A Palm Springs Tradition Colorful Candidates

As we stagger to the conclusion of yet another Palm Springs election, it is time to slow down and smile a little. Besides being blessed with a natural abundance of riches, Palm Springs has a vibrant political scene as well. Over the past 20 years or so, it has been my pleasure to observe the political scene in Palm Springs as  both an interested party and a broadcast journalist.

There are a few candidates this year who have "colorful" backgrounds. (Not going to name names, google them.) With all due deference to those with delicate sensibilities, I reach back into the memory vault and post just a few of my favorites:

George Margolis

George said he was a former Air Force Officer when he ran for Mayor in  1995. He parked a big camper van illegally at Village Fest for a month. The most interesting thing about George was that he lived in Rancho Mirage!! He never really explained as to why he was running in town he didn't live in. 2 years later, he ran for Mayor of DHS. Yes, he still lived in Rancho Mirage.

Fred "The Hat" Eberling

Ran for council in the mid-90's. The Hat was great. Drove around in an unlicensed hearse!! Also floated a hot air balloon over downtown. He didn't like Al Smoot, a city employee, and held up a sign at Council Meetings that read, "Smoot must go!!" You couldn't read the sign ov TV because it was pixelated!!

Kitty Cole Bang

A 6ft drag queen, she livened up the Mayor's race in 1995. The whole campaign, which was mostly camp, came to an end when a check of Kitty's finances revealed an eye opening string of debts that would match any feather boa in length and luminosity.

"Fireman" Vinny

Vinny ran for Council in 2009 and Mayor in 2011. He claimed to have been a Chicago firefighter and went to Palm Springs because of 9-11. In 2011, I was moderating the Mayoral debate for the PS Chamber and Vinnie almost physically attacked Steve Pougnet. That got him tossed from the debate. He then went over to the Desert Sun and gave a rambling interview before disappearing into the ether.

Wayne Boyd

A judo instructor, Wayne ran for Mayor in 2003 as a write-in candidate. When asked why, he said, "I forgot there was an election this year." He got 12 votes.

Richard Harrison

A very dapper B list movie actor who ran for Mayor in 1995 and 1999. I remember him doing an interview talking about how he got some political ideas while filming in Uganda. Made no sense at all. Plus the way he pronounced Uganda was hilarious. OOO- GAND-UH.

So there you go. Now while none of these candidates won, they made the election season fun. In this year's race to the bottom, filled with enough sanctimony to make the Mormon Tabernacle Choir blush, we could all do with a smile.

Steve Kelly can be reached at skelly@rrbroadcasting.com