Indio Councilmember Oscar Ortiz Enters Race for California’s 36th Assembly District

Indio City Council member Oscar Ortiz has officially announced his campaign for the State Assembly seat, promising to elevate awareness of regional issues and represent the diverse communities of the district in Sacramento.

Ortiz told NBC Palm Springs’ Alondra Campos, “I think we had great representation for 10 years under Eduardo Garcia and seeing his retirement, I think we're the best ones fit for this position at the moment.”

Having served over five years on the Indio City Council, Ortiz now aims to represent a district that includes Coachella, Indio, Blythe, Hemet, Imperial County, and parts of San Bernardino County. His campaign highlights environmental sustainability and water access, particularly for the Coachella Valley's agricultural workers.

“We know agriculture and energy are going to be huge in our future here. And with my background as a chemist, I think I'm going to be well fit to fill that role,” Ortiz said. “We need to prioritize our water for agriculture and family use… we've seen a loss of water supply to our agricultural region for the past 20 years.”

Ortiz also pledges to address broader socioeconomic challenges. “Some of our main goals are providing housing that is affordable to the workers here in this region and also providing health care that’s going to be fitting the needs of the community here and affordable to our workers as well.”

Elected in 2018 as the youngest city council member in Indio’s history, Ortiz hopes to bring his local experience to the state level. He noted that his time working with a Republican-majority council gave him the tools to work across the aisle.

“For the first six years that I was in office, it was led by a Republican majority. And we were still able to provide a lot of different services for our community… affordable housing, more businesses,” he said.

The seat is currently held by Republican Jeff Gonzalez, who defeated Coachella Valley Unified School District trustee Joey Acuna Jr. last year. In response to Ortiz’s campaign launch, Gonzalez stated: “I welcome anyone who wants to run. This is how democracy works. My focus remains where it's always been, working hard every day for the people of Assembly District 36.”

Oscar Ortiz and Jeff Gonzalez are now set to face off in the 2026 state assembly elections.