Ramos Amith Will Not Seek Another Term

Ramos Amith says it it’s ‘time to enjoy life and travel’

INDIO — Lupe Ramos Amith, one of Indio’s native daughters, told Uken Report on Thursday that she is “not planning on running again,” when her four-year term on the City Council expires in November 2023.

“I’ve served my community for nearly two decades and have seen the impact my contributions have made,” Ramos Amith said. “I’ve enjoyed watching our newly elected members join in and carry Indio’s vision forward. I am ready to allow another to enjoy being a part of Indio’s future.”

Her husband has retired, and Ramos Amith continues to fight “my debilitating disease,” she said. She did not elaborate.

“So, it’s time to enjoy life and travel,” she said in a text message. “I will miss it and I thank everyone for their support of my office.”

Ramos Amith was born and raised in Indio and has served on the Indio City Council since 2004. She became the first Latina elected to the Indio City Council. She served the City as Mayor from 2007- 2008, 2010-2011, 2014-2015 and 2018- 2019.

The terms of Elaine Holmes, Mayor Waymond Fermon and Oscar F. Ortiz all expire this year. Fermon said he is not ready to formally announce his re-election bid, but it’s expected to any day. Ortiz could not immediately be reached for comment. Fermon and Ortiz unseated two incumbents — Michael Wilson and Troy Strange — in the 2018 election bringing with them a new energy and new ideas to complement the existing institutional knowledge on the City Council.

“For Indio, the stars have aligned at the right time,” Fermon said.