Election results: Coachella mayor, council races are tight; Hernandez, Virgen, Figueroa lead

The races for city council and mayor in Coachella remained tight as votes continued to be tabulated Thursday.

Steven Hernandez, who is seeking a fifth two-year term as mayor, was leading Denise Delgado by 72 votes out of more than 1,900 cast: 1,023 to 951 as of Thursday night.

Two at-large council spots are up for grabs, and with Councilmember Megan Beaman Jacinto not seeking re-election, at least one new member is guaranteed. Two newcomers held narrow leads Thursday morning: Stephanie Virgen had 878 votes and Frank Figueroa had 852.

But incumbent Mayor Pro Tem Josephine Gonzalez was a close third with 808 votes, and first-time candidate Yurema Arvizu was last at 530 votes.

Many mail-in and provisional ballots remained to be counted.

Speaking to supporters Tuesday night in a gathering at Coachella's historic Casa del Trabajador, Hernandez said: “It’s closer than we’d like.”

But he told The Desert Sun he thought people in the last three weeks became more receptive of his message: “to move Coachella forward and keep going in our trajectory.”

“This is a community whose best days are ahead of it, where the best is yet to come,” he said in his speech. “Our job is to hang on to that.”

More: Coachella election sees two mayoral candidates and four for council seats

City council

Virgen, 29, serves as chair of Coachella's planning commission. She wants to promote affordable housing and access to early childhood education and childcare in the city.

Gonzalez was elected to the city council in 2018 and said she is seeking a second term to continue progress that's been made on affordable housing and economic development. She said her top priority is improving public safety, and one way to do that is by applying for grants to educate young people on the law and by establishing a city police department. (Coachella currently contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for police services.)

Figueroa, 29, has been part of Coachella's planning commission since February 2021 and is the elected vice president of the Southern Coachella Valley Community Services District. He said that if elected to council, he hopes to get “a very young, inactive community” more involved in city government.

Arvizu, 25, works for Planned Parenthood and as a communications manager, and serves on the Coachella Cultural and Arts Commission. She said she would like to work on housing affordability and to help ensure public schools and local groups have the resources they need for programs on sexual education, drug prevention and mental health awareness for young residents.

In a gathering he and Delgado held with supporters Tuesday at Santa Fe Restaurant in Coachella, Figueroa said he was optimistic, but wanted to wait until all the votes were counted before celebrating.

"This race was for the community and by the community, and I've been grateful for their support," he said.

Mayor's race

Hernandez ran on his "track record of getting things done," saying the relationships he's established have helped the city gain valuable resources. He's been part of the Coachella City Council for 16 years, serving as a councilmember until he became mayor in 2014.

He emphasized the nearly $60 million that the city has received in grants in recent years, including for housing, different infrastructure, recreation and COVID-19 pandemic relief. 

Hernandez said he wants to continue to increase housing accessibility, help businesses in the city and is open to discussing a city police department. Though the idea has been stifled by lack of funding, he said the city is working to create "a good reserve in order to realize that."

Delgado was elected to the city council in 2020 and previously chaired different city commissions. She credits her upbringing in Coachella, including attending public schools, and her time in office for helping her understand residents’ needs.

Delgado said she ran for mayor in part because "residents deserve another option."

She said there have been "missed opportunities" in public safety that she would like to revisit, including license-plate reading cameras for the city.

Delgado said other "focal points" of her campaign include providing a variety of affordable housing, fulfilling economic development objectives and assessing infrastructure in the city, given its pace of growth.

Eliana Perez covers the eastern Coachella Valley. Reach her at eliana.perez@thedesertsun.com or on Twitter @ElianaPress.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Election results: Coachella mayor, council are tight races