The Palm Springs City Council will discuss the possibility of altering the city’s mayoral selection process during Wednesday evening’s council meeting.
The agenda item comes as some residents are pushing for a ballot measure that would establish a directly elected, at-large mayor and provide for a November 2026 election to fill that position.
Due to ordinances adopted in December 2018 and April 2019, each council member currently serves as mayor for a one-year term. Other Coachella Valley cities utilize the same rotating system, including Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and Indio. However, Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta and Coachella use an election process to choose their mayors.
In the city staff report, the council outlined a few proposed options: the rotational mayor system, directly elected mayor and a directly elected “strong mayor,” where the mayor would serve as the city’s chief executive officer, similar to larger cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
According to the Riverside County Register of Voters, if the council moves to an elected mayor either initiated by the council or by a voter-initiated ballot measure, estimated costs for an election can come to $33,000-$35,000 to add a ballot initiative and $105,000 to conduct a city-wide election.
District 3 Councilman Ron deHarte said on social media that he would like residents to directly elect the city’s mayor.
“The current `musical chairs’ approach treats our city’s highest office as a participation trophy for politicians rather than a mandate from the people,” he wrote. “Our residents are ready for a change; the community sentiment in our neighborhoods is miles ahead of the technical debates at City Hall.”
The council meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Council Chamber at City Hall, located at 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way.
The meeting can be viewed live on the city’s YouTube channel or at palmspringsca.gov.