Palm Springs swears in city’s first openly gay Mexican American mayor

Ron deHarte was sworn in as the 25th mayor of Palm Springs at a City Council meeting on Thursday.

Formerly mayor pro tem and representative of District 3, deHarte is now the city's first openly gay Mexican American mayor. He is also the CEO of Greater Palm Springs Pride.

His swearing-in comes at a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts face pushback on a national level.

The Dismantle DEI Act of 2024 aims to cut federal funding and support for DEI programs within government agencies and federal contracting.

Naomi Soto, a Measure J Oversight Commission chair, and David Ready, a former city manager, were also sworn in at Thursday's meeting, representing Districts 4 and 5, respectively.

Outgoing Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein and Councilmembers Lisa Middleton and Christy Holstege delivered final remarks. Bernstein will remain as a councilmember, however, the position of mayor rotates every year.