Ted Weill Seeks Re-election in Rancho Mirage

Ted Weill Among Five Candidates Seeking Two Seats in Rancho Mirage

RANCHO MIRAGE — Ted Weill is one of five candidates, all men, seeking one of the two open seats on the City Council in the Nov. 5 election.

Weill was appointed to the City Council on Dec. 20, 2012. In April 2014, he was elected to a two-year term. He was reelected in April 2016 to a four-year term, became Mayor on April 21, 2016, and on April 15, 2021, was sworn in as Mayor for the first year of another four-year term.

The others running are incumbent Michaeal O’Keefe who was appointed to the council last year; Wayne Avrashow, an attorney; and political newcomers Nate Lewis, who operates his own solar company, Goat Solar; and Gregory Goodman, who owns My Little Flower Shop in Palm Springs, relocated to Rancho Mirage a few years ago.

Uken Report (UR) sent each of the candidates identical questionnaires. Participation was voluntary. Neither Lewis nor Goodman participated. Following are the unedited responses from Weill.

UR: Age and occupation

Ted Weill: My name is Ted Weill, I am 90 years old which makes me 4 years younger than Warren Buffet. My current occupation is City Council of Rancho Mirage. I am honored to have served 12 years on the Rancho Mirage City Council, including two terms as Mayor, working alongside individuals who have built an incredible foundation for our city. My leadership has been instrumental in maintaining balanced budgets, a strong reserve and ensuring the financial health of Rancho Mirage.

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

Ted Weill: I am seeking re-election to continue the momentum and work underway in all aspects of the city’s operations to benefit our residents and businesses. My priority is to complete the multiple projects underway in a timely and prudent manner. I love my work, and I am motivated by the support and involvement of our residents and business owners that make my job enjoyable. I interact with many of you every day at the local Starbucks and I thank you for your encouragement.

When I am re-elected, I will continue to support economic growth by anticipating an ever-changing landscape of our economy enabling the city to nimbly respond to economic shifts while also developing and leveraging new insights and innovative approaches to our city’s economy.

UR: How long have you lived in Rancho Mirage full time?

Ted Weill: I have lived full time in Rancho Mirage for 26 years. I am a United States Navy Veteran. I graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. My MBA was from Pepperdine University.

UR: What is your No. 1 priority for the city?

Ted Weill: Number 1 priority for the city is:

Committed to provide more work-force housing projects, for our teachers, medical workers, police, firefighters, and hospitality employees. Workforce housing strengthens the Rancho Mirage economy and is good for our businesses because it provides readily available housing local opportunities for the employees of our Rancho Mirage employers.

The State is now requiring an additional 1,700 workforce, veteran, and affordable housing units over the next 8 years. I am proud to say that Rancho Mirage is one of the first cities certified for the development of up to 2,300 units. We presently have 4 agreements in place, meeting 65% of our State-mandated income restricted housing quota.

The Catana Project – this project includes three planning areas for the development of a mixed-use neighborhood on 36 acres located at the northwest corner of Ramon Road and Rattler Road. It will have 210 single-family homes with amenities, 94 affordable apartments with a central recreation area, and 75,000 square feet of commercial development. This project will provide more workforce and affordable housing for our Rancho Mirage residents.

The Cotino development – a 1900-home master planned community, 175,000 sq ft of commercial and hospitality development, a 400 key hotel and 24-acre swimmable lagoon will be available to both the property owners and the public. The town center will be a major attraction with restaurants, coffee shops, numerous programs for all ages. It will be transformative not only for Rancho Mirage but the entire Coachella Valley. It will require a great deal of planning to assimilate the project into the fabric of Rancho Mirage but in time it will be a significant economic engine.

Section 24 Annexation – The 257-acre Sphere of influence and annexation of Aqua Caliente land to Rancho Mirage will add even more Work-force housing, commercial and hospitality development.

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

Ted Weill: I am a better candidate than my opponents because I have a long history of successfully representing the people of Rancho Mirage and, as a result, I have experience you can trust. I developed master planned communities in California and Nevada. My key accomplishments during my 12-years tenure on the City Council and two terms as Mayor are the following:

The passing of balanced budgets every year since I was elected and the maintenance of a healthy reserve.
Proudly dedicated the Rancho Mirage Community Park and Amphitheater and the Rancho Mirage dog park.
The groundbreaking ribbon cutting for the Rancho Mirage Observatory.
COVID-19 pandemic Great Plates Program which provided daily meals to vulnerable seniors while bolstering local restaurants. This innovative program exemplified our ability to respond to crises with solutions that benefit the entire community.
Revitalized the Rancho Las Palmas shopping Center by creating additional ingress and egress. The center is 94% leased and yes, Amazon Fresh is scheduled to open next year 2025.
We revitalized the Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage after Lehman Brothers failed financing the project. Presently, the Ritz Carlton generates the most transient occupancy tax revenue to City of Rancho Mirage.
Eliminated employee “pension spiking” practices.
Paid off its unfunded pension liabilities to save interest expense payments to CALPERS.
Brought in the finest Luxury Auto corridor and Car dealerships to City of Rancho Mirage.
Re-opened Rancho Mirage Children’s discovery Museum to provide hands-on learning programs to children and their families.
Undergrounding utility lines.
Approved Rancho Mirage’s Turf Rebate and solar Rebate program and demonstrated our commitment to water conservation and sustainability. The Rancho Mirage Energy Authority (RMEA) Purchases bulk power and distributes to residents at a lower cost than SCE. There is also a green option offered and a solar and battery storage rebate.

I love Rancho Mirage and my commitment to our residents is to remain fully dedicated to leading Rancho Mirage by:

Building on the level of excellence our residents and businesses enjoy.
Keeping our community safe by increasing the budget for our sheriff and firefighters, resulting in double the public safety officers than the national average. I support our free ambulance service to our world-class medical facilities in the event of an emergency for our residents and their guests.
Guiding our city through thoughtful development and a broad spectrum of housing.
Maintaining a balanced budget and strong financial reserves.

UR: Do you see yourself as a team player or an individual who will fight for your opinion? Why?

Ted Weill: I am both a team player and have my own opinion. One of the significant accomplishments I am most proud of is recognizing the value of teamwork and consensus building. I work together with other council members as a team, respect everyone’s right to have a different opinion, and agree to disagree respectfully. My votes are always based on “is this good or is it not for the benefit of Rancho Mirage”. If the answer is YES, I am all for it and it gets my yes vote.

UR: How do you deal with conflict? Give us an example.

Ted Weill: I deal with conflict by knowing the facts and being truthful. Credibility is my most important asset in responding to criticism and conflict. When considering a controversial project or proposal, I think about adding some informal educational sessions early in the process to provide ample notice, identify, and address initial concerns and to avoid any complaints that City councils are trying to “ram through a decision”.

Examples such as the ban of Short-Term Vacation Rental in Rancho Mirage. I listened and responded to resident complaints about neighborhood disruptions such as garbage, noise, and parking issues occurring at vacation rentals. We provided a fair and complete hearing of issues at Planning Commission meetings and at Council meetings to assure that everyone’s viewpoints are thoroughly considered in the decision-making processes.

UR: Does Rancho Mirage need to change the way it’s been doing business? Change its image? If so, in what way? It lost Babe’s to Indio and The River is a shell of itself, etc.

Ted Weill: Rancho Mirage is one of the most well-run Cities in the United States of America. We have a world class library and Observatory, the Eisenhower medical Center, the first class and famous Writers’ Festival, the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, the dog park, well-maintained streets, and a diverse range of outdoors amenities.

We are financially sound and have a healthy reserve. We are pro-business by streamlining the permitting process to enhance the opening of new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses. We get lots of compliments from our constituents on the way we are doing business.

The River is a privately owned property. I am constantly in contact with the management regarding new business attractions. While Babe’s may have moved from The River, new tenants at The River include recent new businesses such as Dave and Busters, REI, Cowboy Cantina are a few. I value the partnerships with the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce and Visit Greater Palm Springs for their efforts in promoting tourism and small businesses.

I am in support for an Economic Development study and creation of a Master Plan for future Economic Development in our city. The right time to do that will be after Visit Greater Palm Springs completes a study that is currently under way and set for completion early in 2025. That region-wide study will be of great assistance in helping us to understand opportunities open to us and setting a course for the future.

The 92270 Zip-Code represents fiscal responsibility and a special way of life that connotes style, dignity and panache, I want to preserve those values. I work hard every day to serve as an accountable, accessible, responsive, and effective advocate for our residents and businesses. My experiences in business, real estate, finance, and local government make me uniquely qualified to deliver results for our community. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and I would be honored to earn your vote on November 5th.

UR: Rancho Mirage is the only valley city that does not have a method for residents to watch live council meetings remotely. Recordings of its council meetings are available online within a few days. Do you agree with this policy? Why or why not?

Ted Weill: In fact, Residents can watch live streamed council meetings on Yu tube or on the city website. We also broadcast our most recent council meetings on Spectrum Channel 17 and we offer streaming of all council meetings on the city You Tube Channel. Therefore, residents can watch live or they can view at a later time at their convenience.