Tough Times For Ginny Foat

It wasn't supposed to be like this. After  Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet bowed out of the Mayor's race over the revelations of his relationship with a local developer, Ms. Foat threw her hat in the ring. Since Ms. Foat has 2 more years to go on her council term it was with little risk.

She started her campaign very well. The big shots and power brokers all signed on board. Ms. Foat checked all the boxes getting support from national LGBT organizations as well. This was looking more like a coronation than an election. Ginny Foat was well on her way to becoming the first lady Mayor of Palm Springs. Then the Feds paid a visit to City Hall.

It placed Ms. Foat in a tough position. How can you run based on all the "progress" Palm Springs has made when some of that "progress" is now under investigation?  It t is not an enviable task and one she is obviously struggling with.

Since the raid, Ms. Foat and her supporters have been aggressive responding to slights both real and imagined. I think she did not acquit herself well when the ridiculous suggestion of moving voting away from the Mizell Center was made by her political opponents. She should have never even commented on the story but  she did. It was a petty move by her opponents not worthy of discussion.

Her lunch meeting with developer Rich Meaney and Mayor Steve Pougnet while not looking great, at least in my mind, looks a lot worse for the Mayor than her.  She has meetings all the time over the city. She claims she had no knowledge of the extent of the Pougnet's relationship with Rich Meaney. 2 other people, not her supporters, with knowledge of the situation have said the same thing to me. It remains to be seen if there is any "there" there.

Ms. Foat has also been quoted talking about how much the city is cooperating with the federal authorities. The city really has no choice in the matter.

Foat's supporter's have also become more aggressive on social media. Taking a dubious high moral tone, they have denounced what they perceive as gossip and speculation. Part of this aggressiveness can be attributed to pent up frustration

Many of the Foat supporters were also supporters of Steve Pougnet, They blame mayoral candidate Rob Moon for the state of flux Palm Springs is in. There has been a whispering campaign that Mr. Moon's original political consultant Freeman Public Affairs of Orange County leaked the whole Pougnet Meaney story in the first place. Pougnet hinted at this in a rambling April statement. Mr. Moon has denied this at every chance and even if true so what? The Feds obviously think there is something to look into.

So where does this all leave Ms. Foat? She still must still be considered the front runner but the ground under her has shifted.  Should be an interesting few weeks.

Steve Kelly can be reached st stevekelly@rrbroadcasting.com