Statement Regarding the Cathedral City Business Community Town Hall Series [Opinion]

CATHEDRAL CITY — The idea behind the Cathedral City Business Community Town Hall Series was actually very simple: give our local business owners an opportunity to have a conversation with the people seeking to represent them.

The idea was inspired in part by conversations with Sarah Di Grandei who shared that Cathedral City had previously held a business forum where candidates and local business owners could come together and discuss issues affecting the business community. Richard Altman, a local business owner, loved the concept and wanted to see if we could bring something like that back to Cathedral City.

From the beginning, the response we received showed us there was an interest in having that conversation. Four candidates agreed to participate and were genuinely excited about the opportunity. We received numerous supportive comments from members of the community on social media, and after announcing the postponement, we heard from many people who were disappointed that the events would not be moving forward as scheduled.

We also received support for the concept from the National Hispanic Construction Alliance and the Hispanic American Chamber.

Unfortunately, the response was not entirely positive from the local community. Three local businesses associated with the Town Hall Series received harassing calls. One of those businesses was our venue. The owner ultimately felt that, in order to protect her business from threatened boycotts and the continued calls she was receiving, she had no choice but to withdraw from hosting the event. I completely respect her decision and saddened that she was put in this position.  I am deeply disappointed that local business owners were put in that position simply because they were willing to support a public forum. These are people trying to operate businesses, employ people and contribute positively to Cathedral City. They should not have to worry that opening their doors to a community conversation could jeopardize their livelihood.

We also experienced an attempted unauthorized login to the Town Hall Series Instagram account, including an attempt to change the account password. Taken together, these incidents led us to postpone the series while we look for another venue and determine the best way to move forward.

The reason I wanted to organize these Town Halls remains unchanged. Cathedral City needs a strong and growing business community for our city to continue to grow and prosper. The City itself describes supporting a thriving business community as important to strengthening Cathedral City’s economy and quality of life.

I’ve heard from business owners who appreciate candidates coming through their doors and taking the time to learn what their businesses do. But I think the conversation also needs to include a very simple question: What can we do to help your business succeed?

That is the conversation I wanted this series to create. It wasn’t about promoting one candidate over another. It was about giving candidates an opportunity to understand the needs of our business community and giving business owners an opportunity to hear directly from the people seeking to represent them.

As a veteran, freedom of speech and the ability of people to openly exchange ideas mean a great deal to me personally. I served a country where people are free to disagree with one another. We don’t have to share the same political views, support the same candidates, or agree on every issue. But we should be able to sit in the same room, hear one another out, ask difficult questions and have a respectful conversation.

Evelyn Beatrice Hall captured that principle when she wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

That principle is especially meaningful to me and my core beliefs. It saddens me that members of our own community would try to prevent an open conversation by putting pressure on the very businesses that were willing to provide a place for it.

The Town Hall Series has been postponed, but the reason we started it has not changed. I still believe our business owners deserve a voice, our candidates deserve an opportunity to speak, and our community deserves the opportunity to listen, ask questions and make its own informed decisions.

I will continue to work on bringing this open event to Cathedral City for those that want to be involved, and when I secure a new locations, I will get the information back up on social media and contact you with the event details.