PALM SPRINGS, CA
Incumbent Grace Garner and challenger Donald J. Soja are competing for Palm Springs’ District 1 City Council seat in the Nov. 3 election, offering voters a choice between Garner’s record in office and Soja’s proposals for city government.
Both candidates qualified for the ballot, according to the city clerk’s election roster. The winner will serve a four-year term.
Garner Highlights Housing and Community Improvements
Garner was first elected to the Palm Springs City Council in 2019. Her reelection campaign emphasizes affordable housing, improvements to public facilities, youth programs and neighborhood services.
On her campaign website, Garner credits her work with helping deliver more than 200 affordable housing units, with hundreds more in development. The site points to city funding and a portion of hotel tax revenue dedicated to housing projects.
Her campaign also lists improvements to parks, playgrounds, community centers and the swim center, along with advancing the Palm Springs Public Library renovation. The website says four parks have received new playgrounds and identifies her work on the Parks Master Plan as another accomplishment.
For younger residents, Garner cites improved teen programming and a paid internship program she managed to give college-age residents experience in city government.
Her website also lists neighborhood projects, including traffic signals at Indian Canyon Drive and Rosa Parks Road and at Avenida Caballeros and San Rafael Drive, along with speed bumps on Rosa Parks and Tramview roads. These accomplishments reflect her campaign’s account of her work in office.
Grace Garner’s Campaign Website – Click Here
Soja Focuses on Transparency and City Finances
Soja, commonly known as Don Soja, identifies transparent government, financial planning, equal rights, homelessness and affordable housing as priorities on his campaign website.
A former vice chair of the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission, Soja says he would explain his decisions, listen to residents and work to make city government more responsive.
He lists maintaining a balanced budget and protecting the city’s long-term finances among his highest priorities. His platform calls for responsible spending, careful planning and addressing the city’s retirement funding obligations.
On affordable housing, Soja supports creating more opportunities throughout Palm Springs. He says responsibility for meeting housing needs should be shared equitably among the city’s districts.
His homelessness platform calls for connecting people with appropriate services and supporting compassionate, long-term solutions. He also pledges to support equal rights and opportunities and says serving on the council would be a full-time commitment if elected.
Don Soja’s campaign website – Click Here
Voting in District 1
Only voters living in District 1 will choose between Garner and Soja for this seat under Palm Springs’ district election system.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with vote centers open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Riverside County also offers early voting and vote-by-mail options.
Residents can review candidate information through the city’s municipal election page and find voting locations through the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.