Palm Springs council election: Nevins, deHarte, Bernstein lead; District 4 race warms up

As vote counting continued Thursday in the Palm Springs City Council race, newcomers Scott Nevins, Jeffrey Bernstein and Ron deHarte were maintaining their leads in Districts 1, 2 and 3, respectively, and campaigns were ramping up in anticipation of Christy Holstege vacating her District 4 seat. 

Holstege was leading in her bid for state Assembly District 47 against Republican Greg Wallis. If voters send her to Sacramento, it would leave only Mayor Lisa Middleton remaining from the current city council.

Some 241,000 mail-in and provisional ballots countywide remained to be counted as of Thursday evening, according to the Riverside County registrar. (It did not say how many were in Palm Springs.) More results were scheduled to be released Thursday evening.

In District 3, deHarte held a lead of almost 2 to 1 over Joy Brown Meredith, 1,330 votes to 677. DeHarte is the president of Greater Palm Springs Pride, while Meredith is president of Main Street Palm Springs. (Incumbent Geoff Kors did not seek reelection.)

On Thursday morning, Meredith appeared to concede, congratulating deHarte in a Facebook post and writing, "I look forward to continuing to work with you in whatever capacity I am needed."

DeHarte replie: "We said at the start of the race we were friends then and that we would continue to be friends when the race is over. I look forward to working with you as we have for so many years."

In District 1, cable TV personality and DAP Health board member Scott Nevins was leading Councilmember Grace Garner, 984 votes to 911.

In District 2, where incumbent Dennis Woods did not run, Jeffrey Bernstein was leading Renee Brown 1,370 to 1,108. Bernstein is the owner of Destination PSP, and Brown is the associate curator for the Palm Springs Historical Society.

If Holstege wins her Assembly race and resigns her city council seat, the council will have 45 days to determine whether it wants to appoint someone to finish Holstege's term or hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

Joe Jackson

On Thursday afternoon, Joe Jackson officially announced his candidacy at his home in the Los Compadres neighborhood near Demuth Park.

Jackson touted his experience serving as chair of Palm Springs' Sustainability Commission for three years, which he said allowed him to see what works in the city and what doesn't.

Jackson said two issues that are particularly important to him are homelessness and improving how the city interacts with and supports business owners.

He said people trying to start small businesses have told him about receiving conflicting information about what permits they need. He said he'd like to have Palm Springs hire a staffer to help business owners navigate that process, which he said other valley cities have done.

According to his campaign website, Jackson was also a member of the Palms Springs Gay Men’s Chorus Board of Directors, serving as development director, vice-president, and president.

David Rios

Another resident who has expressed interest in the District 4 seat is David Rios, a designer and real-estate agent who owns David Rios Design.

His work includes selling, flipping and designing homes in Orange County, Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and he has been featured in Palm Springs Modernism Week.

Rios serves on the Greater Palm Springs Realtors events committee, which has led to connecting with a number of organizations and events in the valley, such as the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, Palm Springs Unified School District, Desert AIDS Walk through DAP Health, Pride festival and Indio-based homeless resource center Martha's Village and Kitchen.

He is also a part of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce Ambassador program, which he said involves attending ribbon-cuttings, organizing events and participating in volunteer work.

Those who watched the television series "Trixie Motel" are familiar with Rios' work as he served as the project manager for the pink Palm Springs motel owned by drag queen Trixie Mattel.

Rios said one of his main priorities would be to push for the construction of more affordable housing in the city, including pushing for housing to be built with recycled materials.

Another priority would be to build on ongoing efforts to address homelessness by advocating for more grant money to put toward resources for the homeless, as well as reducing stigma around the planned homeless navigation center in north Palm Springs, which he supports.

Naomi Soto

Also showing interest in a run is Naomi Soto, who recently became the chair of the chair of the Measure J Oversight Commission. That job was previously held by Bernstein. Soto is also the chair of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.

On a website she has set up for her potential campaign, Soto wrote that she would be a a forward thinking and strategic councilmember with a strong understanding of the day-to-day issues in the city.

"The next councilmember should strive for an economic future that works for all of us because, the truth is, Palm Springs is not an equally fabulous and easy city for all its residents," she wrote.

Ernest Cecena

Also filing paperwork indicating his intention to run is Ernest Cecena. Cecena did not appear to have a website and could not be reached by The Desert Sun. However, he started a petition on Change.com opposing Oswit Land Trust's proposed redevelopment of the long-closed Tahquitz Creek Golf Course into a nature preserve.

"Let us send the Palm Springs city council a message that we will not stand for the conversion of our golf courses," he wrote on the petition page. " As municipal courses, it is the people that pay for the golf courses and we chose not to let the courses go."

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Election results: deHarte, Nevins, Bernstein leading for Palm Springs council