With all 152 vote centers now open across Riverside County, voters in Supervisor Districts 2, 4 and 5 have just a few days left to cast their ballots in the June 2 primary.
In District 2, which includes the cities of Canyon Lake, Corona, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore and Norco along with a number of unincorporated communities, voters will have their choice between incumbent Supervisor Karen Spiegel and challenger Sukhbir Singh Gill on the ballot.
In District 4, which includes the cities of Blythe, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage along with a number of unincorporated communities, voters will decide between incumbent Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and challenger Steve Sanchez on the ballot.
In District 5, which includes the cities of Banning, Beaumont, Calimesa, Hemet, Moreno Valley and San Jacinto along with a number of unincorporated communities, the only candidate who qualified for the ballot in the race is incumbent Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez.
While Tuesday’s election is a primary, if a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, they will be declared the winner and there will be no runoff in November.
Editor’s note: Because Gutierrez is the only candidate on the ballot, The Riverside Record only spoke with candidates in Supervisor Districts 2 and 4.
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District 2
Incumbent Supervisor Karen Spiegel was first elected to represent District 2 in 2018. She said she is running for reelection because there was still so much that she wanted to accomplish in the role.
“I know the commitment it takes,” she said in an interview with The Record when asked about her qualifications. “You have to be in the community, show up, be there solving problems, not walking away from them or making up answers…[and] ensuring that the residents have a voice, that they’re heard.”
For Spiegel, the biggest issues facing the district were transportation, including the crush of traffic on and surrounding the 15 and 91 freeways, public safety and the economy.
“We have done surveys, we’ve been out in the community, and the priorities have shown us that people want transportation improvements, people want public safety, even those that are down on law enforcement, they want to feel safe in their home, feel safe in their job, their schools and their work,” she said.
To address transportation issues, Spiegel said she would continue her work on regional boards and commissions actively working on finding ways to improve residents’ quality of life.
When it comes to the economy, she said her experience as both an employee and a business owner has given her the perspective to be able to better support the local business community.
“I’m an advocate and supporter of the Chambers of Commerce and any business entity, because they’re the bread and butter,” she said. “People just don’t realize that we need to work with them and help them through all the ups and downs that they face, too.”
As of May 22, Spiegel’s campaign has received more than $220,000 in contributions this year on top of the more than $600,000 she had in the bank at the start of the year. She chalked up the financial support of her campaign to the relationships she’s built in the community.
“I really believe in relationship building, and I think the relationships come out of showing that my word is my word, and they want to support me,” she said. “They know who I am, I’ve been out there for many years, we know that, and I show up. I show up to work on the challenges that we are facing, and also, as importantly, is to show up for those that are having successes themselves.”
Her largest donors this year include Frank Smith, who through his various Corona-based companies has contributed $60,000 in monetary donations; the Riverside Sheriffs’ Association Public Education Fund, which contributed $15,000 in monetary donations; and Frederick Noble of Palm Springs, who has contributed $15,000 in monetary donations, according to her campaign finance reports.
Challenger Sukhbir Singh Gill, in contrast, said he recently filed his California FPPC Form 470, which states that he does not anticipate raising or spending more than $2,000 on his campaign.
“I am choosing to run a grassroots campaign by myself,” he said in an interview with The Record. “I believe elections are influenced a lot by outside money, and I wanted to show candidates…that I can do this without getting funds from outside sources, and I would be able to do it by myself.”
While he acknowledged that he hasn’t been able to have the reach that additional funds would allow him to have, he said those he had been able to speak with had been really receptive.
“I really see positivity in how well people have responded,” he said.
Gill, a human rights and civil rights advocate, said he decided to run after going to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors meetings a number of times to ask for more accountability and change and not seeing results.
When it comes to his qualifications for the position, Gill said that because he has lived in the district his entire life and came from a working class background, he could better relate to people in the community.
“Understanding the everyday nuances and not being privileged and out of touch with the working class makes me qualified,” he said. “And, you know, working with the community directly, knowing what their needs are.”
For Gill, the biggest issues facing the district were infrastructure investment, equitable access to housing and affordability and safety.
To address the issues of housing and affordability, Gill said he would introduce rent control or income-based rent policies to make housing more affordable and advocate for policies to protect people from price gouging on essential goods and services to help lift people out of financially vulnerable positions.
“With infrastructure, [I would] prioritize the budget towards the people’s needs in infrastructure, and what they’ve been complaining about,” he said. “I would also like to see more green space, urban development and less commercial development, because a lot of the commercial does go to corporations or franchises and warehouses, and I would just like to see either small businesses for the residents or just more affordable housing.”
Ultimately, Gill said people should support his candidacy because he would take the time to listen to them and try to find solutions for their issues.
“I’m understanding, and I’m not going to put profit over people,” he said. “It’s about the people and getting them in a better situation than they were before and giving everyone the right to self-determination.”
District 4
Incumbent Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in his candidate statement that his record included building housing throughout the county, expanding community safety, addressing healthcare issues, honoring veterans, enhancing animal services, social services and community-based initiatives, improving transparency and accountability, supporting businesses and nonprofits.
Perez’s campaign declined The Record’s interview request for this story.
As of May 30, Perez’s campaign has received more than $211,000 in contributions this year on top of the more than 320,000 he had in the bank at the start of the year, according to campaign filings.
His largest donors this year include Frederick Noble of Palm Springs, who as an individual and through his associated companies has contributed more than $50,000 in monetary donations; the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 777 PAC, which contributed $25,000 in monetary donations; and the IBEW PAC Educational Fund, which contributed $15,000 in monetary donations, according to his campaign finance reports.
Challenger Steve Sanchez, in contrast, has received just over $40,000 in contributions this year on top of the roughly $11,000 he had at the start of the year, according to campaign filings. This includes a $26,000 loan from Sanchez’s company, Serendipity Commercial Real Estate, Inc.
“I don’t mind being the underdog,” Sanchez said when asked about the financial disparity between the two campaigns. “He’s got the power of incumbency, I recognize that, but I have my character, I have facts, and I have the community supporting me.”
Sanchez, a current member of the La Quinta City Council, said he decided to run because he felt he has already been doing a lot of the work of a supervisor, consistently elevating concerns about power and energy in the Coachella Valley, specifically the eastern Coachella Valley, veterans services, animal services, mountain preparedness, mental health issues and the Palo Verde Healthcare District in Blythe.
“I don’t mind [bringing these issues up], especially if the county or the supervisor take action, but why does it always take a La Quinta City Council member to bring up these issues that the Fourth District Supervisor should be bringing up,” he said. “I don’t know if the supervisor is burnt out or ready to retire, or if he just doesn’t have the vision of what technology is gonna look like, what trends are happening, what consumers are looking for, what developers are looking for and what residents are looking for, as far as quality of life.”
Sanchez said being a member of the La Quinta City Council, a board member for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and sitting on the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC), has given him the experience needed to be effective as a supervisor.
“As a council member, I deal with the same thing that the county already deals with: Safety and infrastructure and roads and constituent services,” he said. “In essence, I’m already doing the job of the county supervisor as a city councilman, and it’s just that I enjoy these other commissions and boards, because I know that they’re important.”
For Sanchez, the biggest issues facing the district were public safety, infrastructure and transparency.
“Public safety is always number one, and it’s not just a matter of, ‘Hey, I need more cops, more boots on the ground,’” he said. “It’s really a matter of, ‘Hey, the cops that we have or the firefighters that we have, do they have the most up to date gear? Do they have the most up to date training?’”
When it comes to infrastructure in the Fourth District, Sanchez said the county needed to address the fact that there is currently only one way in and out of the Coachella Valley and the impact the lack of power and energy has had on development in the region.
“We have had a halt in development in the eastern Coachella Valley,” he said. “Everything is at a complete halt, and you can’t get a will-serve letter that has any meaning. Just imagine you have a $20 million development, but you’ve got to pay for a $50 million substation. You’re not going to develop your development. It doesn’t make sense.”
Ultimately, Sanchez said voters should support his campaign because he not only has the local governance experience, but would also push for more transparency and accountability throughout the county.
“They’re voting for somebody who doesn’t put up with conflict of interest. I’ve already said that, unlike my opponent, I will not hire any council members or other elected officials to work in my office,” he said, referencing Perez’s former chief of staff Steven Hernandez, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to a conflict of interest charge. “The conflict of interest that exists right now, you’re not going to see that in my office.”
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