Who Endorsed Mayor Pro Tem Ernesto Gutierrez?

One Person on Mayor Pro Tem Ernesto Gutierrez’s Endorsement List Maintains She Did Not Endorse Him

CATHEDRAL CITY — City Councilor and former Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Ross said she has not endorsed Mayor Pro Tem Ernesto Gutierrez in his bid for a third, four-year term on the City Council.

In a telephone interview with Ross from her home on Friday, Ross said, “I am supporting Ernesto in this race, yes.

Uken Report: “Now, you say supporting, is that the same as endorsing?”

Nancy Ross: “I don’t think so. I don’t think I’m endorsing anybody,” Ross retorted. “I am supporting Ernesto in this race. He is my councilmember and I work pretty closely with him. We’ve gotten some good things done together. I don’t know that I need to use the word endorse.”

Uken Report: “When you say he’s your councilmember, what do you mean by that, Nancy?”

Nancy Ross: “We work together, because he’s on Council with me. We work together. We’ve gotten some good things done. He and I don’t agree on everything, but I don’t agree on everything with my husband, and I still love him.”

Good luck trying to tell that story to roughly 4,600 Cathedral City households, one resident quipped.

That’s an estimate of how many residents in District 4 received a mailer from Gutierrez through the U,S. Postal Service on Friday.

“We all got this, and we all think she is endorsing him,” the resident said.”

Enrique “Rick” Saldivar is, for the third time, challenging Gutierrez for his seat on the City Council. Gutierrez was elected by the voters to the serve on the City Council in November 2018.

Saldivar declined to comment about Ross’ endorsement or support of Gutierrez.

Whether Ross is “endorsing” or “supporting,” Uken Report wanted to know what she thought of Gutierrez’s controversial signs that he has planted in at least three locations in the city.

Ross, who has been ill the past week, said she had not seen the sign.

“I’ve been locked down for six or seven days now. I’ve been so sick. Is it a mean thing?”” she asked.

Uken Report: “It is.”

Nancy Ross: “What does he say?”

Uken Report: “Oh, gosh. He brings up Rick Saldivar’s whole criminal past and has it on this huge, big billboard. Not a billboard, a yard sign. I just wondered.”

“You know what I think about that, and I think this about anybody all the time, always.” Ross said clearly agitated. “You don’t need to shoot somebody down, tell people what you do.

“Tell people what good things you do,” she continued. “Earn the vote. … I. don’t know. I never ever approve of that from anybody. But nonetheless, I am supporting Ernesto.”

City Councilmember Rita Lamb is also on the “endorsed” list and takes no issue with it.”

“Ernesto is a tremendous advocate for things that will  move he city forward, Lamb said in a telephone interview also                  from her home.  “During our push for Measure W, he knocked on doors visited with residents. He wants to see that through. He is a tremendous advocate for Cathedral City and always puts residents first. ”

Measure W is a voter‑approved half‑cent sales tax increase in Cathedral City that generates about $5 million annually to fund emergency medical services, neighborhood street improvements, and parks/recreation through the Desert Recreation District.

Lamb said the has served twice with Gutierrez on a committee That decided how best to dole out money the city receives through the Community Development Block Grant program. a U.S. federal program that provides flexible funding to states, cities, and counties to support community development, primarily benefiting low- and moderate-income individuals.

“He is always so thoughtful,” Lamb said. “He always has the Salvation Army, Senior Center and the Boys & Girls Club               in his mind.”

The election is Nov. 3.

For Elections and voter information, including registering to vote please visit the Registrar of Voters website at: https://voteinfo.net/