Palm Springs Mayor Debate Heads Into Subcommittee Phase

The Palm Springs City Council will revisit the question of whether to change how its mayor is chosen at this Wednesday's meeting, April 22nd, as a two-member subcommittee gets ready to share its findings with the full council.

At the April 8th meeting, council members created an Ad Hoc Subcommittee made up of Councilmember Grace Garner and Councilmember Ron deHarte to dig deeper into the options available for restructuring the mayoral position. The city has also pulled together historical records related to the California Voting Rights Act and posted them publicly online to help inform the discussion.

The debate centers on whether to replace Palm Springs' current rotating system, in place since 2018, where council members take turns serving as mayor each year, with a directly elected mayor serving a longer term. Cities like La Quinta, Desert Hot Springs, and Coachella already elect their mayors directly.

No formal action has been taken yet. If the council ultimately moves forward to change the process, the question would go to Palm Springs voters as a ballot measure.