Trustee Rubén Pérez Justifies COD Meeting Leave

Rubén Pérez was unavailable to attend the March 17 COD meeting, which led in part to the meeting being canceled, and explains why

PALM DESERT — Trustee Rubén Pérez, who represents Trustee Area 1 for College of the Desert, could not attend the Board of Trustees’ meeting on March 17 and failed to disclose why.

Pérez did not respond to Uken Report’s two requests for comment.

On Saturday, March 18, a photo surfaced in which Perez is pictured with 47th District Assemblymember Greg Wallis; Attorney General Rob Bonta; Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez; Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez, who serves as Perez’s chief of staff; Pastor Rick Saldivar of Cathedral City; and at least 30 others.

The leaders convened with Lift to Rise, which brings together community advocates and leaders in the public and private sectors to radically increase housing stability and economic mobility for everyone who calls the Coachella Valley home.

Pastor Saldivar told Uken Report that, “It was a roundtable discussion for affordable housing. We also visited a mobile home park in Thermal in desperate need of help. Horrible living conditions. Some nonprofits were present like Destiny Church … It was a great meeting.”

It was a noble cause.

Why didn’t Trustee Rubén Pérez simply say that? Instead, his secrecy fueled speculation that it was part of a plot to undermine Trustee Fred Jandt’s resignation.

There was also speculation that it was an attempt to stall any decision on his pending censure. 

On Saturday, only after the picture surfaced, Pérez told Uken Report that, “I had a work commitment related to my role with the State of California. I informed the board chair of my conflict in advance. In my 5 years on the board this is the 2nd time I’ve missed a meeting due to work-related reasons.”

His boss, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia could not be reached for comment Monday as to whether Pérez was assigned to the meeting or was attending on Garcia’s behalf.

Trustee Bea Gonzalez, who Garcia named 2019 Woman of the Year, also missed the March 17 Trustees’ meeting. She has refused publicly to say why. She has not returned Uken Report’s two phone calls, a text message or an e-mail sent to her official COD account.

It wasn’t just Pérez’s absence on Friday that left fellow Trustees and others scratching their heads.

Pérez had also shown up late for a Trustees’ meeting earlier last week that focused on ethics training.

They are the latest in a string of actions that have some people wondering what’s going on him that could jeopardize any goodwill he has built up with colleagues and constituents.

Earlier this month, Pérez was arrested in La Quinta on suspicion of drunken driving. Authorities have told Uken Report that his blood alcohol was three times the legal limit.

He is scheduled to appear in court at the Larson Justice Center in Indio at 7:30 a.m. June 20.

“I’d like to sincerely apologize to my family, friends and community. I will do everything in my power to learn and grow from this,” Pérez told Uken Report in a text message.

Pérez, 29, as mentioned earlier, is the target of a possible censure that is based on comments he made in January the day he was sworn in.

“I completely disagree with the censureship as it is my First Amendment right to speak my thoughts and feel this is a violation of that constitutional right,” Perez told Uken Report.

Earlier this month, Pérez was arrested in La Quinta on suspicion of drunken driving. Authorities have told Uken Report that his blood alcohol was three times the legal limit.

He is scheduled to appear in court at the Larson Justice Center in Indio at 7:30 a.m. June 20.