Palm Springs city council votes to keep District 2 election on Nov. 3

PALM SPRINGS, CA (KESQ) The Palm Springs City Council voted 3-1 at a special meeting Thursday to move forward with the Nov. 3 general municipal election for the District 2 seat, rejecting a proposal to appoint Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein and cancel the election.

Mayor Naomi Soto cast the lone dissenting vote. Bernstein, who was the only candidate officially nominated for the seat when the nomination period ended Aug. 7, abstained from the vote.

Under the council's decision, the District 2 election will proceed as scheduled. The write-in nomination period for the seat will run from Sept. 7 through Oct. 20.

Write-in candidates, like Palm Springs resident Tad Iwan, say they want to challenge Bernstein and were concerned that his appointment would have closed the door on that opportunity.

Bernstein has served on the City Council since November 2022 and previously served a one-year term as mayor. He is the founder and managing partner of Destination PSP, a retail business in downtown Palm Springs.

Before joining the council, Bernstein served as an elected member of the board of directors of the Palm Springs Hospitality Association, a member of the board of directors of Main Street Palm Springs and a member of the Bureau of the Tourism Strategic Advisory Committee, according to the city.

The council had been considering whether to appoint Bernstein because he was the sole candidate for the District 2 seat. If the council had approved the appointment, the November election would have been canceled and Bernstein would have begun his four-year term following the Nov. 3 election.

According to a staff report, proceeding with the District 2 election is expected to cost approximately $22,000.