First Public Palm Springs City Council Candidate Forum
 | Desert Observer's Page Palm Springs, CA. The first public forum for candidates seeking electionto one of two open Palm Springs city council seats was held Mondayevening, October 5th, at Mizell Senior Center. Ten of the elevencandidates participated in the two-hour session in which previouslysubmitted questions were posed by moderator Steve Kelly.Candidates each presented two minute opening and closing statements andalso provided one minute answers to seven questions. Another twentyquestions were parcelled out with each candidate providing one minuteanswers for two from the list. The room was filled and the crowd sizeestimated at over a hundred. The audience was asked to hold theirapplause and other forms of expression until evening's end. Other thanone loud-mouthed individual, who left early, the audience was attentiveand generally receptive to the candidates and their responses. Theforum was jointly sponsored by the Palm Springs Neighborhood Involvement Committee and the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors. |
The following are paraphrased versions of the eight questions asked of all candidates.
- What is the single most serious issue or problem facing Palm Springs today?
- Do you agree with the sale of parks and other public property to the City Redevelopment Agency?
- What is the Tribe's relationship and its responsibilities with respect to the City?
- Are you currently endorsing any of the other candidates in the city council race and, if so, who?
- Do you favor local campaign finance limitations, and how much do you intend to spend?
- Do you support the Measure "G" Telephone Users' Tax issue on the November 3rd ballot?
- What changes would you like to see in City Commissions and appointees?
- Why should citizens vote for you (asked in conjunction with candidate's closing statements)?
Barbara Beaty - Do you support revamping City employee retirement and other costly benefits?
Have you attended or become involved in council meetings or City commissions?
David Carden - Do you support a vacancy tax for empty downtown properties?
Would you support outsourcing police and fire services to Riverside County?
Alexander Dobrecevic - Do you agree with proposals to legalize and tax Marijuana?
What are your ideas for increased tourism and how would you be involved?
Ginny Foat - Do you support the downtown business coordinator as an effective use of funds?
Do you support or oppose the proposed Whitewater county jail?
Michael Gallardo - Should the City water treatment plant be sold to the Desert Water Agency?
Should the City require proof of new construction financing before approving demolitions?
Christopher Mills - Is the current Palm Springs sign ordinance effective?
Do you support the initiative to overturn Proposition 8?
Jim Osterberger - Is Palm Springs a business friendly city?
Do you support the City's "specific plan" for downtown?
Drew Sweatte - What are your qualifications (Why are you qualified?) for a city council seat?
What should be in the forefront of local funding options?
John Tymon - Do you support term limits for the mayor and city council positions?
What state issues most concern you because of their affect on the City?
Mark Walthour - Should the O'Donnell Golf Club lease be renegotiated?
Do you support allowing two Medical Marijuana Clinics in Palm Springs?
(Note: Eight of the ten candidates have campaign websites available by clicking on their names above. Candidates John Tymon don't have campaign websites but Walthour's campaign email address is markwalthour2009@dc.rr.com.)
Candidate Alexander Dobrecevic,age 19, took top honors as the one mort forthright, for his openingstatement included an admission he didn't know all the answers andwould pass on some questions rather than waste audience time withuninformed responses.
Several questions raised issues notrelevant to the role of council members (state marijuana tax,Proposition 8, Whitewater jail, etc.) and some candidates used thatlack of relevancy as their reason for not directly responding.
Incumbents Ginny Foat and Chris Millsdefended their record and claimed experience made them the bestqualified candidates. Challengers questioned the incumbents' decisionswith respect to downtown vacancies, the sign ordinance, CityRedevelopment Agency funds, etc., and promised that if elected theywould do better.
My only quibble with the evening's format wasallowing irrelevant questions into the mix. The number of candidatesand the two hour time frame served to limit the number of questionsthat could be handled. So, using time for issues not directly relatedto Palm Springs city government seemed a waste.
My continuingsurprise is the amount of interest and time both the audience and thecandidates devote to downtown vacancies and related economic concerns.There are so many other continually ignored or overlooked issues inneed of attention that I'm left wondering if the only personsinterested in the election are the members of the local businessestablishment? Palm Springs city government has no provision forcitizen oversight, no taxpayer involvement in City budget and finance,no provisions for free flow of information between the City and itsresidents, and the City Council is among the most autocratic. Had Ibeen asked the question "What is the single most serious issue or problem facing Palm Springs today?", my response would probably have been similar to, "Themost serious problem is the current city council, for that's wherechange is most needed if longstanding problems are to be resolved.".
Bond Shands
Palm Springs
October 6, 2009
Posted by Administrator at 10/6/2009 10:02 AM 
Categories: Opinion, City Council
Tags: Palm Springs City Council
Categories: Opinion, City Council
Tags: Palm Springs City Council
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