Coachella City Councilmember Denise Delgado submits candidate intention statement for Coachella City Mayor role

Public documents on the city of Coachella's website show that a Candidate Intention Statement and Statement of Organization form have been filed by Coachella city council member Denise Delgado for the role of city mayor.

The forms, which can be found on the Candidate and Committee Statements tab on the city's website, state that councilmember Delgado seeks to run for the role of Coachella city mayor in the 2026 primary elections.

The CA Form 501 Report, known as the Candidate Intention Statement, is required for candidates running for state or local offices for each election. The form is required before a candidate can review or solicit any contributions made on behalf of their candidacy.

According to the date stamp on both documents, they were received on July 16 by the city clerk's office.

We reached out to Councilmember Delgado for a confirmation on her run for mayor and are still waiting for a response.

The Registrar of Voters would also need to verify any candidate's signature before a candidate can officially qualify to run for local office.

Councilmember Delgado has not made any statements about her possibly running for city mayor in previous interviews with NBC Palm Springs, and she is currently facing a potential recall on behalf of local podcast hosts Jesus Gonzalez and Vicente Zamora.

Councilmember Delgado has repeatedly deemed the recall as "politically motivated" and defended her reputation as a public servant in Coachella.

The signatures collected for the petition to recall are currently being verified by the Registrar of Voters. We reached out to county officials about the status of the petition and are still waiting for a response.

We also reached out to the Coachella city clerk for confirmation on Delgado's run for mayor and are also waiting for a response.

We reached out to current mayor Dr. Frank Figueroa about his response to Delgado's possible mayoral bid, and in a statement he stated "We live in a democracy and Coachella is part of that democracy. People have the right to vote for who they want. But Coachella residents need to be informed and make sure they do their research on candidates instead of basing their votes on pretty flyers."

If Delgado officially announces her run for mayor, it will not be the first time. Back in 2022, Delgado ran for city mayor against former Coachella mayor Steven Hernandez, who was indicted earlier this year. Delgado lost by 59 votes that year.

The site also shows the 501 and 410 forms filled out by one other candidate running for mayor and two candidates running for city council in the 2026 primary elections. The deadline for the candidate filing period for the city of Coachella is August 7.

Stay with NBC Palm Springs for the latest details.