Mayor Karina Quintanilla’s Priorities for Palm Desert
Voter Districts
Karina led the efforts to transform the City of Palm Desert into a catalyst for voter equity. While running in 2020, her primary campaign objective was to continue the mission of achieving compliance with the California Voter Rights Act (CVRA) and ensure everyone in our community had a voice at the ballot box. The process took multiple years, a successful ballot initiative, strong community input, and ultimately a 5-0 vote from the City Council.
Karina understands that this process was a challenge to residents who are navigating change. When the CVRA lawsuit was filed, the plaintiffs, Lorraine Salas and Karina Quintanilla, agreed that transparency and community engagement were essential to achieve the best outcome. They felt that although it was very strange to have only two districts, the first step would allow the opportunity for residents to be involved in the process moving forward. Both Karina and Lorraine felt that it was essential to protect the City’s General Fund, because they felt it was crucial to be responsible with money to preserve ongoing projects and fund future needs. With that in mind, they accepted the two-district settlement so that lawyers did not create extraordinary bills as the terms of compliance with CVRA came together. Karina has made it a priority to protect taxpayer dollars while standing up for our rights.
Through the process of redistricting, Karina has had many opportunities to engage with residents across Palm Desert, regardless of where they live. She is proud to serve the interests of not only District 1 but the entire City of Palm Desert, with a deeper understanding of the variety of experiences across different parts of the City.
Infrastructure
When Palm Desert was impacted by Tropical Storm Hiliary, Karina walked her district taking pictures, and alerted Public Works of problems she identified. She also contacted a Desert Sands Unified School District Trustee to directly report and share pictures of the severe damage to trees at Lincoln Elementary School and Palm Desert Charter Middle School directly to so that students would be safer when classes resumed. Karina requested to go along with Public Works to see the infrastructure needs as related to retaining basins, storm drainage, and the work that was pending.
The City spent nearly $8 million dollars in navigating and recovering from Tropical Storm Hilary. Karina was, and still is, relieved that resolving the CVRA compliance was done in the open and funds were available that would have otherwise been used to fund legal teams to drain many millions of additional dollars.
Housing
Karina is a firm believer that we need to address the housing crisis and is an advocate for workforce housing. She is proud to be a part of the Council that approved the first affordable housing development in a decade. She advocates that we must change the idea of who we serve with our housing endeavors. The cost of housing creates many challenges for seniors and single parents, the most at risk of becoming homeless.
Homelessness
Karina has served on the Homelessness Committee in the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and has been a member of the City’s Homelessness Taskforce since its inception. This committee has led to taking direct action as a community to help the unsheltered, those with insecure housing, as well as our concerned residents and business owners.
In 2021, Karina gathered a loose collaborative of local leaders in healthcare, education, mental health, and government as a think tank to identify needs and resources available to reduce a duplication of efforts and dilution of resources. This group led to numerous successes, such as securing a generator for a mobile vehicle that takes portable showers to areas where the unsheltered are able to bathe. She understands that there are many things we all take for granted and even small acts can ripple into larger impact.
Community
In May of 2023, during a Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Meeting, Karina had an extended conversation with a man representing Concerts for Autism and learned that Mesa Arizona is an Autism Certified City. With great enthusiasm, Karina presented the idea to the City Manager and then Mayor, Kathleen Kelly, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce.
Karina is a firm believer that community is not a word that should be taken lightly. It is more than a city or the buildings or residents that live in an area. Community is an active effort to include everyone, recognize people’s individual needs. Communities require dedication, heart, volunteers, listening, leadership and a welcoming environment for active participation. She is a servant leader who finds fulfillment in these personal connections and hearing from former students and residents that their interaction was meaningful or impactful.
Whether she is speaking to students through the Ofelia Project, reading to elementary school students through the Read With Me program, volunteering to read scholarship essays, or presenting as a Keynote speaker at national, regional or local conferences, she takes each opportunity to make individual connections. Karina understands the value of making meaningful connections, as these are the keys to building a stronger community.
Public Safety
Karina serves on the Public Safety Committee in the Coachella Valley Association of Governments where a variety of topics from vehicular safety, street racing, changes in laws are discussed. Additionally, representatives from county and municipal law enforcement, first responders and the County of Riverside gather to provide updates and needs across the valley. During one of these meetings, mylar balloons were discussed as a threat to public safety. One mylar ballon can cause havoc if it contacts power lines.
In June, students graduate from high school or are promoted from elementary to middle or middle to high school, and mylar balloons are commonly used to celebrate. Karina presented to the Council that Palm Desert should explore banning mylar balloons in public spaces. After gaining support from the Parks and Recreation Committee and the Resource Preservation and Enhancement Committees, Palm Desert became the only city in the Coachella Valley to restrict the use of mylar balloons in public parks.