Palm Springs City Council: Seven candidates have filed paperwork to run in November election
The races for three Palm Springs City Council seats up for election this fall could be crowded, based on filings submitted to the city. However, another step remains before any of those candidates will make the ballot.
She joined six other residents who also have filed documents on their intention to run for the open seats in District 1, 2 and 3.
Brown's move means the most crowded race is currently in District 2, where Destination PSP owner Jeffrey Bernstein and Thomas Reinhard have joined Brown in intent-to-run filings. While Brown and Bernstein have talked with The Desert Sun about their reasons for running and goals for their candidacy, The Desert Sun has been unable to reach Reinhard, who does not appear to have made any formal public announcement about his candidacy.
More: Palm Springs council candidate Bernstein pledges to 'fight for everyone' at campaign event
The District 2 seat is currently held by Dennis Woods, who is serving his first term after being elected in 2019. Woods has not filed the document and has not said if he plans to seek reelection. He did not immediately respond to an inquiry The Desert Sun made Thursday about whether he has made a decision.
In District 1, Grace Garner, the incumbent, announced her intention to seek reelection in February. Daniel Algazi, the owner of the DA Computers and Rated Comics stores off of South Crossley Road, has also filed to seek that seat.
Algazi told The Desert Sun Thursday that he is a lifelong Palm Springs resident who is running to try to deal with some of the problems that he sees in the city "that are not getting addressed or getting addressed poorly" in his view.
"I'm just coming in to clean it up," he said.
Algazi said his priorities will include dealing with "budget misallocation" and the existing homeless issues in the city. He also said he is concerned about the city's plan to spend millions of dollars to build a homeless navigation center on the north side of the city, which he called "absolutely crazy."
"We could use that money for tons of other things," he said.
Another concern for Algazi is his feeling that Palm Springs is "slowly fading away" while neighboring cities are growing much more quickly.
"Palm Springs used to have a really cool mall, there was a lot of stores, a lot of traffic," he said. "We've kind of lost a lot of that stuff. A lot of the businesses are starting to come back now but it's growing at such a slow rate here in Palm Springs compared to the rest of the desert, it's absurd. And no one seems to have any drive to move things forward.
"Instead, we're spending money on reading ridiculous things over and over again instead of trying to promote our community and help businesses and clean up our streets," he added. "You go downtown and there is just homeless people on every corner. I mean, who wants to be here when that happens?"
Algazi also pointed to the examples of La Quinta and Indio.
"They've seen a huge increase in not only property values but also people are moving that way from other parts of the valley for more jobs and opportunities," he said. "Cathedral City has kind of not been the greatest but their downtown has expanded greatly compared to our downtown. We're just kind of really slacking."
He also described himself as being "pretty high tech" and said one of his goals would be to get the city to submit an application to Google for it to bring its Google fiber optic internet service in Palm Springs. He said he has repeatedly approached the City Council about trying to get it to improve access to technology in the city.
"No one seems to be moving forward on anything," he said. "No contracts, no steps in the right direction, nothing.
Algazi said he also wants to incorporate technology into his campaign by making videos showcasing his ideas for the city.
DA Computers employee joins District 3 race
So far, two residents have filed plans to run for the District 3 seat; incumbent Geoff Kors announced in January he would not seek a third term.
That same month, Palm Springs Pride President Ron deHarte announced he would be running and had filed the form. He also announced he had the endorsement of Kors, Mayor Lisa Middleton and Councilmember Christy Holstege. In April, Julia Kabik filed to run as well.
More: Palm Springs Pride President Ron deHarte to run for Palm Springs City Council
Kabik has not made a public announcement about her candidacy and The Desert Sun was unable to reach her Thursday. However, Algazi confirmed to The Desert Sun that Kabik is employed at DA Computers.
When asked if the two were coordinating their campaign, Algazi said "she's basically running on the same platform as I am but she's in a different district. Basically, we both see the same problems and so we agree with each other."
While the seven candidates have indicated their intention to run, they will need to obtain at least 80 signatures from the voters in their district to make the ballot. The period in which those signatures must be gathered starts on July 18 and ends on Aug. 12.
Candidates whose campaigns collect at least $2,000 in contributions (including their own personal funds) also must submit a second form. So far, Garner, Bernstein and deHarte are the only candidates to have filed that form.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of candidates who had filed paperwork to run.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs City Council Race: Seven candidates have filed paperwork to run
