On Indio City Council, one incumbent has two challengers; another unopposed so far
Two of Indio’s five city council seats will be up for election this November, but only one appears to be heading toward a competitive race with less than five months to go until ballots go out.
That race is in the fifth district, which is currently represented by the city’s longest serving councilmember, Lupe Ramos Amith. Two challengers, current planning commission member Christian Rodriguez Ceja and police department staffer Ben Guitron, have announced that they are also running. That district covers the southernmost portion of the city (residents can check their district at www.indio.org/departments/city-council).
Meanwhile, no one has announced plans to challenge Glenn Miller in District 1, which he has represented since 2008. That district covers the northwest swath of the city.
However, there is still time to enter the race: The nomination period, in which candidates must collect signatures from city residents to make the ballot, does not open until July 15 and close until Aug. 9 (with the possibility of an extension if the incumbent does not turn in signatures).
But while they can’t collect signatures for nearly two more months, the District 5 race is starting to take shape with candidates holding fundraisers and unveiling their websites and platforms. Here is a look at who is running so far.
District 5
Name: Lupe Ramos Amith (incumbent)
Background: Ramos Amith is an Indio native. Her business career has included stints as the CEO of a cleaning products company and a managing director role at a business auditing company, according to her LinkedIn page. Aside from city council, she has also served on both governmental and private boards and organizations, including roles in the Southern California Association of Governments and the GFWC Woman’s Club of Indio.
Prior elected office: She has served on the city council since 2004.
Website: reelectlupe.com
What she’s saying:
After serving for two decades on the council, Ramos Amith said she is seeking one final term because she wants to see through the completion of the last few items in the city’s 2000 master plan, which was intended to guild the development of the city for the two decades leading up to 2020 and has been the council's focus during her lengthy tenure on it.
Those items include new interchanges for all the Interstate 10 access points in the city. So far only Jefferson Street has one, but plans are being made to build new ones at Monroe and Jackson streets in the next couple of years.
She said she also wants to ensure the city has reliable power to accommodate the demands of current and future development, as well as bring a mixed-use development to the site of the largely vacant Indio Fashion Mall (now known as Indio Grand Marketplace).
She previously stated she would not be running again but that circumstances have changed in her life and she wants to spend one more term supporting staff and helping the city achieve its planning goals, which now extend to 2040.
“It's a continued vision, it's collaboration, it's continuity,” she said of how she sees her role on the council. “It's all the things that we typically talk about, but in the case of Indio, the proof is in the pudding. You can see it everywhere you go no matter who you are. And that's what I want to make sure it doesn't get interrupted.”
Name: Christian Rodriguez Ceja
Background: He moved to Indio with his family from Thermal in 1997. He currently works for Kounkey Design Initiative, a urban design and planning non-profit, in a role he describes as helping cities and regional planning agencies to create meaningful community engagement that translates into actual policy. He said his job has involved work on parks and public transit.
Prior elected office: None. But he has been serving on the Indio Planning Commission, an appointed role, since 2020.
Website: crcforindio.com
What he’s saying:
He said he sees serving on the council as an opportunity to improve the lives of people in Indio. Referencing an empty lot next to his family’s home, he said he was recently reading through the city’s parks master plan from 2001 and learned seven new parks had been planned for the district over the next 20 years, but less then half have been built.
“I think about that empty lot and how it could be more than just an empty lot,” he said, adding that by the time he is close to retiring he wants Indio to be a community where he can thrive.
Rodriguez Ceja said one of his biggest priorities would be ensuring that the city is responsibly using its resources to ensure it functions in the extreme weather it often experiences, particularly scorching temperatures and floods.
Rodriguez Ceja, who is gay and married, also said he cares about representation in government and is interested in seeing people with his experience and perspective involved in making decisions in Indio.
Name: Benjamin Guitron
Background: Guitron is an Indio native and said his family roots in the eastern Coachella Valley date back to 1919. Guitron has spent decades working in support roles in the Indio Police Department but plans to retire in September. His responsibilities include being the department’s spokesperson and working in various roles with the police chief, the department’s public awareness and education arm — the office of community safety — and outreach work with businesses. Guitron has also been a leader in several organizations, including Volunteers in Medicine and the Indio History Museum.
Prior elected office: None.
Website: benguitron.com
What he’s saying:
Guitron said he is running because “Indio is not just a city for me, it’s home” and he wants to give back to all of the people who have helped him throughout his life. He said the timing makes sense now because he is retiring from the police department and looking to serve the community in a new capacity.
He said his goals would include:
Nuturing an economy where both big and small businesses can flourish and ensuring everyone in the city benefits from the city’s economic growth
Expanding resources and services to ensure every member of the community feels safe and has access to the quality of life they deserve
Ensuring the "smart growth" of the city and that it is steering toward a sustainable future while respecting its rich values and history
He added that central to these goals are plans to develop strong relationships both within Indio and with its neighboring communities. Guitron said he thinks the relationship-focused nature of his career will help him do so.
District 1
Name: Glenn Miller (incumbent)
Background: Miller has lived in the Coachella Valley for 35 years. He is currently the Coachella Valley representative for Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert’s office and previously worked as the district director for California State Sen. Jeff Stone. He has also worked in the golf industry as a course superintendent responsible for managing and maintaining golf courses for 30 years.
Prior elected office: Miller has represented District 1 on the Indio City Council since 2008. He previously served on the Indio Planning Commission, an appointed role, for five years.
Website: glennmiller4indio.com
What he’s saying:
Miller said he is pursing another term because Indio is currently in the middle of a significant effort to build many new city facilities that he wants to ensure stay on track and get completed. Those include a new city hall, library and transit station that will join the new fire and police facilities the city recently opened.
“I believe that what I bring to the table is consistency and common sense to a lot of the things that go on in the city,” he said. “My long-term (tenure) on the city council is an asset to supporting our staff and residents and making sure Indio continues down the path we’re on.”
Beyond the completion of those projects, Miller said two of the biggest current issues in the city are ensuring that there is enough power infrastructure to support the amount of growth taking place and addressing homelessness, which he said is a problem across the valley.
He said he wants to make sure a series of new planned power substations, which are being built under an agreement between the city of Indio and the Imperial Irrigation District, are brought online as quickly as possible to address the power issue. On homelessness, he wants to focus on ensuring residents are being reached with support services, including those being offered at the city’s new mental health facility, while also prioritizing efforts to clean up the city and ensuring that people aren’t sleeping where they shouldn’t be.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Election 2024: Four running for 2 seats on Indio City Council so far
