Election results: Whitman, Reed and Peabody leading for Indian Wells council

A newcomer, an incumbent and a former councilman were leading in the races for three seats on the Indian Wells City Council.

The newcomer, attorney Bruce Whitman, had 499 votes and led a pack of five candidates seeking two seats that come with four-year terms. Incumbent Mayor Dana Reed was in second place with 450 votes, with Toper Taylor, Douglas Hanson and Ivan Moad trailing.

"If the vote totals hold up ... I’m ready to go to work," Whitman said Tuesday night.

Two more candidates — both former council members — ran for a spot that lasts just two years, filling the remaining term of Kimberly Muzik, who resigned earlier this year. Ty Peabody was leading Ted Mertens by a 60-vote margin so far.

With roughly 325,000 vote-by-mail ballots yet to be processed in Riverside County, the registrar of voters is expected to release another vote count update Wednesday night.

All five candidates for a full term said they are focused on charting a good economic course for Indian Wells as it deals with increasing costs.

The candidates also largely agreed the city needs to reassess its operations at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, which has struggled financially in the past and faced further challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reed said next year will be “when the rubber meets the road” for the resort, particularly its deal with Troon Golf, the company that operates the Indian Wells Golf Resort. That contract will be up soon, with the two parties likely to soon start negotiations.

Other council candidates agreed the city must secure the best deal possible, though they had varying degrees of criticism of Troon. Whitman, a lawyer who has served on the resort’s advisory committee, said residents are unhappy with its amenities, including its restaurant, a point raised by multiple candidates.

Moad, a real estate agent who served on the city’s planning commission, said a change is needed in the management of the club.

Taylor, a TV producer who is also on the golf resort committee, was more complimentary of the food services, but added the city should explore every alternative to ensure it gets a great deal.

Hanson said the city could look at new additions to the resort, mentioning pickleball as an example.

Mertens and Peabody, who both served from 2012 to 2020 including stints as mayor, both said they would not seek another term beyond the two-year stopgap to fill Muzik’s spot.

Mertens said the city needs to figure out to pay for rising costs, such as its police services contract with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, by finding some new revenue streams.

Peabody raised the same economic issue as a top priority, adding the city has done a good job building its budget reserves.

The election features two other candidates who have served multiple terms on the council — a hot topic in recent elections in Indian Wells. In 2020, local voters approved a ballot measure limiting council members to two four-year terms.

But later that year, Hanson, who served from 2008 to 2016, won a lawsuit in which a Riverside County judge ruled the term limits did not apply retroactively, opening the door for long-time officials to still throw their hat in the ring. Hanson lost his bid for council in 2020.

This year, four of the council candidates — Hanson, Reed, Peabody and Mertens — have already served two full terms.

More:Indian Wells voters support new mayoral rotation, tougher term limits

When he announced he would seek a third term, Reed — who helped write the argument for the term limit measure — told The Desert Sun he knew of other former members planning to run in this year’s election.

“I definitely support the concept of term limits, but I’m not going to be the only one to sit out the election,” Reed said.

The other candidates in the race criticized all four candidates who have already served two terms.

Tom Coulter covers the cities of Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com or on Twitter @tomcoulter_.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Election results: Whitman, Reed, Peabody lead for Indian Wells council