Political Newcomers Challenge Rita Lamb

A Pair of Political Newcomers Attempt to Oust Rita Lamb

CATHEDRAL CITY — Two political newcomers —Michael Hayes and Mark Scharaga —have their sights on taking over Rita Lamb’s seat in the Nov, 5 election.

Lamb was first elected on Aug. 27, 2019, during a Special Election after the passing of Mayor Gregory S. Pettis and re-elected to a four-year term in November 2020.

Lamb is the first district representative for District 1, which includes the neighborhoods of the Cathedral City Cove, portions of Cathedral Canyon Country Club, business districts west of Cathedral Canyon, western section of the Whitewater neighborhood that includes the Boys and Girls Club located on Whispering Trail , Cimarron Cove, the Cathedral Palms Senior Living on Landau, and the western portion of the Downtown Arts and Entertainment District.

One of her champions is Mayor Mark Carnevale.

“As far as her leadership during and after the disastrous Hilary storm, I was truly impressed with her leadership, courage and compassion she presented,” Carnevale told Uken Report. “She walked the streets, and she was there facing the residents, answering questions and giving support. She did not back down (from) some harsh criticism and she took a lot of heat for it. Overall, I don’t think anyone else could’ve done any better than what Rita did.”

Uken Report (UR) asked each candidate a series of identical questions with the same deadline. Each was told their answers     would not be edited. Following are Lamb’s responses:

UR: Age and occupation

Lamb: I am 74 years old.  I am a retired elementary school principal.

UR: Who or what motivated you to run for the City Council?

Lamb: I decided to run for Cathedral City Council in 2019 at the urging of community members at the Cathedral City Senior Center where I was serving as a board member and following the death of Mayor Greg Pettis.

UR: How long have you lived in Cathedral City full time?

Lamb: I have lived in Cathedral City full time for 24 years.

UR: What is your No. 1 priority?

Lamb: My #1 priority and our #1 responsibility is public safety.  Recruiting, retaining and training fire and police department personnel is paramount along with providing them with the equipment necessary to protect and serve our community.

UR: What makes you a better candidate than your opponents?

Lamb: As your elected representative, I have the practical wisdom that comes from five years of listening to the residents, analyzing the data from a variety of sources and making sound judgements on a myriad of issues from Short Term Vacation rentals to implementation of the pavement management plan.  Our common welfare comes first.

Political Newcomer Michael Hayes

Hayes submitted one large paragraph of copy. As promised, we did not edit the responses.

“I am a retired businessman, a  service connected USMC  veteran and landlord.  I’m 62 years old and have been living here in this house for 20 years plus I’ve lived in Rancho Mirage. I’ve lived in San Francisco most of my life and originated from Massachusetts and Irish Mexican. I’m openly gay. I’m a lifelong Democrat. Haven’t been fighting back or pushing back from the early days of HIV. I am  running for the seat  previously held by the late Mayor Gregg Pettis representing the district with a large LGBTQ population. My experience and compassion drive me to help others including a homeless, veterans, seniors community. I don’t have any personal agendas. I don’t own restaurants, sitting on a ton of vacant land that I can sell to a newly funded real estate deal.  I have a history of leadership. I’m not here to push my own agenda. I’m here to serve the community and its needs since announcing my candidacy.  I’ve been actively listening to the residence throughout our neighborhoods.  With one on one meetings, conversations.   I understand the concerns and priorities:  they don’t want higher taxes.  They want improved neighborhood security, safety, senior support and Dog parks. They want to maintain our vibrant communities. The residents want their voices to be heard to feel connected as a valued to preserve what makes our community special. My goal is to represent their interest and work for the communities benefit’s. and not to impose my own will or to be a rubber stamp pushing more costs on to them.  After watching what happened with Tropical Storm Hilary and the complete failure of the local government in the national embarrassment that was we need to have a prepared City what happens if we have “The Big One.” We don’t need to stand alone. We need to work as a team with other cities that have more advanced plans and experience.  We need to try to pull back some of the local corruption within this establishment of City Hall.   We need leadership. We need accountability. My opponent her record speaks for itself. Look on YouTube. Look at the volumes of minutes that I have to review just a rubber stamping,  no initiative,  no direction just rubber stamping.  Going along to get along.

Political Newcomer Mark Scharaga

UR: Age and occupation:

Scharaga: 56/CEO of a technology solutions company

UR; Who or what motivated you to run for the City Council?

Scharaga: I became interested in running during the past several months. I have met so many residents and neighbors of the area and they had concerns about the direction of our City and our current leadership. I think fresh ideas and goals will truly help meet the needs of our community.

UR: How long have you lived in Cathedral City full time?

Scharaga: I purchased my home 2 years ago. The past 9 months I made this my full time residence. I was a frequent visitor since 2014.

UR: What is your No. 1 priority?

Scharaga: My No 1 priority will be to grow our local business and economic opportunity through a variety of programs like business incubators and a commissary kitchen. Small businesses employ 46% of the private sector workers. We have a ton of vacant retail space. We also have a good pool of local businesses that feel under supported. We can do better to help them grow and thrive and make use of space. Cathedral City should be the place where we live, work and shop.

UR: What makes you a better candidate than your opponents?

Scharaga: I think my career path gives me insight into how we can grow our local economy by supporting small business opportunity and growth without losing sight of the other needs for our residents. I have a lot of experience with State and Federal grant programs. A city of our size should be aggressively seeking funds to help offset costs. We currently have a block grant, but there is so much other money that can truly provide resources to fund valuable programs needed in our community.

We also need accountability in our government. Whether it is our discretionary funds spending, money for roads, or civic programs there needs to be a focus on our community. Not just certain areas of the district.

The other candidates don’t bring that sort of initiative, background, leadership and experience. We need more overall engagement and concern for our residents and I will embody that if elected.