Palm Springs Could Change How It Picks Its Mayor, Council Weighing Options

Palm Springs City Council will discuss a potential overhaul of how the city selects its mayor at Wednesday's meeting, with options ranging from keeping the current system to putting a directly elected mayor on the November 2026 ballot.

Right now, Palm Springs uses a rotating mayor system. Council members each serve one year as mayor, cycling through in order of their district number. The city moved to this setup in 2018, when it shifted to by-district Council elections to comply with the California Voting Rights Act, which bars election structures that dilute the voting power of protected communities.

Palm Springs is actually in the majority among its Coachella Valley neighbors. Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Indio, and Rancho Mirage all use the same rotating system, cycling through council members on a yearly basis. Only three valley cities put their mayor directly on the ballot: Desert Hot Springs, where the mayor is elected to a four-year term, and La Quinta and Coachella, where mayors serve two-year terms. 

The staff report lays out three basic paths the Council could take.

The first is to keep the rotating system but extend how long each council member serves as mayor, from one year to two or more. The city says this could be done simply by updating an existing resolution, with no election required.

The second option is to move back to a directly elected, at-large mayor, meaning all Palm Springs voters would choose the mayor in a citywide race. The city says this could go to voters as a November 2026 ballot measure, and Council would need to act by August 7 to make that deadline.

The third option is a "strong mayor" structure, where the mayor would take over many of the duties currently held by the City Manager. The city notes this model is rare in California, used only in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Fresno, and Oakland.

A key concern running through the report is legal risk. Moving to a citywide, at-large mayor could invite a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act, the same law that pushed the city away from at-large elections in the first place. The report says the city would likely need to hire a demographic consultant before moving forward, to determine whether any change could be defended legally.

One outside factor worth watching: the U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing a case that could weaken voting rights protections nationwide. The city's report notes that if that ruling comes down before June 2026 and limits the Voting Rights Act, it could give Palm Springs more flexibility in restructuring the mayoral position without legal risk.

The agenda item is only marked as a discussion item, meaning Council is expected to give direction to staff rather than take a final vote. That meeting is scheduled to begin Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.