Palm Springs city leaders speaking out about FPPC investigation

Palm Springs city leaders are speaking out about a formal investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission into Mayor Steve Pougnet’s business dealings.

The FPPC launched their investigation looking at his relationship with developer Richard Meaney.

It was a packed house Friday morning at the Harvey Milk Diversity breakfast in Palm Springs. Many were there to honor gay rights activists in the community, but many are still buzzing over Thursday’s announcement from the FPPC.

“I think the city is in turmoil right now. And what we need to do, in addition to figuring out what happened so we can fix it, is actually start looking forward,” city council candidate Geoff Kors said.

Kors is no stranger to politics. At the breakfast, he received the Harvey Milk Leadership Award for his gay rights activism. Now, he wants to add city councilman to his resume.

“So what we need to be doing is looking at what sort of conflict of interest rules we might want to change, what kind of transparency we need. How do we do things so people feel connected in their government and included in their government?” Kors said.

Kors is just one of five candidates that have announced they will run for the two open seats this November.

Incumbent Ginny Foat is not on the ballot in November but is, for the first time, talking about some of the controversy going on in her city.

“So it’s gotten a bit crazy, but it’s crazy politics time. And I’m saddened at what’s happening in my city, but we’ll just wait and see what happens with the investigation,” Foat said.

The investigation was launched by the FPPC after a former rival of Pougnet, Eloise Mohsin, filed a complaint with the watchdog group earlier this month.

“So it’s unfortunate that the person who requested that was arrested on a felony charge for not living at the location and running for office,” Foat said.

Mohsin pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges for falsifying her address in 2009, she served 3 years probation and says her record has since been expunged.

Mohsin now lives in Berkeley, California but keeps tabs on the politics in Palm Springs.

The FPPC said anyone is allowed to file a complaint, even if they no longer live in the city.

Kors, the former head of Equality California, said if elected, he plans to make some legislative changes.

“So for me, the most important piece of what is happening is how do we move forward in a positive light and not let what’s going on right now stop the amazing progress we have going on in the city,” Kors said.

The Palm Springs city clerk said there are now five people who have announced they are running in the November election. That list includes Kors, incumbent Paul Lewin, Jim King, J.R. Roberts and Judy Deertrack.