A preview for the city council race in Desert Hot Springs

The race is on for city council in the city of Desert Hot Springs. There are seven candidates, two are incumbents, and there are two seats up for grabs.

Robert Griffith is one council member up for re-election in the city of Desert Hot Springs. He is the mayor pro tem for the city. He said, "I take the job very seriously. I do my research. All the decisions that I make, or votes that I go for, I always consider what is best for the city and what is for the residents." Griffith has been living in Desert Hot Springs for eight years. He runs a boutique and spa in the city. He expressed his experience in retail, hospitality, healthcare, insurance, and financial services.

The cannabis industry is a big one in the city, Griffith said, "They’ve kind of helped keep our head above water, but we want more diverse businesses because you can’t rely on one business sector you need a multitude." In reference to the coronavirus pandemic, Griffith mentioned the city has been fortunate in not suffering too much. He added, "However, we are not a rich city. We don't have a lot of money where we can give out grants. The best thing we can do is publicize our businesses are open and patronize them."

Incumbent council member Russell Betts is a retired manufacturer living in Desert Hot Springs for eighteen years and serving on city council for twelve. He said, "I think like every incumbent, you see the progress that’s been made and you just want to keep that going." He mentioned being hopeful to continue presenting Desert Hot Springs as a nice place to live. He said, "If a city looks good, then when people drive through the city they say, wow what a great looking city maybe I’ll stop and grab a cup of coffee, get something to eat." In relation to the coronavirus pandemic, he said the city is on good financial footing right now. When it comes to local business, he said, "Encourage everybody to shop local, support these businesses now that they are open. That’s the most important things anybody can do for them right now is go patronize them, just go shop local." Expressing that the progress Desert Hot Springs has made, doesn't mean the work is over. He said, "We have got more work to do, we’ve got miles of sidewalks we have got in but we have got miles more to go."

Roger Nunez is another candidate for city council. He said, "We need a fresh face, we need fresh ideas, I’m the newcomer." Nunez is a lifelong Coachella Valley resident who works for child protective services for Riverside County. He wants to be the voice for the younger generation and the Latino population. He said, "We are roughly a 75% Hispanic community and there is currently no one in the city council that represents the underserved, which is my people." He emphasized on his goal to help the younger generation living in Desert Hot Springs. He said, "We will have a pathway to make sure our children, and our young adults, and our at risk youth have a pathway to a better life with education, trade schools, apprenticeship programs. that ‘s what I hope to bring."

Another candidate strongly pushing for the youth is Jason Moore. He has been an educator for twenty years and has lives in Desert Hot Springs for five. He stated, "One of the things that’s always foremost in my mind is how we treat our youth and the way we provide different activities and facilities for the kids to do different activities that will keep them engaged in the community." He thinks the city has an obligation to make different programs available for the younger generation. With the cannabis industry he wants to see more of a flat tax of $10-$12. He added, "It has to remain an income stream for the city so that we can provide some of the infrastructure that we still want to provide." Making sure to add that he hopes for a high turn out of voters, even if they are not voting for him.

Jessica Gilbert has been a long time community volunteer living in Desert Hot Springs for over thirty years. She wants to be a part of city council to advocate for the youth and seniors, especially when it comes to healthcare. Gilbert herself was diagnosed with breast cancer, in recovery now, and wants to make screenings more available to people locally. She said, "We have HIV screenings and diabetes and all these different kinds of mobile units that we can bring to town, and that’s my big passion." Gilbert won't give up on her community win or lose. She said, “Win or lose I am going to continue to do the same things I have been doing for the last 25 years here and that’s being involved. If I see a need I’m going to take care of it." She added, "I call us the smallest city with the biggest heart because we have great volunteers."

All candidates expressed Desert Hot Springs as having negative stigma to outsiders. They want to remove the city from that.

"We've become this dumping ground of bad information and bad treatment. That’s the first thing that has to be corrected," said candidate Stephen RJ Giboney. He said Desert Hot Springs gave his family back their freedom. He is calling for more transparency with city officials. He said, "There’s a lot of stuff that’s just behind the curtain. That really I think that people would make much better decisions about our city and stand up for our city a lot more if they had a lot of facts." He expects more from city officials, especially when it comes to notifying them on important topics that are up for discussion and vote so the community is more aware. He said, "They do what legally is required, they put it out 72 hours in advance, but something that is going to impact people in a major way, they tend to not really promote it."

The last, but not least candidate running is Jonathan Laura who is a small business owner in Desert Hot Springs. Laura at 56 has owned and operated Absolute Electric Co. for 28 years.  Laura has lived in Desert Hot Springs for years. It took Laura five years to become a master electrician and in five more years he became a licensed California contractor in 1993. He said being a father of two boys, his community became extremely important again. In a statement provided by Laura, "As an adult he found the teaching of Paul the apostle to the gentiles to be his favorite books.  Romans to Philemon in the King James Bible.  'Safety is my first and last concern for our families. Safety and commerce which brings tax revenue and then local work for local residents.  Training our neighbors, sons and daughters how to operate at their best is my goal.  That’s how we will build up this community'."

The top two vote-getters will win the seats.