Christy Holstege for Palm Springs City Council | 2017

We need a city government that invests in all of our residents. We need to realign the priorities of our city government so that Palm Springs continues to be a livable city for all of us. We should include the voices of different communities to ensure that the people in power serve the actual needs of specific neighborhoods and community groups. I will work to ensure that the city provides government services directly to residents. I will invest our city funds in improvements that directly benefit us as residents, such as improved infrastructure, better roads, improved traffic lights, continuous sidewalks, increased public safety, better city services, improved parks, and community-oriented events designed for residents. We need to focus on public safety and fully staff our police and fire departments. Our government should do more to increase quality of life for residents, so that new residents are attracted to Palm Springs and long-term residents stay.

We can increase opportunities for residents by investing in educational and employment opportunities. We need to improve services for our workforce and all generations so that they have the skills and resources to thrive in the future. We also need to invest in our aging infrastructure and public buildings so that our city can provide a high quality of services well into the future. We can do this by setting clear priorities for the use of taxpayer dollars such as Measure J funds to directly benefit residents. We also need our city council members to represent us at the county, regional, and statewide levels to lobby for local investments, increased funding, and infrastructure support to better provide for our community and to ensure necessary services.

Homelessness is a major issue facing not just our own city, but cities of all sizes nationwide due to the lack of affordable housing, lack of jobs paying livable wages, limited retirement savings and limited incomes, increased poverty, domestic violence, lack of mental health treatment, and substance abuse and addiction issues. As a board member of the Well in the Desert, the only homeless services agency in Palm Springs, a board member of the affordable housing developer Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, a Commissioner of the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission, a member of the Palm Springs Homelessness Task Force, and a private attorney who has represented dozens of homeless individuals and tenants, I am prepared to take real, concrete action to effectively alleviate homelessness.

I plan to act immediately to ensure that we work with community partners to follow a housing first model so that our city replicates successful programs supported by research and data. We should incentivize community organizations to build a twenty-four-hour transitional housing facility that is easily accessible so that people who are unhoused have a permanent place to go and can seek shelter. This will free up city resources currently spent by the police and fire departments responding to homeless individuals and lessen the burden on our city parks, our local businesses, and our downtown. We also need to take steps to prevent homelessness at the first stages of the continuum of care. The city should work with affordable housing developers and provide better incentives to ensure that affordable housing is built in Palm Springs. We also need to increase protections for tenants by amending our rent control ordinance. I have been working on alleviating homelessness in Palm Springs and other cities for a number of years and I am confident that with my leadership, we can address these issues efficiently and successfully for all people affected.

Economic growth is central to our city’s ability to provide services to residents and world-class amenities to visitors and residents alike, as well as our own ability to live in Palm Springs. We need to support tourism to keep our economy vibrant and maintain our position as a first-class destination. We also need to support our thousands of local businesses and strengthen and diversify our economy to ensure that everyone can thrive here. As a small business owner, I know it can be difficult for many people to get by in Palm Springs. I will work to bring new industries to our city, including reaching out to the technology and green energy industries to build more secure jobs and diversify our local industries. While supporting tourism, we need to provide new opportunities that will allow us to create a more balanced workforce and provide incentives for companies to bring better paying jobs that allow for growth and security of our city’s future and our residents.

While growing our local economy, we also need to improve city processes and oversight for city planning and major development projects to ensure growth is measured and sustainable for the future. It’s no secret that our local government has experienced issues with major developments, such as the downtown development and many projects that have stalled or faced serious problems. Our city needs to ensure the success of the downtown district, prioritize successful projects, and take action when serious problems arise. Our downtown is an integral part of our city’s fabric, the lifeblood for a new Palm Springs, and the culmination of the growth from our renaissance. We must ensure that the downtown development project is completed timely and in a way that fits with the decisions of our city council, planning commission, and input of from our community. We should ensure that going forward we have continued oversight of the downtown project and the timelines and obligations of both the developer and city are met and upheld. In all developments and new projects, we must ensure the ongoing success of the downtown area, as well as all neighborhoods in Palm Springs.

The City of Palm Springs is a model city and a leader in many areas: tourism, mid-century modern style, architecture, resort living, LGBTQ equality, and civil rights. We need to continue to act as a progressive leader on real issues that affect our community to ensure that we will still be a world-class city for the next fifty years. Under my leadership, our city will take steps forward toward progress with a clear strategic vision for the future of Palm Springs. Our city must invest in progress by taking immediate action on sustainability to fight climate change, increasing diversity in government, respecting all of our residents with dignity and justice for all, improving our processes on ethics and transparency, and instilling high ethical standards for our city leaders. I promise to work on local solutions and champion people over causes to effect real change on issues that affect our community in order to make Palm Springs a model city for the next century.

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