Still no clear winner in Desert Hot Springs mayoral race

The last provisional ballots were counted over the weekend and the latest results showed Councilman Adam Sanchez leading incumbent Yvonne Parks by just 12 votes.

Candidate Sanchez told us on Sunday he’s confident he will be the next mayor of Desert Hot Springs, a city facing a deficit of more than $3 million. The financial status didn’t come to light until after the election.

“We knew during the campaign we had a budget deficit, but we didn’t know how how deep it was going to be,” said Sanchez.

He said with the public’s help and more council responsibility, the city can avoid bankruptcy.

“The finance committee has to be the whole council,” he said. “It can’t just be two council members … so there are no surprises in the future.”

We caught up with the current Mayor Yvonne Parks at the Desert Hot Springs Veterans Day Celebration and asked if she plans to ask for a recount.

“Today we are not talking politics. Today is a salute to Veterans,” said Parks. “We’ll talk about that on Wednesday.”

The final results of the election will be certified on Tuesday. Parks told us last Friday that she planned to ask for a recount. Her opponent said “I think from this day forward people will be more careful to announce the winner until every vote is counted and every vote does count,” said Sanchez.

Several questions are still left, such as why the city’s financial situation wasn’t disclosed before the election and who knew about it. Also, if anyone is going to be held accountable.
The council will have a special public meeting to answer those questions.

Sanchez asks residents to come to the meeting with solutions to help the city make decisions that need to be made.

We will continue to follow this story and we’ll update you on air and online.