As nomination period ends, Palm Springs City Council races in two districts take final shape

A half dozen residents are lined up to vie for two seats that will be open on the Palm Springs City Council this fall, although one seat has only a lone candidate.

As of the close of the nominating period on Aug. 9, where candidates must submit a minimum number of valid signatures from registered voters in their district, five people qualified for the race in District 4, and one person qualified for the race in District 5.

Those qualifying in District 4 include:

• Naomi Soto, former chair of the city’s Measure J Oversight Commission, who is also board chair of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest and is a founding member of People for Palm Springs Parks. She lives in the Sonora Sunrise neighborhood.
  
  
• David Rios, a well-known interior designer and real estate agent who lives in the Los Compadres neighborhood.
  
  
• Joe Jackson, a former Palm Spring Sustainability Commission member who lives in the Los Compadres neighborhood, where he chairs the neighborhood organization.
  
  
• Anna Nevenic, who records show has a residence in the Mountain Shadows development off Golf Club Drive. She has been a frequent candidate for public office, including most recently placing a distant third in the primary for the 41st Congressional District as a Democrat.
  
  
• Ernest Ceceña, a resident of the Tahquitz Creek neighborhood where he chairs the neighborhood organization and was instrumental in an effort known as Save PS Golf, which sought to address the potential sale of a pair of city-owned golf courses.

All five are running to replace outgoing Councilmember Christy Holstege, who chose not to run for re-election in order to focus on her rematch for the California Assembly seat in AD47 against Greg Wallis. In 2022, Wallis defeated Holstege by 85 votes.

In District 5, where Councilmember Lisa Middleton is not seeking re-election as she runs for the District 19 California State Senate seat, one candidate — David Ready — will run unopposed. Ready, who records show has property in the Canyon Corridor neighborhood, served as Palm Springs city manager for 21 years before retiring at the end of 2020.

Because the city is divided into five districts, not all voters will see city council races on their ballots in November. To check which district you live in, and whether you will be voting on a council race, go here.

All candidates have been invited to a forum on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the DeMuth Community Center. The forum, put on by the Organized Neighborhoods of Palm Springs (ONE-PS), will be moderated by Palm Springs Post founder and publisher Mark Talkington.

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