuter tool, helping people get to and from work. We need to do much more to make it a choice for recreation and leisure, and that’s where the Coachella Valley comes in so critically, because what we can demonstrate by building rail into the Coachella Valley is that it can be a tool used by everyone, including individuals who have all the ability in the world to purchase and drive an automobile, but who choose public transportation to commute for recreation, because it’s a much more pleasant experience.
“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made more progress on bringing rail to the Coachella Valley in the last three to four years than had been done in the previous couple of decades. I’m very pleased to have been a part of that effort.”
When asked about the accomplishment of which she’s most proud, Middleton didn’t mention the big-ticket projects she’s helped bring to fruition, or her record of advocating for progressive causes.
“The thing about being on City Council that has pleased me the most, personally, is how many people appreciate the way I’ve dealt with issues,” Middleton said. “Some of my most humbling comments have come from folks who will come up to me and say, ‘You know, I’m very conservative, and I frequently don’t agree with you, but I really appreciate the way you explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.’ That’s what we should be achieving—respect for our differences and respect enough for people to give them an explanation. One of the mottos I live by in terms of government is if you can’t clearly and precisely explain why you’re doing something, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.”
Middleton expressed confidence in the city’s new leadership. Former City Manager David Ready ran unopposed to fill Middleton’s District 5 seat, and health-care professional Naomi Soto bested four other candidates to claim the open seat in District 4, which had been represented by Christy Holstege.
“We have a very good City Council,” Middleton said. “I’m very pleased with the five members who are there. I’m extremely pleased that David Ready is following me on council. He and I have very different personalities, but very similar values and approaches to issues, so we’re in good hands.”
Ms. Middleton was one of the more levelheaded members of the Palm Springs City Council. I was impressed with her skepticism of the guaranteed income program that later turned out to be a scam perpetrated against the City’s taxpayers. Other City Council members were all in without having done the necessary due diligence. I hope Ms. Middleton runs again for public office. It’s unfortunate that a town as progressive as Palm Springs is represented by less progressive Republicans in the State Senate, the State Assembly, and the U.S. House of Representatives.