Habemus Papem (We have a Pope) is the cry heard at Vatican before the introduction of a new Pontiff. Today Governor Brown, a former seminarian, shouted Habemus Perez as after 4 months, the Valley has a new Supervisor after the death of John Benoit.
The appointment of Coachella council member and former Assemblyman Manny Perez to the position of Riverside County Supervisor by Governor Jerry Brown is a victory for the Valley's local Democratic party who openly campaigned for him over Elizabeth Romero. While technically non-partisan, (with the exception of Chuck Washington from Temecula.) 3 members of the BOS (Board of Supervisors) lean far right GOP. In fact one of them, Marion Ashley was a Trump delegate in 2016.
What makes this more remarkable is the fact that the city of Coachella now can boast of being home to a Congressman, an Assemblyman, and now a Supervisor. All within the last 10 years. When I first started covering local politics, Coachella was as dysfunctional as it got with one councilmember arrested for selling meth and another one for trying to take a swing at a Congressman from LA. Now it stands as the ground zero of political power in the Valley
The road ahead for Mr. Perez may be rocky. He will be up for election for a full 4 year term in June 2018. He will not only have to motivate his base but also reach out to the West Valley and try and tap into the LGTBQ community in Palm Springs which sometimes forgets it is part of Riverside County.
Already, Palm Desert council member Jan Harnik, a local Republican, is raising money to challenge Perez. She is very well thought of in the Valley and has 60 grand in the bank. Also a challenge from fellow Democrat Greg Pettis can not be ruled. Pettis is the de facto political strongman of Cathedral City and applied for the job of Supervisor himself. While not a serious candidate for appointment, he could cause Perez a lot of trouble.
20 year ago, local Democrats struggled to even find a place to meet. They had to meet at the Swiss Donut Shop in Palm Desert. Today they have grown to the point where they got one of their own selected as Supervisor.
Steve Kelly can be followed on twitter @skellynj or sverickerr12@gmail.com.T
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Jim Casey Another To Fall
It was a shock to many in the Valley when news came of the death of Integrated Wealth Management founder Jim Casey on Monday. Casey was well known for his philanthropic efforts in our community. Palm Springs Mayor Rob Moon even called him a Palm Springs institution. This was of course before news broke of 2 pending lawsuits against Casey involving serious allegations of fraud involving millions of dollars.
Let me make this clear, allegations are just that, allegations. I met Jim Casey on a few occasions and found him to a very nice man. He was polite and charming. It will be interesting to see if his company remains viable or if it will be shut down after his death. Local media has not shied away from the story so far, despite the prominent social circles Casey traveled in.. Having zero tolerance for white collar crime, let us see where this story goes.
Upon arrival here in 1991, it didn't take me long to find out that not all was everything it appeared to be. The Valley abounded with frauds and con artists. Fake Dukes, Counts and phony band members appeared from every corner. Hell, even Cheetah The Chimp who has a star in Palm Springs is of dubious heritage. The late Mel Haber used to delight in telling stories about these folks. Mel had me laughing to the point of tears on a few occasions.With the advent of the internet, these characters could be debunked rather easily so that out an end to them. But why would someone crave that attention?
The answer for that lies in the fact that for better or worse, our Valley is one of the few places left in the United States where the society pages and being in them seems to matter. While most of the country views this as antiquated as a VCR tape, not so some denizens of the Valley. And Mr. Casey, who it appears was experiencing huge financial problems, graced theses pages regularly.
I now know of 4 "philanthropists" in the last 10 years who had worse personal finances than me. I know of a political activist here who drove an expensive car while bouncing a 30 dollar check. I know of one charity type who couldn't even afford a ticket to his own event while tooling around in a leased Mercedes. All of the above to perpetuate nothing more than a grandiose illusion.
If this whole sorry episode turns continues on the path where it is headed once again the age-old lesson that the truly rich person is happy with who they are, not who they are perceived to be, will be proven correct. Something to think about.
Steve Kelly can be followed on Twitter @skellynj or reached at svericker12@gmail.com
Let me make this clear, allegations are just that, allegations. I met Jim Casey on a few occasions and found him to a very nice man. He was polite and charming. It will be interesting to see if his company remains viable or if it will be shut down after his death. Local media has not shied away from the story so far, despite the prominent social circles Casey traveled in.. Having zero tolerance for white collar crime, let us see where this story goes.
Upon arrival here in 1991, it didn't take me long to find out that not all was everything it appeared to be. The Valley abounded with frauds and con artists. Fake Dukes, Counts and phony band members appeared from every corner. Hell, even Cheetah The Chimp who has a star in Palm Springs is of dubious heritage. The late Mel Haber used to delight in telling stories about these folks. Mel had me laughing to the point of tears on a few occasions.With the advent of the internet, these characters could be debunked rather easily so that out an end to them. But why would someone crave that attention?
The answer for that lies in the fact that for better or worse, our Valley is one of the few places left in the United States where the society pages and being in them seems to matter. While most of the country views this as antiquated as a VCR tape, not so some denizens of the Valley. And Mr. Casey, who it appears was experiencing huge financial problems, graced theses pages regularly.
I now know of 4 "philanthropists" in the last 10 years who had worse personal finances than me. I know of a political activist here who drove an expensive car while bouncing a 30 dollar check. I know of one charity type who couldn't even afford a ticket to his own event while tooling around in a leased Mercedes. All of the above to perpetuate nothing more than a grandiose illusion.
If this whole sorry episode turns continues on the path where it is headed once again the age-old lesson that the truly rich person is happy with who they are, not who they are perceived to be, will be proven correct. Something to think about.
Steve Kelly can be followed on Twitter @skellynj or reached at svericker12@gmail.com
Monday, May 1, 2017
Your News My View May Day
Your News: We still have no Supervisor for the Coachella Valley.
My Views: Gov. Brown is really dragging his feet on this one. The election is only 13 months away. I am hearing the Governor wants to appoint a candidate who would be strong for re-election in 2018 and will hold the seat against Palm Desert Councilperson Jan Harnik which will be a challenge. I think Brown would like to appoint Elizabeth Romero as he thinks she will be a better candidate than Manny Perez. Problem is that most local Democrats want Perez. And the wait goes on.
Your News: Some local pols now taking part in the anti-Trump protests in the Valley.
My Views: As long as they are kept away from the microphone it is okay. These protests are much more effective when they are organic and not used by a council member or candidate as a vessel for self-promotion.
Your News: May is local TV sweeps month. That means the local news will try to boost viewership for the setting of ad rates. We will be subjected to sensationalistic promos; we will learn who is there first and who cares for us.
My Views: Most of these reports tend to be embarrassing and it 2017, not 1977. There must be a better way to set ad rates then resort to this nonsense to try and draw viewers: Tonight our 18 part special report on whether breathing air is necessary.
Your News: Cathedral City explores re-districting for council elections. Allegedly one proposal would split the Cove into 2 districts for the benefit of 2 incumbent council members.
My Views: If true and that is a big if, even I would have to tip my hat at the blatant cynicism behind such a move.
Your News: A rumor is making the rounds that Palm Springs is going to install rotaries or traffic circles.
My Views: No, No, a 1000 x no. I grew up with them back east and they are a pain in the rotary. The funniest thing about this was some of the responses on social media. As with everything involving Palm Springs, things quickly got pretentious For some reason, those who had driven in Europe felt the need to praise them all while mentioning their overseas jaunts. Those of us who learned stateside not so much.
Your News: Survived both Coachella and Stagecoach
My Views: The words cool and vibe died for this.
Steve Kelly can be followed on twitter 2skellynj or email at svericker12@gmail.com
.
My Views: Gov. Brown is really dragging his feet on this one. The election is only 13 months away. I am hearing the Governor wants to appoint a candidate who would be strong for re-election in 2018 and will hold the seat against Palm Desert Councilperson Jan Harnik which will be a challenge. I think Brown would like to appoint Elizabeth Romero as he thinks she will be a better candidate than Manny Perez. Problem is that most local Democrats want Perez. And the wait goes on.
Your News: Some local pols now taking part in the anti-Trump protests in the Valley.
My Views: As long as they are kept away from the microphone it is okay. These protests are much more effective when they are organic and not used by a council member or candidate as a vessel for self-promotion.
Your News: May is local TV sweeps month. That means the local news will try to boost viewership for the setting of ad rates. We will be subjected to sensationalistic promos; we will learn who is there first and who cares for us.
My Views: Most of these reports tend to be embarrassing and it 2017, not 1977. There must be a better way to set ad rates then resort to this nonsense to try and draw viewers: Tonight our 18 part special report on whether breathing air is necessary.
Your News: Cathedral City explores re-districting for council elections. Allegedly one proposal would split the Cove into 2 districts for the benefit of 2 incumbent council members.
My Views: If true and that is a big if, even I would have to tip my hat at the blatant cynicism behind such a move.
Your News: A rumor is making the rounds that Palm Springs is going to install rotaries or traffic circles.
My Views: No, No, a 1000 x no. I grew up with them back east and they are a pain in the rotary. The funniest thing about this was some of the responses on social media. As with everything involving Palm Springs, things quickly got pretentious For some reason, those who had driven in Europe felt the need to praise them all while mentioning their overseas jaunts. Those of us who learned stateside not so much.
Your News: Survived both Coachella and Stagecoach
My Views: The words cool and vibe died for this.
Steve Kelly can be followed on twitter 2skellynj or email at svericker12@gmail.com
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