Steve Sanchez Seeks Re-election in La Quinta

Steve Sanchez Seeks Second Term on La Quinta City Council

LA QUINTA — Steve Sanchez, 43, was first elected to the City Council in 2016 and wants another bite of the apple in the Nov. 3 election. He is seeking a second, four-year term.

Sanchez, served eight years (1996-2004) with deployments in Asia and a combat tour during the ground invasion in Iraq (2003) with the United States Marines. He is one of three people vying for two open seats, The others are Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Richard Gray.

All candidates were asked a series of identical questions. Following are the responses from Sanchez.

Uken Report (UR): Occupation

Steve Sanchez: La Quinta City Councilman/Commercial Real Estate Agent

UR: Why specifically do you want to be on City Council?

Steve Sanchez:  I’m fortunate to have been elected 4 years ago, with one of the highest votes in the history of La Quinta, to continue with the progress La Quinta has been achieving.  La Quinta residents entrusted me to keep La Quinta moving forward in the right direction.  Since taking office we’ve increased revenues, we’ve been named one of the safest cities in the state, road projects have been moving forward, Silver Rock Development is still on track, and we’ve been able to maintain a healthy reserve; specifically an Economic Disaster reserve fund, which with COVID has proven to be valuable in assisting local businesses during this economic shutdown.  I will continue to fight for individual rights, property rights, responsible growth, and public safety.

UR: What do you consider your greatest accomplishment either in or out of office?

Steve Sanchez: Having been fortunate to serve my country for 8 years as a US Marine. As a siting La Quinta City Councilman it’s an honor to represent the residents and businesses of La Quinta to City Hall.

UR: How do you define leader and leadership?

Steve Sanchez: A leader is someone capable and able to do the work, while being able to delegate authority to accomplish the task at hand; leaders lead from the front.  La Quinta leads the way, all the way. Leadership as a La Quinta City Councilman is being able to have short term and long-term visions and guide the city in that direction, while being flexible and adaptable to economic changes.

UR: Do you fit this definition?

Steve Sanchez: While I feel I do fit the definition, and my La Quinta City Council voting record to show it, I also realize as a leader I’m always learning, and seeking knowledge on how to better serve.

UR: What are your top three goals for La Quinta?

Steve Sanchez:

• Continue to ensure public safety is responsibly funded while ensure the City of La Quinta maintains the high quality of safety the residents and business owners expect and are used to.  La Quinta has been named one of the safest city’s in California.
• Because of COVID: working on retaining businesses and bring back businesses that shut down.  We are currently offering interest free loans, some grants, and some rebates on equipment/rent/etc… I’ll need to continue and expand these efforts.
• Continuing with quality of life and capital infrastructure projects as budgeted and planned, such as city wide landscaping projects, bridge on Dune Palms, skate park for our youth, addressing the housing needs, keeping Silver Rock on track, and overall keeping La Quinta beautiful; we are the Gem of the Desert

UR: COVID-19 has taken a toll on the Coachella Valley’s economy. What specifically will you do to help La Quinta rebound?

Steve Sanchez:  We are fortunate past city councils have established an economic disaster fund, while this current Council had maintained it and added to it.  Specifically, for the current COVID-19 economic emergency, these funds can and have been used for:

1. City backed rebates
2. Interest free loans
3. Grants
4. City-wide marketing efforts
5. Flexibility on outdoor seating/signage/shopping/etc.

UR: You are all well-known. What is one thing people don’t know about you?

Steve Sanchez: That’s a tough one.  I’m not sure what people know and don’t know about me.  I’m a huge animal lover, specifically, dogs (2 rescue dogs); love nature; adrenaline sports; I spend a lot of time learning (podcast/video stream/read) about history; I’ve taken wine courses and love learning about wine.

UR: Tell us one good thing about each of your opponents.

Steve Sanchez: It’s been a pleasure working with La Quinta Councilmember Fitzpatrick.  Councilmember Fitzpatrick brings a wealth of knowledge and experience into her 2nd term; often she’ll bring up a point or an alternative view which will cause me to see things from a different perspective or address an issue with a different option which I may not have considered.  She is an asset to the city.

Mr. Gray I don’t know personally, but I’m assuming and hoping his intentions to run for city council are honorable, and has the residents, businesses and future of the city in mind.