Democrats of the Desert
Reaching across the Coachella Valley ...and beyond
Riverside County & Imperial County, CA
DEMOCRATS OF THE DESERT ENDORSEMENTS PROCESS & TIMELINE
IN PREP FOR CADEM PRE-ENDORSEMENTS CONFERENCE to be held on 01/17/2026
* Per Democrats of the Desert bylaws which are posted on this website
DOD 2026 Endorsements Committee Chairperson:
- Priscilla Richardson, phone 206-419-0254, email pgscheldt@mindspring.com
Timelines:
- DOD 2026 Endorsements Interview Dates: November 24 & December 1, 2025 on Zoom
- DOD 2026 Endorsements Committee Votes Date: December 1, 2025 on Zoom
* For Zoom access to either meeting above, email marcie.maxwell@live.com by 5pm at least one day prior to that meeting date. Only the committee and candidate scheduled will be unmuted, any and all other people present in these Zoom meetings must have their first & last name shown, their face must be visible, and no signs, no chats, and no unmuting will be allowed (and that attendee is subject to immediate removal from the meeting).
- DOD Members In Good Standing Vote on Committee Recommendations on
December 13, 2025 at Democrats of the Desert meeting, 2-4pm, Embassy Suites Palm Desert
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Note:
- DOD member delegates selected as Voting Representatives for DOD in the CADem Pre-endorsing Conference process are required to vote for the DOD endorsed candidates.
- Voting Representatives will cast their votes between 1/17/2026 and 1/24/2026.
Note:
- DOD will consider local candidates at a later date as this current process will only consider the candidates in races that CADem includes in the Pre-endorsing Conference.
* The races considered in this timeline are only AD-36, AD-47, CD-48.
Candidates:
- It is the candidate's responsibility to locate this process, timelines, questionnaire, interview scheduling. It is not DOD's responsibility to locate you.
- The required candidate questionnaire is linked here - DOD 2026 CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
- You can also request a copy by email from the DOD Endorsements Committee Chair.
- Return your completed questionnaire not later than 5pm on November 23, 2025 by email to both pgscheldt@mindspring.com and marcie.maxwell@live.com.
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Democrats of the Desert 2024
General Election Endorsements & Recommendations
* Democrats of the Desert Local Endorsements - November 2024
Palm Springs City Council, District 4 - Naomi Soto - https://naomisoto.com
Palm Springs City Council, District 5 - David Ready - https://readyforpalmsprings.com
Palm Desert City Council, District 1 - Karina Quintanilla - https://electkarina.com
Palm Desert City Council, District 2 - Gregg Akkerman - https://greggakkerman.com
Palm Desert City Council, District 3 - Stephen Nelson - https://nelsonforpalmdesert.com
Rancho Mirage City Council, at large - Gregory Goodman - https://goodman4ranchomirage.com
Rancho Mirage City Council, at large - Michael O'Keefe - https://okeeferanchomirage.com
Indio City Council, District 5 - Ben Guitron - https://benguitron.com
Coachella City Mayor - Frank Figueroa - https://frankformayor.com
Coachella City Council, at large - Denise Delgado - https://denisedelgado.com
Coachella City Council, at large - Yadira Perez
Desert Health Care District, Zone 1 - Greg Rodriguez - https://gregrodriguez.org
Desert Health Care District, Zone 5 - Carlos Garcia
* These endorsements are solely made by Democrats of the Desert and do not represent
endorsements made by Riverside County Democratic Party or California Democratic Party.
VOTER RESOURCE INFORMATION
California Secretary of State – Voter registration https://registertovote.ca.gov
Riverside County Elections Office https://voteinfo.net
Your District & Elected Office Lookup https://docs.voteinfo.net/electiondatalookup/
Blue Voter Guide https://bluevoterguide.org
Vote411 https://vote411.org/california
DEMOCRATS OF THE DESERT ENDORSEMENTS
November 8, 2022 - General Election
US Senate - Alex Padilla
US Congress District 25 - Raul Ruiz
US Congress District 41 - Will Rollins
California Governor - Gavin Newsom
California Lt. Governor - Eleni Kounalakis
State Attorney General - Rob Bonta
State Controller - Malia Cohen
State Insurance Commissioner - Ricardo Lara
Secretary of State - Shirley Weber
State Senate District 18 - Steve Padilla
State Assembly District 36 - Eduardo Garcia
State Assembly District 47 - Christy Holstege
Cathedral City Council District 5 - Raymond Gregory
Coachella Mayor - Denise Delgado
Coachella City Council - Frank Figueroa
Coachella City Council - Yurema Jocelyn Arvizu
Desert Hot Springs City Council District 1 - Gary Gardner
Indio City Council District 3 - Jonathan Becerra
Palm Desert City Council (2 at-large seats) - Carlos Garcia & Gregg Akkerman
Palm Springs City Council District 1- Grace Garner
Palm Springs City Council District 1- Scott Nevins
Palm Springs City Council District 2- Jeffrey Bernstein
Palm Springs City Council District 3 - Ron DeHarte
Desert Sands Unified School District Trustee Area 2 - Beto Alvarez
Desert Health Care District Zone 6 - No Position
Desert Community College District 4 - Joel Kinnamon
San Gorgonio Healthcare District - Lanny Swerdlow
Measure “B” in Palm Desert (requiring district elections) - YES