Palm Springs needs to grow up. Or at least our city government does.
This month city officials will begin holding a series of public meetings on whether to return to having a full-time mayor who is elected citywide, rather than rotating the mayor’s position every year among council members. Having reported on California politics for over 40 years I think the clear answer is yes, a real city deserves a real mayor.
What was once a sleepy village now has a much larger concentration of year-round residents, a more diverse tourism base, a growing economy and a real estate market that shows no sign of slowing down as more people tire of big cities and can work from anywhere.
And yet we’re saddled with a city government that has no elected leader at the top. We have hardworking city staffers and a capable city manager, but his job is to carry out policy, not to set it. There is no one who is the face of the city, no one who is accountable when things go wrong (or right) and no one who is charged with creating a long-range vision for the city and who can bring that vision to life.
Every major success we’ve had has had a strong mayor with political clout guiding it, from the International Film Festival to the Festival of Lights parade to the revitalization of downtown. We will need that leadership as we expand the airport, open the new College of the Desert campus, create more housing, build more infrastructure and protect the city’s all-important brand in the years to come.
The “mayor” today is a one-year, largely ceremonial position rotated among council members. Few residents could even tell you who the current mayor is (it is Councilmember Naomi Soto).
How we got here was completely of our own making, and it’s rooted in back-room politics. In 2018 the city was under the threat of a lawsuit to bring more diversity to the council by electing council members by district. But the council majority used that as an opportunity to also get rid of the full-time mayor’s job because they repeatedly clashed with then-mayor Rob Moon. So when that council majority passed an ordinance to start electing council members by district, they also changed the mayor’s job to become one that was rotated among them. Moon retired after his term.
Now there is a push to get a question on the November ballot asking Palm Springs voters whether to return to having a mayor elected citywide.
Some opponents of the idea say the same California Voting Rights Act that forced us to have district elections for council also prevents us from electing a citywide mayor. But that simply isn’t true. Over 100 California cities including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose — and closer to home, Desert Hot Springs — use a “hybrid mode” that elects council members by district but elects a mayor citywide.
It’s time we join them and it’s time we embrace our bright future by giving ourselves the leadership we deserve.
Hank Plante is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist who has spent over 40 years covering California politics. He and his husband have been Palm Springs homeowners for 24 years.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Why Palm Springs needs a real mayor again, elected citywide
Reporting by Hank Plante, Special to The Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hank Plante, Special to The Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
