XPosted 5/18/2008 10:40 AM PDT on DailyKos in blog by BlueBeaumontBoyz and on MyDesert.com in blog by BluePalmSpringsBoyz

Greg Pettis, Cathedral City Councilmember for more than 13 years, former Mayor Pro-Tem of Cathedral City, and Progressive Democratic Candidate for the 80th Assembly District obtained the endorsement of The Desert Sun on May 4, 2008, for the November Democratic primary for the CA 80th AD due to his years of remarkable service, his involvement in the local Coachella and Imperial Valley communities, and his accomplishments and plans during his terms of office.  Pettis obtained the solid endorsement of The Desert Sun.

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Pettis is the leading Democratic candidate in the 80th AD, raising and spending more monies than all of his Democratic opponents combined, obtaining endorsements from all of the Democratic Clubs who have endorsed in the race, from most of the Democratic electeds, from all of the Democratic electeds who have endorsed in the West Valley (Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, and Palm Desert), and from the most active unions and locals in the district.  In addition, Pettis has raised more money in each of the last electronic reporting periods than all three of his primary opponents combined.  Pettis has also spent more money during each reporting than all of his opponents combined.  Finally, Pettis has also raised more money during the last electronic reporting period, February, than his the presumptive Republican nominee, Gary Jeandron.

The surprising aspect of the endorsement of The Desert Sun is that not once have they previously endorsed Pettis during any of his Cathedral City Council races.  The Desert Sun went beyond a bland endorsement and emphasized Pettis’ ties to the Coachella Valley communities, his organizational skills, his constituent service record, and his potential ability to ‘hit the ground running’ in Sacramento following the November elections.

Highlights of the TDS endorsement follow:

The Democratic candidates for the 80th Assembly District don’t differ widely on the issues, but Cathedral City Councilman Greg Pettis stands out because of his ties to the Coachella Valley.

Pettis, 52, is a strong political tactician.  His strong suit is organization.  He communicates well with his constituents.  Navigating the state capitol scene will be critical to his – and the valley’s – success, but we believe he understands Sacramento and can hit the ground running there and that is what we need.

We also are confident Pettis would be visible in the district after being elected (BlueBeaumontBoyz note: unlike absentee Congresswoman Mary Bono Baxely Mack) – and that is an important part of the job.

Pettis is one of four Democrats vying for the 80th Assembly District seat in the upcoming June 3 primary…

…Pettis has been in office 14 years as a Cathedral City councilman.  He knows the Coachella Valley best.  He has strong relationships with local officials and understands local issues.

He has built a solid record of achievement while on the council, and we believe he is electable and will be effective in Sacramento…

…he does understand our issues and, of all Democratic candidates, he is (the) best choice to represent the needs of the Coachella Valley.

He plans to focus on bringing needed transportation infrastructure to our valley, as (well) as more jobs to the Coachella and Imperial valleys, better school funding and expanding incentives for green and renewable energy sources.

Pettis said he also will work on health insurance coverage for all Californians.  He wants all children younger than 18 to be covered by expanding programs.  He would push to expand tax credit programs to create more affordable housing and work to stabilize interest rates to fend off more foreclosures…

Pettis’ ties to the Coachella Valley are solid and complete.  According to the Pettis for Assembly website Pettis was born and raised in Duarte, California and has lived in Cathedral City since 1979.  After nearly 15 years in the hospitality industry, Greg ran for and won his seat on the Cathedral City Council in 1994.

Over the last 14 years, Greg has been instrumental in creating an economically vibrant community in Cathedral City with strong neighborhoods and a thriving downtown to attract good paying jobs as well as union jobs to Cathedral City.

The fact that Pettis has strong relationships with local officials is a given.  Pettis works well with both Democrats and Republicans on Cathedral City Council and in his other community activities as well.  Pettis has been endorsed for the 80th AD by Palm Springs City Councilmember Ginny Foat, Palm Springs City Councilmember Rick Hutcheson, Desert Hot Springs City Councilmember Karl Baker, Cathedral City Councilmember Paul Marchand, former-Cathedral City Councilmember Sarah Digradi, Cathedral City Clerk Pat Hammers, former-Rancho Mirage City Councilmember Jeanne Parrish, former-Coachella Mayor Juan DeLara, El Centro City Councilmember Sedalia Saunders, and Coachella City Councilmember and former-Candidate for the 80th AD Gilbert Ramirez, demonstrating the depth and breadth of his support amongst electeds in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys.

Pettis has also obtained the endorsement of every Democratic Club which has thus far endorsed in the 80th AD, including the Desert Hot Springs Democratic Club, the Desert Stonewall Democratic Club, the Inland Stonewall Democratic Club, the Palm Springs Democratic Club, the Pass Democratic Club, the San Diego Democratic Club, and the San Diego Democratic Women’s Club.  None of the local Democratic clubs has endorsed any of Pettis’ rivals for the Democratic nomination.

Pettis has also worked well with the local Democratic club leadership and has received the endorsements of the President of the Desert Hot Springs Democratic Club Will Pieper, the Vice-President of the Desert Hot Springs Democratic Club Chuck McDaniel, the Treasurer of the Desert Stonewall Democratic Club Bob Silverman, Desert Stonewall Democratic Club Steering Committee Member Donald W. Grimm, Ph.D., the Co-Chair of the Palm Springs Democratic Club Sandy Eldridge, the Co-Chair of the Palm Springs Democratic Club David Pye, co-founder of the Palm Springs Democratic Club Lisa Arbalaez, former co-chair of the Palm Springs Democratic Club Robert Lee Thomas, the President of the Pass Democratic Club Jacqueline Atwood, the Vice-President of the Pass Democratic Club Betty McMillion, Riverside County Democratic Central Committee Alternate Kira Klatchko, and former candidate for the 80th AD Mary Ann Andreas.

At the pre-convention endorsement proceedings in Moreno Valley prior to the California Democratic Party convention in San Jose, Pettis obtain more than 70% of the votes of the local party leaders to obtain the endorsement for the 80th AD race.  It was only due to a parliamentary procedure backed by literally only a relative few recalcitrants that revoked that endorsement.  Nevertheless, that action only served to strengthen the resolve of the Pettis campaign and his support amongs good Democratic activists in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys.

The Pettis campaign has also received endorsements from most of the local progressive unions and their leadership because of his strong support for union and labor rights.  Pettis has the endorsement of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Building Trades of California, the California AFL-CIO, Cathedral City Professional Firefighters, San Bernardino/Riverside Counties Central Labor Council, San Diego/Imperial Counties Central Labor Council, Teamsters, Joint Council 42, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 440.  These are the unions who put progressive Democratic activist boots to the ground during local election campaigns.

Regarding potential work as a State Assemblyman in Sacramento, Pettis demonstrates that he already has strong ties to that body with his endorsements from State Assembly Speaker Pro-Tem Sally Lieper, State Assemblyman Mike Eng, State Assemblyman John Laird, State Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, State Assemblyman Mark Leno, State Assemblyman Ted Lieu, former-State Assemblyman Paul Koretz, and former-State Assemblyman Fran Pavley.  Given his relationships in the State Assembly, Pettis is poised to ‘hit the ground running,’ not having to learn either the ropes of the Assembly or the politics of Sacramento.

The Desert Sun is also accurate in portraying Pettis as ‘knowing our issues.’  Pettis makes it clear that he will work diligently to improve the quality of life of not only residents of the District, but also all Californians by working to bring healthcare and benefits to all children under the age of 18, by working to improve the local and state economies, and by protecting the enviroment.  More specifically, according to his website, Pettis has been a regional leader throughout the Coachella Valley, working on issues that impact the Inland Empire and all of California including:

(1) Negotiating the Multi-Species Habitat Plan to guide sustainable growth

(2) Serving on the Salton Sea Authority

(3) Conducting Town Hall forums on the future of health care in California

The Desert Sun in its Sunday, October 14, 2007, edition, endorsed Rick Hutcheson for Palm Springs City Council.

“Hutcheson, a planning commissioner and co-owner of a real estate company, is a creative thinker with an impressive background in business and government. He brings ideas for the future.

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The Desert Sun continued:

“On the Planning Commission, Hutcheson pushed for conservation, green building standards and renewable energy in the general plan.

“He’s voted for developments like the Mondrian Hotel and Port Lawrence, showing he recognizes the importance of development to the city’s economic vitality.  But he also understands the need to balance development and preserve neighborhoods.

“He is proposing an emergency ordinance to review current regulations, like signage and parking, that affect businesses.  He wants “ambassadors” to assist people seeking permits or approvals from the city.  He also favors using the city’s business improvement district to develop a block-by-block marketing plan.  “This is not Manhattan,” he said.  “This is a workable amount of space and working with our local residents we can figure out how to do a better job.”

“He wants to create more signature events to bring people downtown in slow months, and he favors giving John Wessman a deadline for replacing the Desert Fashion Plaza.  He said the city must “act quickly.”  But we think it will be harder and far more complex than he realizes.

“Strong leadership in business will be tantamount to ensuring the type of downtown revitalization Palm Springs is going to need. Hutcheson can do this job.  He has great ideas.

“Hutcheson recognizes the importance of public safety and has some ideas for increasing the number of police officers on the street. One idea: consider using private security to respond to alarms. He said the city responds to 2,000 false alarms a year.”

The Desert Sun continues:

“He knows what matters.  “First thing, the city has to deliver on the basics,” he said.  “That means clean streets, clean benches, stop the graffiti and vandalism, trim the Palm Trees.”

“He has broad-based support from the planning commissioners, neighborhood groups and three Democratic clubs, the AFL-CIO, the Palm Springs Police Officers Association and the Fire Safety Unit.  He also counts councilman and mayoral candidate Steve Pougnet as one of his closest advisers.

“Hutcheson is smart, has been actively involved in the city and is a progressive thinker.

The endorsement of The Desert Sun along with the ringing endorsements of the three major Democratic Clubs in Palm Springs, including the Desert Stonewall Democratic Club, the Palm Springs Democratic Club, and the Democrats of the Desert Democratic Club, aa well as the endorsements of many civic, political, and neighborhood organizations should go a long way towards helping Hutcheson attain his goal of a first term on Palm Springs City Council.

October 7, 2007 – Palm Springs, CA

The Desert Sun in its editoral page today endorsed Steven Pougnet for Mayor of Palm Springs.

“Steven Pougnet captured Palm Springs’ attention in 2003 when he was elected to City Council and through hard work and strategic thinking, he has held it ever since.

Four years later, he is mayor pro tem and wants to be mayor in an election bid characterized as one in which one man stands out from the rest. That man is Steve Pougnet.“

Steve Pougnet was endorsed by the three Palm Springs Democratic Clubs including the Desert Stonewall Democrats, the Democrats of the Desert, and the Palm Springs Democrats.

If Steve is elected, he would be the second consecutive openly-gay Mayor of Palm Springs and the first who is Caucasian.  With respect to full disclosure, BlueBeaumontBoyz is a member of Desert Stonewall Democrats, the GLBT Democratic Club or the Coachella Valley, and actively support Steve’s election campaign for Mayor of Palm Springs.

For your information, the race for Mayor of Palm Springs is a non-partisan race.  However, since Palm Springs is now a pre-dominantly Democratic city (refer to my earlier posts re voter registration in Palm Springs), and has the support of all three Democratic Clubs in Palm Springs, has been highly successful in raising campaign funds, and has great name recognition, Steve is generally perceived to be a heavy favorite in the Mayor’s race this year.

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The Desert Sun continued its endorsement by saying: