On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Palm Springs residents living in the newly drawn Districts 1, 2 and 3 will head to the polls to elect three City Council members.
These elections are the first step in the city’s transition from at-large to district-based representation, to comply with the California Voting Rights Act. The changeover will be complete after the November 2020 election of council members in Districts 4 and 5.
(To see the newly drawn districts, visit www.palmspringsca.gov/government/city-clerk/election-general-municipal-election.)
Another change: The city will no longer have a directly elected mayor; instead, Palm Springs will join most other valley cities in designating a councilmember as mayor for a year on a rotating basis.
The Independent recently reached out to the three candidates running for the new District 3 seat. Both incumbent Geoff Kors and challenger Michael J. Dilger spoke with us at length, while candidate Alan Pettit declined to be interviewed.
Here are their complete answers, edited only slightly for style and clarity, presented in the order in which the candidates will appear on the ballot.
Michael J. Dilger, Gig Worker/Perennial Candidate (formerly ran for New York City mayor and Congress; his Twitter account says he’s a “Write-In Nonpartisan Candidate: The President of The United States of America”), 46 years old
What do you believe is the single most important and immediate issue facing the city of Palm Springs?
There are three things that I think need to be addressed: the security issues of Palm Springs, the “quality of life”—which includes the homelessness (situation) and the unfunded liabilities which amount to more than $300 million—and I’d like to include medicine and science. But for brevity, if I had to pick out the single most important issue facing Palm Springs, it would probably be the “quality of life”/security.
If you look at current trends across the United States, we live in a very polarized political environment that has cascading effects such as police officers being shot, citizens (being) antagonistic toward the police, and you see it manifested in other areas, too, because it’s like a trickle-down effect. So, it’s quality of life. “Quality of life” is the single most important issue facing Palm Springs. And, under “quality of life” come security, homelessness and economic viability. These are very complex issues. I know you want an answer that will just reduce it down to one thing, but I can’t do that, because they’re all intertwined.
But, if you’re asking me what would I do first if I’m elected to office, in the first 90 days, there are certain things I’d like to do. I believe in getting off on the right footing, and being very strong out there and doing a lot of things right away. So I’d like to talk to the police. As we move forward and evolve in the United States, we’re going to need new policing standards, because the old tactics are not going to work as effectively. Palm Springs is not a sleepy community any more. The big cities are growing larger, and policing in New York City now is not the same policing we had back in the 1970s. That wouldn’t be effective today, and what we’re doing right now is not going to be effective 10 years from now. The same goes for Palm Springs. So if you ask me what I would do in my first 90 days, I’d like to address a lot of key issues, like to talk to the police department and introduce new methodologies of policing. Then, I’d like to address the power structure of our community. You have underground power lines and above ground power lines, and yet you have entire blocks that are dark sometimes at around midnight. Now I know that some of these are planned outages, but a lot are unplanned, like when we have inclement weather, and for various other reasons, entire blocks just lose power. That’s not healthy during the summer; it’s not healthy really any time, and it’s just a very bad environment to have that. So I’ll work with the governor on that within my first 90 days.
Also, I want to help the homeless immediately, because you can’t have anyone just living on the street. Everyone talks about helping the homeless, but no one knows what to do. No one’s going to help. They need houses; they need actual physical homes to go to. There’s a lot of reasons why people are homeless, but in 2019, one of the largest reasons why people are homeless is substance abuse. It used to be that you were on the street if you’re mentally ill. Now people are displaced due to opioids and heroin, and we have to address that. I talked to one person on the campaign trail, and he said, “You know, Mike, we owned a clothing store, my wife and I. But we had to close our store, because the homeless would come in to use our bathroom, and they ‘d inject heroin in there. We called the police, but the police couldn’t legally do anything, because they couldn’t stop and frisk them, and they didn’t see them injecting the drugs. So, we finally closed the clothing store because it just got to be too much.” They signed their names to get me on the ballot.
So, these issues are not going to go away. In the first 90 days, I think another important issue is security and the “quality of life,” and I’ll get the ball rolling on all these things. I talked to a security guard at Rite Aid in the Palm Canyon area, and he said there was a beauty store robbed. One (recent) Sunday at 11:30 a.m., two people came in; then they brought another guy in, and they all had guns, or two had guns or whatever the story is, and you can’t have that stuff. These are all things that I would address actually within the first 30 days, 60 days. I know how you get the ball rolling. And the most important thing is giving people safe (surroundings). Especially in Palm Springs—people aren’t coming here to work on Wall Street. They’re not coming here to make a flourishing living. They come here to vacation, to retire, to relax, to be safe and have a good time. So we have to come up with that kind of environment.
What grade would you give the city of Palm Springs regarding its response to date to the homelessness problem? What has the city done well, and what future actions and policies would you support?
The city of Palm Springs sprayed for mosquitoes over the summer time, and I think they’re continuing. It was around 2, 3, 4 a.m. in the morning, and I saw the helicopters. I deliver food. I’m a gig worker, so I was out then. I saw the helicopters, but I didn’t exactly know what they were doing. But then when I read about it in the paper, I thought, “Oh geez … they’re spraying.” So I’ve got to ask the question, “Did anyone get the homeless off the street before they sprayed?” … Regardless of whether or not they say the spray is innocuous, it’s not innocuous. I looked up the chemicals. It’s not innocuous, you know. Anyway, that’s another story. But if the homeless weren’t removed off the streets prior to spraying, then I give Palm Springs a total “F”; even an “F”-minus. Come on.
Now, if they were removed off the street (prior to spraying), what would I give Palm Springs in regards to the homeless? I’d still give them an “F”. You know why? Because the (homeless) are still on the streets. And if they’re still on the streets, that means someone is being derelict in their duties. Someone is doing a really bad job, because you have another human (living insecurely). I see them, and it’s always someone else’s responsibility. There’s no shelter here. … I tell you what: I’ve been around, and I’ve done a lot of things in life, and I know how things work. And, I still give (the city) an “F” for helping the homeless. And I give the entire state of California and “F” for helping the homeless, because they’ve got them in tents and under viaducts all the way from Northern California down to L.A. And if you really want me to be honest: Do you remember when San Diego had the hepatitis “A” outbreak? Well, what happened is, and they don’t tell you this, but I suspect that a lot of the places all around the United States all want the homeless out of their communities, so they give bus tickets to (homeless individuals) and send them to California. And everyone thinks that San Diego has the perfect environment. Even New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio might have paid people to come to California. So anyway, San Diego gets a hepatitis “A” outbreak, and how does that happen? (Editor’s note: On Sept. 1, 2017, San Diego County declared a local health emergency due to a hepatitis “A” outbreak that lasted until Jan. 23, 2018.) It’s transferred through fecal matter. Anyway, long story short, a lot of the businesses in downtown San Diego would allow the homeless to use their bathrooms, no problem. But suddenly, San Diego gets an influx of homeless, and the business owners start to say, “Hey. No, you can’t use our bathroom today.” So people started to defecate in the street. So that’s how the hepatitis “A” outbreak started, but no one will tell you that. I don’t have proof. That’s just a postulate.
Again, is there any specific strategy or plan that you would employ to better deal with the homeless issue in Palm Springs if you’re elected to the City Council?
I don’t think that hotels work. I’ve seen the effect when New York City commandeers hotels, and people on the block don’t like it. It lowers house values in the community, and it just becomes a free-for-all at that point.
First, I think you’ve got to get people housing. You can 3-D print a home in less than 24 hours, and you can do it for as little as $4,000. Now, that’s not long term, but people just need to have a place to go. And for people who have cognitive abilities who can get back into the work force, we’ve got to get them into the work force right away. And, for people who have severe mental illness, we have to have resources for them, (including) counseling staff, but they still have to have a place to go—not a halfway house, and not a tenement, because that’s not a solution. So, immediate housing (is needed) and not using a hotel, but perhaps using innovative means like 3-D printing a house, or you talk to people and give them subsidies to bring a person in (to their home), but I don’t know if that will work. The thing that could probably be most effective is finding certain pieces of land and actually building places. Getting businesses involved and making it like a (recreation) center: If you’re down on your luck, or things aren’t working in your life, or you’ve got a substance-abuse problem, you know, you come here. And not to stay in a shelter, because it’s not a shelter, because a shelter is like a camp where you’ve got to sleep 100 to 200 people in a room. Actually, it’s more like a hotel, because you have your own room, but it’s not staffed with people who are apathetic. It’s actually staffed by good people who want to get people back on their feet. And you get businesses involved, like Starbucks, because it’s good for them, and it’s good publicity. Once you get them involved, and they want to hire these people on an interim basis, then you’re getting (these homeless individuals) back into the work force.
But there’s got to be more done to implement something like this. If it were up to me, I’d burn down every shelter in the United States, because I think they’re all cesspools. I don’t think they’re effective, and they’ve got lice and bed bugs. I think there’s rampant drugs (being abused), prostitution and crime. You’ve got to have a good place. It should be kind of like a YMCA. You ever been to a YMCA in New York City, like the Vanderbilt YMCA? It’s a block from the (United Nations campus), and you tell people that you’re staying at the YMCA, and they think, “Oh … the YMCA, really?” But no, because the Vanderbilt YMCA is like an oasis in the city. You’ve got a gym there; you’ve got a pool, and it’s got a great staff. You’ve got good values (at work), and everybody’s got their own room. This isn’t a homeless-priced community, but it actually costs only $100 per night to stay there. So, my point is that if you had a place like that, that operates on the same model as that, but you’ve got businesses involved, I think it could be effective. Let me just say that what we’re doing right now isn’t working.
The cannabis industry has come to Palm Springs. How has the city handled it so far? What changes, if any, would you make regarding dispensaries, lounges and other cannabis businesses in the future?
In 1970, when people used to smoke marijuana, it was totally different than now in 2019. The legalization of marijuana is in its infancy, so there’s not research to (explain) how it’s affecting people. But, let me say that emergency-room physicians in Denver, Colorado, have had people come in to their ER with symptoms that they can’t explain, because they’ve never seen them before. Then, the (patients) say, “Well, I’ve been smoking marijuana.” And, the ER doctors say, “Hey, this is totally different than how marijuana used to be back in 1970s-1980s.” Marijuana now is like 25 times stronger. So, if people really want to be honest, they don’t know how this is going to affect people mentally in the long term.
But, I can’t answer the question of how Palm Springs has handled the cannabis business, because it’s too new. I’ve read that they have some new dispensaries opening; there’s one on South Palm Canyon across from Rite Aid, but the only reason people have marijuana now is because there aren’t enough Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbergs and other creative people who can create jobs and careers for people to allow them to unlock their talents, their gifts. The politicians, we can’t do that, obviously, so they give people marijuana to keep them high. Meanwhile, do you think they keep everyone high in China? Come on … not a bit. Meanwhile, every one’s going to be high in the United States. What do you think will happen (in) the mid-2020s when China’s economy really starts to rocket, and India goes into second place, and you’ve got Americans who just want to get high? It’s not a good policy. I know people want to have a good time; I get it. I know human nature. But, as a leader, I’m not going to advocate that. I’m not going to do it. I don’t have kids, but I want to have kids someday. And when my kids sit down with me, I’m going to (tell them), “You know, I don’t want you to do that. I want you to save your faculties and see if you can become the next Einstein. I want you to do something magnificent in life.” I don’t think a lot of people smoking pot are doing amazing things with their life. But I could be wrong. You can write that, too. I don’t care.
What can or should be done to decrease crime in Palm Springs?
They’re building a new arena for hockey, and I guess it will be used for more than hockey, and that’s going to bring as much as 10,000 people into our community at a time. I don’t think the current Palm Springs police force is going to be able to handle the excess people. So, they (could) enlarge the police force by (getting) more citizens involved, like citizens on patrol, but I think obviously, they’re going to have to hire more officers. But at some point, the current policing standards that we have will start to break down.
So what can we do? Well, I think we need to rely more on technology to help police. It seems very bad when an officer approaches a car, lets down his guard (and then is killed), as we saw with what happened in Texas with the deputy sheriff who was shot in the back of the head. I have ideas for a certain kind of technology that (allows) the officer to feel safe approaching a car and walking away from a car. … There are all kinds of things we could do. Also, with respect to mass shootings, although “knock on wood,” we haven’t had one here yet, I’m not an advocate of having teachers carrying holstered guns within the school. But I am an advocate of having creative ways to know if a kid is bringing a gun into a school. I have ideas for that, too. And thirdly, if you have a poor quality of life and a lot of drugs in a community, I know there’s people giving drugs to a lot of people (living) on the streets so that they stay on the street. So, we have to reduce that. Also, the security guard at Rite Aid said, and it’s probably speculation on his part, that the people who were responsible for the holdup they had at the beauty salon recently were probably from a gang in Desert Hot Springs. So, we have to completely reduce that. There’s all kind of things we can do. You’ve got to have the will to do it, though. There’s no reason that crime can’t be reduced dramatically, but you have to want to do it. That doesn’t mean getting out there and having a police department that’s militarized. Nobody wants that. It’s not good for the citizenry. We want to reduce crime by relying on technology or a smarter way of policing that keeps officers safe and keeps the community safe. Make Palm Springs a “smart city” where you don’t rely entirely on technology, but make it a lot more reliant than it is, and I think crime will be dramatically reduced.
When you speak about technology, are you talking about cameras and surveillance, or are you talking about other forms?
No, I’m not thinking about cameras and surveillance. Like with an officer approaching a car, there are certain devices—you could call it a “guardian angel”—that approaches the car before (the officer), and everything is handled remotely. It’s almost like a robot. And for the school system, I wasn’t thinking of cameras; it would be (a device) that is like an octopus, that has a way of detecting if someone has a gun, and it doesn’t harm the student who has a gun, but it benevolently wraps them up so they can’t move and therefore can’t fire the gun.
Again, as for the community at large, I’m not thinking of cameras. I’m thinking of certain (strategies) such as not having blackouts, either planned or unplanned. As for the police, there are all kinds of ideas that come to my mind. Off the top of my head, we need to have (the police) more involved with the community. In 2019, it seems that they’re not people’s friends. And it’s not the officers, and it’s not the people; it’s just the environment. We have to have more of an Andy Griffith-type of police (department). I know it sounds like a joke, and too good to be true, but you don’t want to feel like the officer is trying to pry for information and knowledge. You want an officer who’s around, and you think, “He’s my friend,” or, “She’s my friend.” In New York, you’ve got 8 million people living in the city, and they just lost an officer recently, and I tell you what they do there: The officers go out (because the city is made up of different precincts) and they’re the greatest intel officers, because they know everyone in the community. So if there’s any anomaly or aberration, they ask people during casual interactions. This has been happening for like the past eight years, but it is still effective, and that’s how every community has got to be all across the United States. If you enhance that (approach) with everything else like bulletproof windows on cop cars, and protective technology for officers and improving the quality of life for everybody, it’s going to reduce crime.
The only reason a kid joins a gang is because he doesn’t know who he is. He feels peer-pressured, and he’s got the wrong friends, and he might not have family. He doesn’t know where he’s going in life, because he can’t think yet. But if you put a community officer with maybe a celebrity who walks in the community from time to time, you get people involved and excited about life and their dreams and their goals. The next thing you know, the kid says, “Hey! What am I in this gang for? This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” I get it. It takes willpower, and it’s a constant struggle. You’ve got to inspire people to do this kind of thing. Otherwise, it works for a month or a short time, or it doesn’t work at all, and we’re back to the same stuff. It’s more imperative that we do this in 2019 than at any other time in history. I’m only 46, but I would venture that you never had people who disrespected police like we do now. It’s really imperative that we get back on track. That will enhance the community and keep it safe.
You know, I was at Rite Aid last night buying ice cream. I go there almost every night to buy ice cream; I get my ice cream and then go to bed. So I’m buying a scoop of ice cream, and there’s no one in the line. I start to pay, and then I walk back to get something to drink and then walk back up to the cashier, and he’s already ringing me up, and all of sudden, two guys in line start giving me a hard time. And I’m like, “What the heck?” Finally, I got sick of it and I said, “What are you talking about? I was here before you guys got (in line).” And they said, “Are you sure about that?” And I’m thinking: This is ridiculous. This is the kind of stuff I went through in the city (of New York). I don’t want to go through this here in sleepy Palm Springs where everybody is supposed to be nice. So I’ve noticed a change in people’s behavior, and we’ve got to get people back to wanting to be helpful and charitable to (other) people. The way it starts is with the leaders exuding that benevolence, giving people that reason to do good things and inspiring people. Then, every one else in society starts to follow suit. I know I’m only running for City Council, but it starts there. Whatever happens in Palm Springs can be a model for the entire state of California, as well as the United States. I firmly believe that in my heart.
What is your reaction to the proposed construction of a downtown 10,000 seat arena by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians?
It amazes me that nobody, not Native Americans or local politicians in Palm Springs, can work out the parking. That aside, it’s a positive for the community. It’s the 32nd amateur hockey team. (Editor’s note: The team slated to play at the arena is a professional minor-league hockey team.) So, that’s a real positive for the kids around this area, because it gets them involved in things. It gets them out of their shell. A kid might say, “Hey! I want to be a hockey player, or I like sports.” You know kids are spending too much time on their iPhones and social media. It’s a positive.
When I first heard about it, I thought, “It’s going to change the downtown of Palm Springs.” And it is. But I think it’s a real boon for Palm Springs and the kids as well as the local citizens. Now I get it, too, because I know that a lot of people who live in that area and are worried that it’s going to block their view of the mountains. But I read today that a lot of it is going to be built underground, and that’s genius. So, I’m thinking real optimistically about it right now, and I’ve got ideas about how to handle the parking if they don’t come up with ideas. There are all kinds of things we could do. We could have people park remotely, and we could make a train to get people in (to the arena downtown). There are all kinds of things we could do to really jazz things up. I think it’s a win-win deal. I think it’s a good thing.
Is the city of Palm Springs ready for an economic recession?
That’s a complex question. From what I understand, Palm Springs has, I think, it’s $340 million in unfunded liabilities. I’m not on the inside track right now. I haven’t looked at the books. I don’t know where their investments are. To be honest, I can’t answer if Palm Springs is ready for another recession, because I don’t know where the money is or what they have as a surplus. But if you ask me how I would appropriate resources if economic hard times hit the area, the police department, fire department and paramedics would always get resources from me. I would never stifle any emergency worker, because if you stifle emergency workers, then you stifle your citizens, because that’s your protective fabric. You need them. We’d have to get money for them. Then I’d worry about the people who are struggling in our community. If there are elderly who are struggling to pay their rent, I would help them. Or if there are children who are with parents who don’t have air conditioning in the summer time, I’ll always help the people who are without resources. But, honestly, I can’t answer the question if Palm Springs is ready for another economic downturn. I’m not at City Hall right now, and I haven’t looked at the books.
What’s your idea of the perfect night out in Palm Springs?
The perfect night out … you know, whatever I do in life, I always seem to work a lot. I did have a date, though. I had a date about six months ago with this woman who was from Amsterdam. So, what did we do? We went to Ruby’s and had milkshakes and burgers, and afterward, we went to Starbucks. So, that seemed like a nice night out for me. I’m pretty simple.
Indian Canyon Drive will soon be a two-way thoroughfare. Yay or nay?
So, I’m driving this past Saturday night, and I’m on Palm Canyon going toward Ramon Road. There are so many cars on the street, and I’m thinking, “The season hasn’t even started yet, and there are all these cars.” And I went to Starbucks, and they had closed already; they’re turning everyone away at the door. Follow me here for a second: There are all these people, and the season hasn’t even started yet. What happens when the season starts, and we’ve got an extra 10,000 people here?. Everyone speeds down Palm Canyon if you’ve noticed. As we increase with people, we’ve got to worry about people’s safety. Maybe (the city should) block off Palm Canyon between like Amado and Baristo. Now, do we make Indian Canyon two-way? I’ve got to think about this. This is where the smart city comes into play—if we had an app that people could go on and see how the transportation schedules are working with the buses, the traffic and maybe a train. Maybe a train is not a bad deal, too.
We could have remote parking for the arena, and then we could have a train that actually makes various stops. You mentioned “the perfect night out.” Well, the perfect night out for a lot of people—for me, it’s going to Ruby’s—but for a lot of people, it’s walking down Palm Canyon and going to restaurants like Le Vallauris or LG’s. So if we had some sort of mass transportation that was clean, all solar and efficient, people could take it to go to key points. There’d be the downtown sector. And let’s say we built an artificial intelligence center for the students to go to after school. And let’s say that the train went all the way up to the Tramway. And let’s say we had a longevity center with all the latest ground-breaking technologies and where doctors could come in, so the train could stop there. And since space is a big deal now, let’s say you had a space center sponsored by big business or people who have an interest in this (pursuit). So it could stop there. You move people around like this. Making a train for just one thing, just the arena—I don’t know if that’s a good idea, but if you had these five to seven hot spots that I’ve got in the back of my head right now, then you wouldn’t have to make Palm Canyon a two-way, because you’d get people moving efficiently. Palm Springs is beautiful, so they’ll all be looking around at the scenery, and you’ll cut down on congestion, and cut down on accidents. You can do a lot of different things, and this is safe. You won’t have people getting hit by cars, or perhaps you won’t have crime.
I was sitting at the Coffee Bean last year, in the summer of 2018, and I was on my phone. A man walked in, and a man ran out. And a woman screamed and yelled, “He took my purse!” Her husband ran out after him, so I ran after him too. Her husband caught up to the guy in the parking lot next to the Palm Mountain Resort, and he’s pulling the guy out of the car. Meanwhile, I’m taking a picture of the license plate and car, then I called the police. The police came, and they never did get her purse back, but my point is that as we increase with people, you’re going to have weird stuff like this happen. But with smart ways of getting around the city, and enhancing the city with other pleasurable things that are cool to do, and looking to the future, we could actually have a “smart” train, whether it’s solar or hydrogen or electric—we could do all kinds of things. So, the jury is still out on making Indian Canyon a two-way, because I don’t know how it would be. It might just be chaos. So that’s the second question I don’t know, and I’m not afraid to say I don’t know.
I guess we’ll find out, because they’re doing it.
Oh, they are doing it right now? They’re making it two-way?
Yes. Work has started already.
Well, when I get elected, I’ll introduce my ideas, and maybe we’ll change it back.
What question should we have asked you that we haven’t so far? And what’s your answer to that question?
When I’m elected, I bring three important things. I bring integrity to that office. I will always do what is right for the will of people, not for my own interests, but for the community and the entire state of California to make life better for people. I’m not a politician. I’m a person who has ideas and wants to fulfill his calling to do good with his life. At this point in my life, this is what I’ve been trying to do since 2007. I’ve been trying to get elected to office. I do it honestly. I don’t take money from people, so that once I get there to elected office, I’m not going to have to do their will, and can do the people’s will. I do it the honest way. I’ll bring integrity to the office in its truest sense. Secondly, altruism. It’s bigger than I am, and it’s about being selfless. I believe in a greater good. I believe in God. It’s about doing work for the greater good. Thirdly, I bring new ideas, but I’m also a realist, too. I don’t believe that every one of my ideas is the best idea on earth. But if I come up with a hundred ideas, one idea will be the best, and it’s going to work. That’s how I operate. I continue to farm out ideas, until it’s like ,“Eureka!” And it’s the best idea to make life better for people. Maybe the “guardian angel” approach robot (for police car stops) is not the best idea in the world, but if I come up with another 99 ideas, one of them is, hopefully, going to help a police officer and save his life, and save another person’s life.
Geoff Kors, Palm Springs City Council Member/Mayor Pro Tem, 58 years old
What do you believe is the single most important and immediate issue facing the city of Palm Springs?
The No. 1 issue facing Palm Springs is to ensure that we continue our economic growth, so that we can provide a high level of services to our residents, and address homelessness, the issue of affordable housing, infrastructure repairs and other matters that all take resources. Given CalPERS losing 40 percent of the pension money that local governments have paid in, we need to continue to build our reserves, as we’ve done over the last four years, and (continue to build) our economy, so that we can honor our pensions and our other obligations while continuing to move our city forward.
Any specific thoughts on how you’d like to see the city maintain or generate more revenues?
Our budget has grown substantially since the recession; I created and the council adopted a pension-reserve fund so that we could start putting money away to pay for future pension costs instead of having to make cuts to pay them. We have close to $40 million in reserves, more than double from when I was elected four years ago, and we have engaged in a number of programs to continue to pump our business community and spur economic development. I started a bimonthly meeting of a new Economic Development and Business Retention Subcommittee which I co-chair with Councilmember (Christy) Holstege. We have launched a number of new economic-incentive programs in order to keep our economy moving, and we’ve also created our “Uniquely Palm Springs” program to promote our local small businesses in Palm Springs, so that those will continue to fuel our economy and create jobs.
What grade would you give the city of Palm Springs regarding its response to date to the homelessness problem? What has the city done well, and what future actions and policies would you support?
I’ve served as the co-chair of the homelessness task force for the last four years, and part of that time, the city wasn’t doing very much other than contributing some funding to Roy’s, the homeless shelter that the county closed down three years ago. Homelessness, poverty and mental health are all issues that are the responsibility of the county under state law, and not cities. The county is the entity with a social-service department, and (it’s) the entity up until now that has received all the funding for investment purposes. Over the last three years, the city and the subcommittee I co-chaired have decided that given the lack of funding from the county, we needed to step up and fill that void. So, we’ve hired now two homelessness and health crisis teams that are on the ground seven days a week. We’ve put something into a number of programs, including the housing-first program; (we’ve) transitioned 200 residents into housing. And recently, Councilmember Holstege and I led an effort to work with Assembly member Chad Mayes to lobby legislative leadership and Gov. Newsom for direct funding to Palm Springs. The result was that we’ll be receiving $10 million to help address homelessness in Palm Springs. We’re the only city other than the largest 14 cities in the state to be receiving money.
Do you have any potential steps or strategies looking forward that you’d like to share with readers/voters?
Sure. While we don’t have all the rules and restrictions on (that) funding from the state, our focus is on permanent solutions to move people off the streets and into housing. What we lack in Palm Springs, and throughout the west valley, is transitional and permanent supportive housing. Without that, it’s very difficult to help people transition off the streets. That housing is essential, and it needs to have wrap-around services. So, that is the priority as we move forward.
The cannabis industry has come to Palm Springs. How has the city handled it so far? What changes, if any, would you make regarding dispensaries, lounges and other cannabis businesses in the future?
Palm Springs was the first city in Riverside County to allow medical marijuana many, many years ago. We were also at the forefront when recreational cannabis (use) was passed by the voters. Cannabis is a legal business and should be treated as a legal business, but cannabis facilities need to adhere to the rules, which include not emitting odor, and ensuring that all their products are safe and tested. I think one change that we have proposed—and I’m on the subcommittee with Councilmember (J.R.) Roberts—is that there are business requirements in all zones of the city, including industrial zones. Since industrial zones border some of our residential neighborhoods, we are proposing significant fines and suspensions for any cannabis business that is in violation of the odor requirements. We’ve retained an outside odor expert, and all cannabis facilities have to have a plan approved by this expert in order to open and operate. This has had a significant impact on reducing some of the odor issues that were being experienced, and we are looking at creating a “green zone” with tax incentives to encourage cannabis facilities, particularly growers and manufacturers, to be further away from residential neighborhoods.
We are continuing to meet with groups in the cannabis industry and other stakeholders as this industry evolves to make sure that we are doing it in a way that is fair to the businesses, that doesn’t create a burden on our neighborhoods and residents, and works for everyone involved.
What can or should be done to decrease crime in Palm Springs?
I think our police chief and department do an excellent job. Their community and neighborhood policing programs have been very successful. We are very fortunate that we continue to maintain our own police department as compared with many other cities that contract with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
There’s no level of crime that we should ever be comfortable with. We always want to do better. Since the recession of more than a decade ago, we have provided full funding to staff our police, fire and emergency medical departments. That is due in large part to voters having passed Measure D, which provided us (with) the resources to do that. The police recently hired six new graduates from the police academy who have just started their on-the-ground training with the department. Upon their graduation (about 3-4 weeks ago), all of them were top-rate and did extremely well, and we’re looking forward to having those additional people working for us in the city. We’ve also added significant numbers of fire fighters and emergency medical personnel, as ensuring the health and safety of our residents is a prime priority of government.
What is your reaction to the proposed construction of a downtown 10,000 seat arena by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians?
The arena will bring a hockey team, the first professional sports team, to Palm Springs, as well as entertainment, family shows and additional convention space, all (of which are) things that greatly benefit our residents and our city. That said, it’s important that we work to mitigate any potential negative impacts affecting public safety.
As soon as the arena was announced, I reached out to senior staff at the tribe to engage them in working with us on a parking study, which we are in the process of doing. It’s important that, on nights when there’s a major event, we don’t lose parking for our other businesses, our residents and our neighborhoods. Given past ventures from the tribe, we know that they are very good at business, and that they’re going to want this significant investment to be successful, which means making sure that those issues are addressed. The city will continue to work closely with them on those issues as time moves forward.
I was pleased to see the renderings (of the proposed arena design) which show that this is not an extremely tall arena, as many have feared. It’s being built partly underground and with a very midcentury design that is appropriate for the city of Palm Springs. Plus, I like hockey, and I look forward to going to games, as I think many of our residents are.
Palm Springs is such an amazing place to live, and I can’t think of another city with some 45,000 full-time residents that has an international airport with direct flights to 20 cities, a world-class museum, festivals like the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Modernism Week, incredible restaurants, and wonderful retail—and that all causes a lot of people to come here. A city of 45,000 would not have all of these wonderful amenities for residents without us maintaining our charm, our warm, friendly environment and our beautiful natural surroundings. That’s what makes me so love Palm Springs.
Is the city of Palm Springs ready for an economic recession?
I believe we are much better situated if there is another economic downturn than we were prior to the last recession. We have close to $40 million in reserves. We have put in place numerous incentive programs to encourage investment in Palm Springs. We have more full-time residents than we had previously, and a much more diverse demographic living here. We have focused on promoting tourism, not just for people who live across the country or around the world, but also more locally. We’ve added some $200,000 to the budget this year for research on, and promotions to, people living within a 60-mile radius—people who can come into Palm Springs for the day, shop, go to an event, go out to dinner and generate tax revenue and help our small businesses. In an economic downturn people may not travel (in) from as far away, but people who live closer are not going to travel as far away, either. So, keeping our focus, in part, on people who can drive here, or fly from close places like San Francisco, Portland or Seattle, has been a high priority. That will help us keep our tourism-based economy moving in the event of an economic downturn. So, that research is just getting underway, and I would anticipate that the marketing pieces will probably launch right around the beginning of 2020.
What’s your idea of the perfect night out in Palm Springs?
For me, I think the perfect night out would be to make dinner on the barbecue and sit outside under the stars with my husband, James, and my dog, Dash, and have some quiet alone time in paradise. Being on council and having so many events that we all do, the thought of having a totally relaxing night and cooking outside is great. That’s not to say that there aren’t wonderful restaurants, and attractions, and theater, and other events to go to in Palm Springs. We have so many of them, and I enjoy doing (those things). But the perfect night would really be to just be outside—at this time of year, it’s just so beautiful out—enjoy the stars and spend time with the two beings that I love.
Indian Canyon Drive will soon be a two-way thoroughfare. Yay or nay?
I support changing Indian Canyon from what was known as the four-lane freeway out of town to a two-way roadway. Most of the money (for the conversion) came from a competitive grant process for public safety which Palm Springs was awarded through (the Coachella Valley Association of Governments) thanks to the great work of our staff. Indian Canyon was not safe for pedestrians or bicyclists, and was also dangerous for cars. It was on that basis that we were rewarded the grants. It will slow down traffic and make it safer. It will make Indian Canyon part of what is now a wonderful downtown. From the museum to the convention center, with the cultural center and spa and the new arena on tribal land and the rest of our downtown on city land, it will really integrate all of it. It will also help a great deal to spur economic growth and help businesses on Indian Canyon, because it will be more pedestrian-friendly, and cars will be coming in from both ways, so it will feel more like an integrated part of our city. You know, with the arena coming now, too, this will allow the city to move traffic freely, when necessary, in either direction to (facilitate) getting people in or out based on traffic studies and what makes the most sense. It also gives us a two-way road when Palm Canyon Drive is closed for VillageFest every Thursday, or Pride or any of the other events that happen on Palm Canyon.
What question should we have asked you that we haven’t so far? And what’s your answer to that question?
Your questions have touched on some of the important issues such as our economy, public safety, infrastructure and homelessness which are among the many issues we are working to address. In January, I became the liaison for the Parks and Recreation Commission, and one of the issues I recently started to focus on is upgrading our parks. I’ve lived in other cities and grew up where the neighborhood park was integral to our lives. It’s where I played kickball after school. It’s where my dad taught me to play tennis. It’s where we had family picnics. Here, we have such wonderful and beautiful parks, but we need to activate them, and we need to upgrade them.
I recently worked to get water fountains and watering stations in our parks. We’re testing one out in Ruth Hardy Park, and then we’ll be moving on to other parks. I want to help clean up Sunrise Park so that our residents can enjoy it. We stopped some behavior that was going on there, and I really want us to continue to focus on how we treat every single one of our parks.
The last thing I’ll say is that I love living in Palm Springs. I can’t think of anywhere else that I’d rather live. It’s been a privilege and an honor to serve the city and its residents over the last close-to four years, because our residents and our businesses are so engaged. So many people want to give back. They want to make a difference. They volunteer; they donate; they come to council meetings; and they bring their best ideas to us. I’ll be truly honored to serve the city for another term.
