Supervisors Honor Late Cathedral City Councilmember Mark Carnevale

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors Tuesday adjourned the meeting in honor of late Cathedral City Councilmember Mark Carnevale who died Sunday at the age of 75.

“I need to raise this, because it just happened, and it’s a shock,” an emotional Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said at the November 18 meeting. “Yesterday, I received the worst news one can receive of a great friend and respected ally.”

Carnevale represented District 3 for more than a decade after first being elected to the council in November 2014, where he served as mayor twice — first following the death of Mayor Gregory S. Pettis in 2019 and again in December 2023, according to a city news release announcing his death.

Carnevale had called the Coachella Valley home since 1969. Together with his wife, Rhonda, he owned and operated Nicolino’s Italian Restaurant in Cathedral City since its 1985 opening.

Through the restaurant, the family was able to support a number of local organizations, including the Cathedral City Boys and Girls Club, Cathedral City Evening Rotary, Cathedral City High School programs and police officers and firefighters associations. The restaurant was previously named “Restaurant of the Year” and “California Small Business of the Year,” by the Chamber of Commerce.

During his tenure on the council, Carnevale was instrumental in the revitalization of the Downtown Arts & Entertainment District, championed the development of the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater and the Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City. 

“Councilmember Carnevale was proud of his work on homelessness, transportation and the economic and community development of the city, public safety and small business,” Perez said. “Along with Greg[ory] Pettis, he was a champion of the Veterans Village in Cathedral City…built on city land donated to provide homes for veterans. Mark was a tremendous supporter of our veterans.”

Carnevale also served on a number of regional boards and commissions, including the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) Executive Committee, the Riverside County Transportation Commission and the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau among others.

“His colleagues, friends, and the entire Cathedral City community will deeply miss Mark Carnevale’s leadership, his warm smile, his dedication to making Cathedral City a better place, and his genuine love for this city and its people,” the city’s news release said.

Carnevale is survived by his wife, their two children, Karrie and Nick, and five grandchildren.

A celebration of life service is scheduled for December 15 from 2-4 p.m. at the Mary Pickford Theater, 36850 Pickfair St. in Cathedral City. The service will be open to the public.

Ryan Hunt, communications and events manager, said in an email to The Riverside Record that flags at city facilities will be flown at half-staff through December 15 in honor of Carnevale’s service to the city.