Palm Desert election: A historic race with a new district

A historic election for Palm Desert in 2020 with a District 1 and District 2.

Karina Quintanilla is leading in the vote count for the District 1 seat. If she wins, she will replace incumbent Susan Marie Weber who has been on the city council since 2012 and served as mayor for two terms.

Quintanilla would be the first Latina on council if elected. In a Facebook post early Wednesday, she said, "I am humbly honored. We did it, everyone! Our small but mighty campaign team worked hard, ran a clean race, and made a historic change in Palm Desert. I am honored to be the first Latina elected to Palm Desert City Council. #NewDistrictNewVoice."

Quintanilla said to News Channel 3, "It’s time for change and I am excited that the residents of District 1 have spoken about the things that are important to them and they feel that I am the best candidate to represent that including bringing districts forward, I know that’s a very big issue. So we’ve got some work to do."

Susan weber doesn’t have any comments yet. She said she waiting until the county has finished counting the ballots to make a statement.

For the two seats in district 2, incumbents Gina Nestande and Kathleen Kelley led in early results, followed by Evan Trubee then Steven Moyer.