CATHEDRAL CITY — Enrique “Rick” Saldivar, associate pastor at Destiny Church, is one of four candidates seeking the single seat up for grabs in District 4.

This marks the first district-based election in Cathedral City since moving away from at-large elections.

Saldivar, 44, and his wife, Christina, have three boys: Alan, 15; Adrian, 14, and Aaron, 4.

Others competing in District 4 are John A. Rivera, Ernesto  M. Gutierrez, and Sergio Espericueta.

District 4 includes Desert Princess Country Club, Outpost and the Dream Homes.

All candidates, in the interest of fairness, were given identical questions and no word limit. Espericueta did not respond.

Following are the questions and Saldivar’s responses.

Uken Report (UR): Do you support or oppose Proposition 6? Why?

Saldivar: “Tax this Tax that”, I pay my taxes and at times have no clue where my tax dollars are going, so when I see my tax dollar at work in the very community where I live, I’m for it. Our city needs this money to better our roads conditions and make them safer. I will be voting no on 6

UR: City Council races are typically nonpartisan, but this particular race seems highly partisan. There are public calls to maintain a progressive majority on the council, Party registration information is being posted on social media and more. This is your chance to set the record straight and speak for yourself. Are you liberal, conservative, or other and what that means to you and your constituents?

Saldivar: I don’t consider myself a conservative and don’t consider myself a liberal; I love God, I love people and I love community. I believe in my convictions and act on them, I believe in balance and respect diversity.

UR: Cathedral City has a significant LGBTQ community. What specifically have you done as a leader in the community to address the needs this segment of the population?

Saldivar: I have not been involved with this segment of our community, but I am looking forward to working alongside with everyone that makes up my community.

UR: With what issue, ordinance, project do you want your name to be most associated?

Saldivar: I really want to push for Cathedral City have a resource/rec. center.  I want to find the funds and write a grant to support this project. I want the youth and residents to have a place where they can find resources and activities to better their lives. This is a dream project for me.   

UR: What sets you apart from your challenger(s)?

Saldivar: I have been serving the community for over 10 years, everything that I have done has never been public all has been done between the people who I serve and God. I have helped many families not become homeless, I have helped many become employed, I have helped the addict become clean, I have a true pulse on the real issues that surround our community. I am the very demographic that my community is, I am a working dad raising 3 boys in our city. I have no agendas and my heart is sold out for Cathedral City and it’s residents, I am 100 percent community driven.

 

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  • Guy-edit-1000×500: Enrique "Rick" Saldivar