Palm Springs council votes to hold District 2 election over appointment option

The Palm Springs City Council voted 3-1 Thursday to proceed with the Nov. 3 general municipal election for District 2, rejecting an option to appoint Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein to the seat and cancel the race, with Mayor Naomi Soto casting the dissenting vote.

Bernstein was the only candidate officially nominated for the District 2 seat when the nomination period closed Aug. 7.

Under California Elections Code rules, when only one candidate is nominated for a seat, a city council may either appoint that candidate and cancel the election or allow the election to proceed. The move to cancel an election when only one candidate will be on the ballot is not unprecedented locally or statewide.

The city clerk told the council the District 2 election would cost an estimated $22,000, based on the district’s roughly 6,700 registered voters. Canceling the race also would have closed the write-in nomination period, scheduled to run from Sept. 7 to Oct. 20.

Elections for the District 1 and District 3 council seats were not affected by the decision and will proceed as scheduled.

Councilmember Ron deHarte argued strongly against appointing Bernstein, framing the choice as a matter of democratic principle rather than a judgment on Bernstein’s record.

“This is the most valuable right our citizens have: to go to the ballot box and vote,” deHarte said.

Councilmember Grace Garner, who raised the possibility during the discussion of directing any cost savings toward a civics education program, made the motion to hold the election.

Mayor Pro Tem David Ready said he viewed the decision as a philosophical question about residents’ ability to weigh in on their representation, even in an uncontested race, while crediting Bernstein’s work extending Measure J during his tenure.

Bernstein, who was told by the city attorney he was not required to recuse himself, abstained from the vote.

“I also believe that the right to vote or to choose not to vote is a very important right that all citizens have and should not be taken lightly,” Bernstein said before leaving the dais. He added that he would continue meeting with residents and answering questions regardless of the outcome.

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